Fauna and flora in Ibiza
The fauna of Ibiza is relatively poor in terms of the variety of species that thrive throughout the area, the majority of which are birds. They live in areas that are suitable for nesting, away from the tourist areas. A distinction must be made between sedentary birds and migratory birds from Africa or Northern Europe, which choose Ibiza and the Balearic Islands as their nesting place every year. Depending on the nature of the habitat, you will have the opportunity to observe passerines (warblers, goldfinches, blackbirds, hoopoes), waders (flamingos, herons, storks) and water birds (pelicans, gulls and seagulls). But the fauna of Ibiza is also made up of the animals of our forests and undergrowth: rabbits, partridges and wild boars. Finally, along the shores, almost all the marine species that inhabit the Mediterranean can be seen, either on a diving trip or in the dishes of the many restaurants.
In Ibiza, as in Formentera, the most beautiful and numerous specimens of birds can be found in the old salt flats. The fauna of Ibiza also includes a wide variety of small lizards and geckos, which can be very green or turquoise in colour. In a completely different category is the Ibizan greyhound, or ca eivissenc
, which is a short-haired, light-coloured dog that bears a striking resemblance to those seen on Egyptian documents from the time of the Pharaohs. In terms of flora, just like Majorca, Ibiza is still covered by part of its original forest. The island is also home to a wide variety of fruit trees: almond trees, carob trees, fig trees of course, but also palm trees and bougainvillea. In spite of the not very high relief, trees are nevertheless omnipresent on the whole island. The vegetation cover consists of several dozen species of trees, such as pine, walnut, juniper, olive and carob. The most common tree in Ibiza is the sabina, a type of pine with a very hard wood that was used in the construction of old country houses, often as beams or as a decorative element. Finally, all sorts of wild cactus punctuate the island's landscape.Posidonia, a treasure of the seabed
Posidonia oceanica
is not a seaweed, but a flowering plant which, nearly 100 million years ago, adapted from the terrestrial environment to the oceanic environment. Endemic to the Mediterranean, they form what are known as Posidonia "meadows" or "sea grass beds". Considered as real "ecosystem engineers", they play an essential ecological role in the Mediterranean coastline. Although they cover a large part of the Mediterranean, the Posidonia meadows that are concentrated in the Ses Salines nature reserve, between Ibiza and Formentera, are among the best preserved. A veritable lung of the sea, Posidonia is a major source of oxygenation of the water, favourable to the biodiversity of its ecosystem. It is said that one square meter of posidonia produces more oxygen than one square meter of Amazonian forest! The United Nations has proclaimed 2017 as the "International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development". It is in this context that the "Save Posidonia Project" was born, a pioneering participatory funding project for the conservation of the Mediterranean Posidonia. Each participant can become the "sponsor" of one square meter or more of Posidonia (1 €/m²). The funds raised are therefore entirely dedicated to the preservation of this very special flora.
