JBCLM | 2010-2025
27–28. Juniper Woodlands of the Moorland
The Spanish juniper grows in moorlands with fragile, skeletal soils, which is why juniper groves are protected by European regulations.
Limestone plateaus offer some of the most continental environments in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, creating paramos in certain areas. Few species can tolerate the extreme combination of winter cold, summer heat and drought, and the shallow, rocky soils typical of these highlands. The Spanish juniper (Juniperus thurifera), with its frugal growth, slow development, longevity, transpiration control, and extensive root system, replaces other trees (holm oaks, oaks, pines) in these harsh environments.
These juniper woodlands occur between 1,000 and 1,800 m altitude, usually forming open groves due to environmental constraints and intense underground competition between trees. Beneath them, a dwarf or cushion-shaped shrub understory develops, resistant to cold, along with communities of annual and perennial herbaceous plants, grasses, and nitrophilous* species favored by traditional extensive grazing, which otherwise limits other land uses. In Castilla-La Mancha, the best examples of these habitats are found in the Lower Serranía de Cuenca (Buenache de la Sierra, La Cierva, Tierra Muerta…) and the plateaus of Molina de Aragón (Maranchón, Torremocha del Pinar, Selas…).
Because of their potential vegetation character in limiting environments, fragile skeletal soils, and slow natural regeneration, Spanish juniper woodlands are protected and considered priority habitats under Directive 92/43/EEC.
For their recreation, accompanying Juniperus thurifera, the Botanical Garden has planted species typical of continental environments in small plots, including common juniper (J. communis subsp. hemisphaerica), barberry (Berberis vulgaris subsp. seroi), gorse (Genista pumila subsp. rigidissima), buckthorn (Rhamnus saxatilis), aliaga (Hormathophylla spinosa), rabogatos (Sideritis spinulosa, S. linearifolia, S. hirsuta), Spanish sage (Salvia lavandulifolia), lavender (Lavandula latifolia), various thymes (Thymus zygis, T. bracteatus), silver wormwood (Artemisia assoana), phlomis (Phlomis lychnitis, P. herba-venti), germanders (Teucrium chamaedrys), chamomile (Santolina chamaecyparissus), and monk’s cushion (Erinacea anthyllis).
At the upper part of the recreation, creeping junipers (Juniperus sabina), adapted to high mountain areas, and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) can be observed.
