The Port Authority of Algeciras Bay (APBA) has started this March the planting works corresponding to the second phase of the environmental and landscaping recovery project on the coast of the municipality of San Roque, in a stretch of port public domain land between the mouth of the Guadarranque River and that of the Gallegos Stream in Puente Mayorga. The company Noceda Servicios Integrales Medioambientales is in charge of executing this phase of the project, whose works began on March 4 and will extend until the autumn.
The action includes the planting of 50,000 specimens of native Atlantic dune species in the sandy area of the coast. The species selected for revegetation are the sand dune grass (Ammophila arenaria), the seashore saltgrass (Elymus farctus), the sea daffodil (Pancratium maritimum), and the sea holly (Eryngium maritimum), all of which are characteristic of the dune ecosystems of the Cadiz coast and the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The plants come from the dune species nursery managed by the General Directorate of Coasts and the Sea of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in Loredo (Ribamontán al Mar), on the Cantabrian coast, and have been provided free of charge for use in this project.
In addition to the planting, the works include the installation of protective elements for the revegetated areas using wooden post and rope fences, the placement of walkways in the most sensitive sections of the sandy area to prevent trampling of the new plantings, and the installation of informative signage about the ecosystems present in the area. These protective measures are essential to ensure the survival of the planted specimens and facilitate the establishment of dune vegetation in an area subjected to the pressures of public use and the action of wind and tides.
The schedule for the second phase will extend beyond the spring planting campaign. During the summer, seed collection for sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum) will take place in the project area for subsequent planting within the scope of the project. In autumn, a second replanting campaign will take place, incorporating new batches of dune species along with native shrub species such as mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), the furze (Calicotome villosa), and the dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis). The inclusion of these shrub species is in response to the desire to reconstruct a complete plant cover that replicates the natural sequence of vegetation that develops from the shoreline to the more distant areas of the coastal front.
In parallel to this second phase of revegetation, the first phase of the project is being executed, entrusted to the UTE Mantenimiento de Infraestructuras-FCC. This work consists of general cleaning of the project area and the demolition of obsolete elements and infrastructure that had been scattered along the coastal stretch, such as disused wiring posts and remnants of concrete structures. The first phase also includes landscaping actions to upgrade the coastal front, among which is the intervention on the riprap slope of the road connecting Puente Mayorga with Guadarranque, aiming to improve its visual integration into the landscape.
The project, in which the APBA invests a total of one million euros, covers an area of just over ten hectares that encompass approximately 2.4 kilometers of coast, divided between the port reserve use area and the commercial use area. The action constitutes one of the largest environmental interventions that the Port Authority has undertaken in the public maritime domain of Algeciras Bay and reflects an approach that seeks to harmonize port and industrial activity with the recovery of the natural values of the coast.
The coastal stretch subject to the intervention is located in an environment marked by the proximity of the industrial and port facilities of the northern arc of Algeciras Bay, where the presence of diverse infrastructure has altered the original configuration of the coastal front over the decades. The elimination of obsolete elements and the revegetation with native species aim to restore part of this space’s ecological functionality, contributing to the stabilization of dune systems and the creation of habitats for fauna associated with these ecosystems.
The collaboration of the General Directorate of Coasts and the Sea, through the free provision of dune plants from its nursery in Cantabria, adds an inter-administrative cooperation component to the project. The Loredo nursery is a facility specialized in producing plant species adapted to coastal ecosystems, and its participation in supplying plants for the San Roque project guarantees the provenance and genetic quality of the plant material used in the revegetation.
The selection of species responds to ecological criteria aimed at reproducing the plant composition typical of the dune systems of the southern peninsula. The sand dune grass and the seashore saltgrass are grasses that play a key role in anchoring sand and forming embryonic and primary dunes, while the sea daffodil and the sea holly are characteristic species of more established dunes. The later incorporation of shrubby species such as mastic and the dwarf fan palm will complete the plant succession towards more stable and mature formations.