Population decline Large zones of the mountainous Iberian System have undergone heavy
depopulation since the early 20th century. There are many
ghost towns and
abandoned villages scattered across different parts of the Iberian System, especially in
Teruel Province. Currently a great number of surviving towns have only a residual population. In some cases, many of the inhabitants are not natives anymore but immigrants from
Romania or the
Maghreb working as contract laborers in agricultural activities. The exodus from the rural mountainous areas in Spain rose after
General Franco's
Stabilization Plan in 1959. The
population declined steeply as people emigrated towards the industrial areas of the large cities and the coastal towns where the tourism industry was growing. Other causes of high emigration have been the abandonment by the local youth of traditional agricultural practices that were the mainstay of the village economy, such as
sheep and
goat rearing, as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century.
Fauna The heavy depopulation has favored wildlife so that one of the last colonies of
griffon vultures in Europe is in the Iberian System.
Wolves and eagles (
Aquila chrysaetos,
Hieraaetus fasciatus,
Hieraaetus pennatus,
Circaetus gallicus) are also relatively common in the lonely heights. Among the mammals, the
Spanish ibex,
roe deer,
wild boar,
European badgers,
common genets, among others, have their habitat in many of these desolate mountain ranges. The most common
reptiles in the Iberian System are
Lacerta lepida,
Psammodromus algirus,
Psammodromus hispanicus,
Podarcis muralis and
Podarcis hispanicus.
Chalcides chalcides,
Chalcides bedriagai and
Anguis fragilis, are relatively rarer. The snakes present in these mountains are
Natrix maura,
Natrix natrix,
Malpolon monspessulanus,
Elaphe scalaris,
Coronella girondica,
Coronella austriaca and
Vipera latastei. Some
amphibians are abundant in or near ponds and rivulets throughout the whole system, such as
Rana perezi,
Bufo bufo,
Bufo calamita,
Alytes obstetricans,
Triturus marmoratus and
Lissotriton helveticus, the latter also at high altitude, whether in intermittent or permanent bodies of water.
Hyla arborea and
Salamandra salamandra are somewhat rarer, but still having a wide distribution, especially in humid forested zones. The Iberian ribbed newt
(Pleurodeles waltl), however, is rarely found in the mountainous areas. Aquatic invertebrates, including the
Austropotamobius pallipes crayfish, and certain fishes, such as
Salaria fluviatilis and
Cobitis paludica are common in the upper course of the Sistema Ibérico rivers. Some mountain streams have been stocked with
trout. Traditional
cattle rearing activities, formerly so important in central Iberia, still survive on dry grasslands in certain villages around the system. There are also many
hunters visiting some of the ranges, mainly those that are relatively closer to the urban areas and especially on weekends.
Vegetation Some ranges have forested patches, consisting mainly of
Pinus pinaster,
Pinus sylvestris and
Pinus uncinata pines and
Quercus rotundifolia,
Quercus pyrenaica and
Quercus faginea oaks, even
Fagus sylvatica beeches and
Betula pendula birches grow in some humid slopes, where
Pteridium aquilinum,
Polypodium vulgare ferns may also be found. Other ranges are rocky and quite bare with
heath (
Erica arborea,
Erica vagans,
Calluna vulgaris),
broom as well as
thyme and
Festuca and
Nardus stricta grasslands. Thin forest or
shrubland may include
Juniperus communis,
Juniperus thurifera,
Cytisus purgans,
Erinacea anthyllis and
Calluna vulgaris shrub. Often the southern slopes are drier than the northern ones and may be subject to
wildfires in periods of prolonged drought, especially in the summer.
Bogs are not common in the Iberian Peninsula, but high altitude bogs form in the few areas of the Sistema Ibérico where the water remains stagnant, such as near
Orihuela del Tremedal,
Bronchales and in the place known as
Fuente del Hierro, at an altitude between 1.400 and 1.550 m. The plants growing in these bogs are mainly
Polytrichum mosses,
Potentilla erecta,
Pinguicula vulgaris,
Vaccinium myrtillus,
Calluna vulgaris, and also
Drosera rotundifolia, a
carnivorous plant that does not grow further south in Western Europe.
Centaurea pinnata is an
endangered species of plant present in the
Sierra de Vicort and
Sierra de Santa Cruz mountain ranges. ==Mountain ranges==