In order to recover degraded areas as a result of the abandonment of land previously ploughed due to the difficulty of access by mechanical means, and affected by erosion, the area has been reforested with Aleppo pines. We can mention the pine forest of La Pinarosa in Ariño, taking advantage of the ravines and shady areas of the Arcos mountain range and its foothills, or the pine forest of Los Molares, which occupies the valleys and slopes of the Seco river and tributary ravines between Oliete and Alcaine.
The continentalized Mediterranean climate, the result of the immersion through the Martín river valley in a mountainous environment, poor in water resources and with strong temperature contrasts between day and night, allows the existence of junipers, with some important communities of black junipers located in different parts of the Park and adapting to steep rocky areas, accompanied by juniper in many cases. However, less frequent but more spectacular is the sessile juniper, with a few scattered and monumental specimens located throughout the Park, among which we highlight the specimens of San Pedro in Oliete and La Dehesa in Alcaine, among others.
On the other hand, the riverbank vegetation is abundant, forming a narrow and discontinuous border on the banks of the Marín River, dominated by poplars, willows, ash trees, elms, rushes and brambles, especially the tamarisk trees at the tail of the Cueva Foradada reservoir, which form a small forest of enormous ecological importance, and in many tributary ravines and ponds where hygrophilous vegetation dominates.
Another aspect to highlight are the “ordered” patches of vegetation whose origin can be found in man’s need for food production through agriculture, with riverside plantations (horticultural crops and fruit trees) and rainfed plantations (cereal crops, vines, olive and almond trees).
