Plants

Mesophytic communities

Characteristics of mesophytic communities

• Communities dominated by perennial herbaceous plants that are generally water-loving or only slightly xerophilous. Their extent within the park is minimal given the Mediterranean character of the area; they are found only in places with continuous soil moisture and sufficient drainage.
• They are made up of perennial water-loving herbs in areas near alder woods, ash woods and birch woods, which frequently turn out to be the replacement stage of these riverside woods.
• In completely nitrophilous environments that share the same environmental characteristics as the rush beds, you can find so-called «gramales» or «gramanales», communities dominated by a tufted grass: Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon). It is a species that easily stands trampling and stays green in summer thanks to its C4 metabolism. When people intervene and practise grazing in the area, the Bermuda-grass pastures displace the rush beds.

Habitat and distribution of birch woods in Cabañeros

• The commonest and most characteristic communities are the rush beds, formed by water-loving herbs that lie near streams in overflow areas and in groundwater places that allow soil moisture almost all year. The round-headed club-rush (Scirpoides holoschoenus), other hemicryptophyte grasses: Holcus lanatus or Lolium perenne, and other accompanying species such as: Mentha pulegium or Trifolium respinatum stand out.
• The Bermuda-grass pastures abound on soils degraded by compaction. Those of the middle basin of the Bullaque river are striking.

Species of the mesophytic communities

• Rush beds
• Bermuda-grass pastures: usually accompanied by strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum) and the docks of the genus Rumex, for example: Rumex congomeratus.

Photos of the mesophytic communities

Herbaceous communities

• Mesophytic communities
• Xeromesophytic communities
• Therophyte communities
• Amphibious, hygropeat and aquatic communities
• Rock communities
• Dehesas