Introduction
Once the original holm oak and oak forests were cleared, dry farming crops were established.
These crops were abandoned due to phylloxera in the case of vineyards and low productivity in the case of carob trees. At that point, pine trees were planted. Pines (Aleppo pine) are fast-growing, easily dispersed, adapted to our climate and, at that time, their wood could be sold for profit.
This is the dominant forest type and it is represented by different age classes. Along the route you will see carpets of young pines alongside patches of very large trees. In clearings, carrizo (a native grass) dominates, while the undergrowth includes lentisk and aladierno.
Wildfires are responsible for preventing this forest and the Montbaig landscape from evolving towards the original holm oak woodland. Fire pushes vegetation succession back to early stages, forcing it to pass again through grasslands, shrublands and maquis before returning to pine forest.
Without disturbances, mature pine forests would gradually give way to holm oaks.