The applied research that drives the current Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training of the Balearic Islands (Irfap) continues to bear fruit on the ground. A project initiated in 2015 by one of the entities that preceded it has allowed for the definition of a natural vegetation control methodology through grazing with Mallorcan breed donkeys, already applied in different points of Mallorca.
In 2015, Semilla –an entity later integrated into Irfap–, the Natura Parc Foundation, and the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) launched a pioneering project to analyze the use of grazing animals, especially Mallorcan breed donkeys, as a natural tool to control plant biomass in areas of environmental interest.
The purpose of the study was to verify whether these animals could help sustainably reduce the accumulation of combustible vegetation, lower the need for mechanical interventions, and contribute to the prevention of forest fires.
The results confirmed that grazing with Mallorcan breed donkeys allowed for a 52 percent reduction in the aerial biomass of the reed (Ampelodesmos mauritanica), one of the most abundant and combustible species in the forests of the Islands, which favors the spread of fire.
From this experience, an academic work was developed at UIB. The results obtained were also disseminated internationally by the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (Ciheam), which helped to raise awareness of the potential of equines in the sustainable management of the Mediterranean territory.
The researchers determined that this methodology was not only effective in fire protection strips but also in other areas of environmental interest, such as torrents, areas close to homes, and peri-urban environments.
In recent years, this form of vegetation management through grazing with donkeys has been implemented in various municipalities of Mallorca, such as Capdepera, Santa Eugènia, or Sóller, both to reduce biomass and help prevent forest fires as well as to conserve areas of environmental interest.
Currently, one of these interventions is taking place in Sóller, where the City Council has expanded this summer its natural cleaning program for the torrents with twelve donkeys from Natura Parc.
Animals help control vegetation in the beds of torrents, facilitate subsequent maintenance tasks, and reduce the need to resort to machinery, which translates into a smaller environmental footprint.
Councilor Simonet has emphasized that this action highlights the value of applied research and the importance of generating knowledge that can later be transferred to the territory.
"The work started more than a decade ago has contributed to validating sustainable alternatives for managing natural spaces and, at the same time, to highlighting an indigenous breed like the Mallorcan donkey," he indicated.
Simonet added that public research is a key tool for anticipating needs and proposing sustainable alternatives to administrations and territory managers.
This experience is presented as an example of how applied research can respond to specific environmental challenges. The knowledge generated by the teams that today make up the Irfap has helped consolidate a management tool based on natural processes, sustainable and respectful of the environment, also linked to the preservation of the indigenous breed of the Mallorcan donkey.
The recovery of these traditional practices, backed by scientific evidence, offers a way to maintain the torrents, reduce the risk of fires, and improve the management of natural spaces in the Balearic Islands.