The Iberian Lynx and cork oaks

Yesterday I watched some of a National Geographic TV show on the Iberian Lynx. Narry a cork oak tree was to be seen where this animal was hunting. This program puts the decline of the Lynx down to the actions of a single man, the one who released myxomatosis to kill the bunnies who were invading his vegetable patch.

"Spain: European Rabbit

In some parts of the world, declining rabbit populations have strained natural food chains. The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), for example, is a staple in the Spanish lynx's diet. But a pox virus, myxomatosis, has raced through rabbit populations on the Iberian Peninsula, making them so rare that Spanish lynx (Lynx pardina) there are on the verge of extinction, scientists say. "

And being from New Zealand where the rabbit is in the same class as a possum, where the only good rabbit is a dead rabbit, I was interested to hear that they are actually releasing healthy rabbits back into the wild in an attempt to reintroduce the rabbit to the lynx habitat.

Huh. That is interesting, Neil.

[David M. Bueker]

So buy wines with screwcaps & save bunnies all at the same time. Works for me.

So buy wines with screwcaps & save bunnies all at the same time. Works for me.

I can see the new ad campaign: Drink a screwcapped wine -- Think of the bunnies!

Mark Lipton

The Iberian Lynx issue might be unrelated to cork oaks, but bear in mind that there are other environmental concerns should cork production become uneconomic.

[Robin Garr]

The Iberian Lynx issue might be unrelated to cork oaks, but bear in mind that there are other environmental concerns should cork production become uneconomic.

That is certainly one of the cork industry's talking points, Steve. I'm not certain that it's been established by any kind of rigorous study beyond the assumption, "If the cork farms become uneconomical, we'll eventually lose the habitat."

[David M. Bueker]

The Iberian Lynx issue might be unrelated to cork oaks, but bear in mind that there are other environmental concerns should cork production become uneconomic.

That is certainly one of the cork industry's talking points, Steve. I'm not certain that it's been established by any kind of rigorous study beyond the assumption, "If the cork farms become uneconomical, we'll eventually lose the habitat."

Nor is there any reason to support a flawed product to sustain the cork oaks. If it's a real problem then the land should be protected as critical habitat, not supported through the sale of junk.

The Iberian Lynx issue might be unrelated to cork oaks, but bear in mind that there are other environmental concerns should cork production become uneconomic.

That is certainly one of the cork industry's talking points, Steve. I'm not certain that it's been established by any kind of rigorous study beyond the assumption, "If the cork farms become uneconomical, we'll eventually lose the habitat."

Nor is there any reason to support a flawed product to sustain the cork oaks. If it's a real problem then the land should be protected as critical habitat, not supported through the sale of junk.

Hear, hear!
/A

The Iberian Lynx issue might be unrelated to cork oaks, but bear in mind that there are other environmental concerns should cork production become uneconomic.

That is certainly one of the cork industry's talking points, Steve. I'm not certain that it's been established by any kind of rigorous study beyond the assumption, "If the cork farms become uneconomical, we'll eventually lose the habitat."

I think it is more than an assumption, Robin. The dehesa habitat is maintained only by the type of low-impact farming that has been pursued for centuries. The cork trees are only one aspect of the farming, but for many farms it may well be the difference between being financially viable and going under.

I agree 100% with David's point about not suporting flawed products though. If we want to keep the environment we need to find some other way. Eco-tourism, EU subsidies and wine industry sponsored ecological charities I suppose.

Or using cork. Europe is by a mile the world's biggest wine producing region, and the inroads made by screwcap in Europe remain much more modest thanj in other places.

This scare story that if a winery uses any closure other than natural cork condemns wildlife and gnarled old cork farmers to oblivion is total bollox.

There has been a veritable explosion in wine production all over the world in the past 40 years --- I am in Virginia at this moment where there are now(can't be bothered to check figures) 80 wineries all using cork that didn't exist 40 years ago. So if they all overnight went to screwcap that would not do anything other than relieve the pressure on cork. And yet one of the winemakers told me yesterday his concerns for the Portuguese wild life makes him willing to accept the 5% (his figure) of faulty wines due to closures.

There are many uses for cork other than wine closures.

What I haven't seen is a graph showing how many wine corks have been produced over the past 50 years -- I would think its been steep upward curve.

Those lynx and birds were there 50 years ago and if wine cork demand dropped then they'd still be there. And a reduction in demand is unlikely when China is about to become a massive producer.

There are many uses for cork other than wine closures.

True, but it is wine closure cork that commands the highest price, so the usage for wine is critical.

Those lynx and birds were there 50 years ago and if wine cork demand dropped then they'd still be there.

Not so for the birds. They rely on the dehesa, of which the oaks are just one part. And the dehesa is what it is, purely because it has been farmed by man for centuries. Take the farming out of the picture, which will probably happen if you remove the income from the wine industry, and the dehesa will revert to scrubland and forest.

Unfortunately I cannot find a good link to an explanation of "dehesa". The wikipedia article is not good. Basically the oak trees are quite spaced out. They provide shelter for animals, wood for burning and for fertilisation. The ground inbetween is farmed on a rotation system. Can't remember the details, but it includes years of fallow, crops and grazing. No pesticides and artificial fertilizers are used - orginally because they did not exist and now because they are too expensive and not necessary.

I agree with everything else you said - expansion in wine production means that there is no immediate problem. But of course if the industry moved away from corks at a greater rate (as I hope they will) it will become a ecological problem.

[David M. Bueker]

So Steve let me get this straight - the cork oak farming created the habitat for the birds? And now we're duty bound to preserve that habitat?

So I think I've got the ecological equation now:
- Humans may not destroy any natural habitat
- If humans create a habitat they must sustain it

Why not just leave the planet? Oh wait - there's those habitats we created...

So Steve let me get this straight - the cork oak farming created the habitat for the birds? And now we're duty bound to preserve that habitat?

No. It's not the cork oak farming that created the habitat. It is the dehesa farming, part of which now includes harvesting cork. Dehesa farming predates the use of cork in wine bottles - it's certainly pre-Roman.

And I didn't say we were duty bound to preserve it. But if we as a society value the birds and other widllife, then that is what needs to be done. If you have other priorities, that is your call and I am not going to debate that any further here. I just think that if we destroy species by our actions we should at the very least be aware what we are doing.

Where I do agree with you is that it is a separate issue from how we seal wine bottles.

Why not just leave the planet? Oh wait - there's those habitats we created...

Well said! And if they want to keep the habitat environmentally friendly as far as the lynx is concerned, or the birds and rabbits for that matter, just demolish all of the Condos that are being built is the hills for the rich (making an assumption here) and beautiful people to holiday in and herd them all into the seaside high rises where they belong.....

Or am I being a little cynical here? Harumph!

Long live the screwcap!

You are assuming a lot, Neil. There is no conspicuous wealth there, and very few tourists. And very few tree-hugging types either BTW. Think rather of grinding rural poverty and you will get the picture.

[Robin Garr]

grinding rural poverty

In Portugal, Steve? In 2008? I agree about the conspicuous wealth, but I don't get the impression that they've got serious poverty issues.

grinding rural poverty

In Portugal, Steve? In 2008? I agree about the conspicuous wealth, but I don't get the impression that they've got serious poverty issues.

I do know that Extremadura (where many Spanish cork oaks are) is one of the poorest areas in Spain. One of the problems is its remoteness. And Portugual was one of the poorest countries in the EU when it first joined - though I presume things are getting better now. I am sure there are many living there who are not in "grinding poverty", but I bet there are many who are, and I think that image is a lot more realistic than the one of rich people living in condos in the hills. Some people think (though they are probably wrong!) that Extremadura comes from "extremely hard" - a description of the difficulties of getting a living from the countryside.

If anyone cares to see for themselves, I can reccommend Ace Explorers, who may well be running another trip to Spanish Extremadura.
http://www.aceexplorers.co.uk/?v=tours/ ... dura/index
I know that the company is usually willing to accommodate people whow wish to travel from outside the UK. I went this year. The Finca el Vaqueril estate owns dehesa, including a few cork oaks, but that is only a small part of their income. In fact, exceptionally for the area, half their income is from agrotourism - but don't expect luxury accommodation there. It's more basic that it sounds on the website.

You are assuming a lot, Neil. There is no conspicuous wealth there, and very few tourists. And very few tree-hugging types either BTW. Think rather of grinding rural poverty and you will get the picture.

I take your point Steve. I don't know the source that said there were many people building holiday accommodation in the hills and cutting down trees to site the buildings, so until I know that it is true I withdraw my comments.

You are assuming a lot, Neil. There is no conspicuous wealth there, and very few tourists. And very few tree-hugging types either BTW. Think rather of grinding rural poverty and you will get the picture.

I take your point Steve. I don't know the source that said there were many people building holiday accommodation in the hills and cutting down trees to site the buildings, so until I know that it is true I withdraw my comments.

And I admit maybe "grinding poverty" was maybe a bit of an exaggeration.

Could your source have been talking about some other ecological issue in Portugal or Spain? Apart for the lack of holiday accommodation I don't think there are many hills in cork country. The terrain was quite flat where I was - very gentle slopes at the most.

As a card-carrying member of the Sierra Club I find the environmental argument for cork nonsensical. If cork and screwcaps (or Vino-lok, et al) were of equal quality, fine, but they aren't.

To me the fact that the cork producers are making this argument at all shows how weak their technical position is. It's a red herring.