The mapping of the former Peñalara Natural Park forest region vegetation has recently been completed. It includes the Rascafría, Alameda del Valle and Pinilla del Valle municipalities. Using this starting point, it is intended to extend the mapping to the entire National Park. This work is also the starting point for the cataloguing and mapping both of natural and priority habitats (Council Directive 92/43/EEC), and the natural systems (National Park Law 30/2014).
The work of preparing the vegetation units map consists of different phases: photo interpretation, field work and map preparation. During the interpretation phase and by means of the observation of aerial photography and orthophoto in the study area, the digitalization of the possible patches of vegetation observed is achieved, as well as the allocation to each one of them to provisional vegetation units.
In a later phase of field work, the verification of the vegetation units assigned to different spots is carried out, and/or new units are assigned to them, considering as well different floristic data type, physiognomic, on use, etc.
In a final stage of processing, the map of vegetation is defined, made up of three types of topics: polygons (patches of vegetation with a minimum size of 25 m in diameter), lines (enclaves) and points (location points of special interest, such as for example unique trees).
The map includes at the moment up to 64 vegetation units and over 720 subtypes, that reflect more complex hybrid situations. In addition, 26 different habitats listed in Directive 92/43/CEE have been identified, of which 6 are priority, and 8 natural systems as stated in Law 30/2014.
The following table shows concisely the main units of vegetation found, grouped by their appearance:
| I. Tree communities | II. Shrub communities | III. Herbaceous communities | IV. Rupicolous communities | V. Other communities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scots pine Orophyle pine forests | Mountain broom- Creeping juniper pastures* | Hieracio-Festecetum pastures* | Casmocomophytic blossom communities* | Marshe graminoids communities* |
| Mesophilic pine forests of Scots Pine | Mountain broom pastures* | Xerophytic grasslands* | Earthy communities* | Herbaceous communities and nitrophyle camephytics |
| Scots pine from repopulation | Creeping juniper pastures* | Matgrass pastures* | Astragalus sempervirens communities | Higrophyle turfy enclaves |
| Pyrenean oak forest | Cinderella broom pastures | Common fern /bracken lively grasslands | Saxicolous lively grasslands on earthy and rocky sites* | Oligotrophical marshes |
| Mixed forests of Scots and Pyrenean pine | White broom pastures | Gaudinio fragilis grasslands | Pteridophytic grasslands on stone blocks* | Areas affected |
| Birch-tree forests | Goji plant pastures | Matgrass pastures | Casmophytic comfrey communities on compact rocks* | Areas on restoration |
| Iberian oak forests* | White heather pastures | Folded pastures | Casmocomophytic saxiphraga communities* | Carex communities |
| Ash forests with Pyrenean oak* | Howthorn pastures | Xerophilous terophyte grasslands | Casmophytic communities on calcareous rocks* | White water communities* |
| Black willow groves | Acidophilus camephytic brush* | Dandelion meadows | Blossom and foxglove communities | |
| Purple osier willow | Purple osier willow Nanocamephytic basophil brush* | Hay meadows* | Casmocomophytical geranium communities* | |
| Arâr | Black broom pastures* | Heliophylous terophyte grasslands | ||
| Black pine from repopulation | Giant feather grass pastures | |||
| Common pine from repopulation | Silyconous thymus | |||
| Black poplar from repopulation | Hidromorphic sedges | |||
| Black poplar from repopulation | ||||
| Spanish savin* | ||||
| Holm forests* |
