The project, already completed, of Ecologists in Action of the Region of Murcia ‘Recovery of hypersaline wetland and nesting avifauna in the Rambla de Ajauque’, has destroyed part of the Phragmites, a species that reduced the nutrient content of the wetland. This has made it possible to improve priority species such as Charadrius alexandrinus.

The Ecologists in Action of the Region of Murciana has completed the project ‘Recovery of hypersaline wetland and nesting birdlife in the Rambla de Ajauque’. This initiative has had the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition within the framework of its 2017 call for grants.

The project has aimed to improve the possibilities of long-term conservation of priority, endangered and vulnerable habitats and species in the Ajauque Wetland and Rambla salada.

It has been possible to create a body of water 1,200 m2, managing to eradicate almost 90% of Phragmites (a plant species of reed), thus improving the parameters of nutrient content that the water table showed. As the water surface has very high salinity, the proliferation of this reed is prevented. In the first months after stabilization, significant reductions in the main ions (nitrates, phosphates) of the effluent have been observed with respect to the influent.

All the improvements have made it possible to increase the sightings of birdlife and, specifically, of Charadrius alexandrinus, the target species of the project. On the other hand, a greater influx of invertebrates and small mammals has been identified by its tracks (clutches, footprints, etc.), concluding that it is a small space with high biodiversity and a multitude of ecosystem functions.