The LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project starts the works projected in the meander of El Señorío, in Castejón, Navarra. Specifically, through Phase 1 of the environmental restoration of the Ebro in this section that focuses, for the moment, on the left bank of the river, in the terms of Castejón and Valtierra.
The work area is located in front of the meander of El Señorío, between the bridges of the N-113 road and the AP-15 highway, a degraded and impoverished area in terms of vegetation, which saw its fluvial dynamics altered by the construction of dikes or defensive dykes.
The execution of the works corresponds to Gestión Ambiental de Navarra, S.A. (GAN-NIK), partner of the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project, and there is a subsequent maintenance phase by another partner, the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation. The budget for this first phase is 57,942 euros.
The morphological adaptation and restoration of the El Señorío meander, which includes these planting works, aims to reduce the risk of flooding, restore the meander to its natural functions in terms of the recovery of fluvial dynamics and the evacuation of flows in flood situations, and prevent deterioration, protect and improve the state of aquatic, terrestrial and wetland ecosystems.
Intervention
The current intervention is focused on the creation of wooded areas that will allow for a reconnection with the existing river banks, enhancing the section as a green corridor that will allow the movement and migration of fauna and flora species. In addition, its arrangement following the flow of the river will facilitate the evacuation of flows in case of floods.
The planting season is set between November and January and consists of reproducing four bands of vegetation according to the distance from the riverbed, as in riparian forests. The species to be used are those specific to the stretch: white willow, white poplar, black poplar, poplar, ash, tamarisk, blackthorn and hawthorn. Elm trees resistant to graphiosis will also be introduced with clones from the LIFE Olmos Vivos project. The multiplication of the plants is being carried out in the nurseries that Gestión Ambiental de Navarra has in Marcilla.
Before planting, the soil is prepared to restore its conditions to support vegetation and absorb water and nutrients, and debris and other materials that may be found on the land are removed and taken to an authorized landfill.
El Señorío
These works are integrated in the intervention zone 1 of the LIFE project that involves the recovery of meanders in the section of the Ebro river between Alfaro (La Rioja) and Castejón (Navarra), the so-called “Combined section of actions”. In the Navarre territory, the morphological adaptation and environmental restoration of the meander of El Señorío is proposed.
El Señorío has a total budget of 1.8 million euros and throughout the process of drafting the project and defining the intervention , informative and participatory actions have been developed, involving local administrations and interested parties (associations, individuals, etc.) through stable participation groups (the so-called co-creation groups) and public conferences and activities, open to the entire population.
The main action consists of the removal of the perimeter dike in the meander and the creation of a relief channel, a river branch that will divert part of the flows in circulation during floods.
Phase 2 of the renaturation will be carried out on the right bank and is scheduled to be executed once the meander has been reclaimed, an intervention that is currently pending land availability.