Spain - Priorat-Montsant-Siurana agricultural landscape of the Mediterranean mountain

The Priorat-Montsant-Siurana cultural landscape is a small mountainous region of the western Mediterranean, with an area of ​​51,562.40 ha, located in a vast watershed in the heart of the Catalan Pre-littoral Cordillera, in contact with the coastal plain. and the continental depression of the Ebro, from which it is separated by mountain ranges. This particular geographical situation of Mediterranean hinterland, associated with its great geomorphological diversity, confers on the proposed property an exceptional character which one can qualify as condensed of the main Mediterranean landscapes, very little artificialized. The proposed perimeter includes a nearly continuous representation of the last 400 million years of geological history, which the relief highlights in the landscape: a Paleozoic subsoil in the central part of the basin, the Mesozoic reliefs on the periphery , the Cenozoic mass of Montsant - La Llena, in the northern mountains. The importance of this heritage is reflected in the fact that it is largely included in six areas of geological interest. The physical conditions of the environment are reflected in a wide variety of biotopes covering a wide range of the natural systems of the Mediterranean. In this space, very different vegetation communities coexist, such as pre-steppic scrublands, yew groves or shrubs in cushions, which allows the existence of a great diversity of flora and fauna, a wealth of species, some endemic, many of which are protected. This mosaic of ecosystems has been enriched historically by the introduction of agriculture, very heterogeneous distribution, which has allowed the survival of natural areas in a remarkable state of conservation. Currently, more than half of the territory is subject to figures of protection of the environment and landscape.