Yew forests in Catalonia

The yew is a priority conservation habitat in the European Union (Habitat 9580 * Mediterranean Taxus baccata Forest). 

It is an emblematic tree, one of the oldest in the world, with great value as a cultural, natural and scientific heritage. 

The yew is very rare throughout its European distribution. Most modern trees like pine, oak and beech have been relegated to the clips and ravines in the limestone mountains after the last Ice Age.

They are a very vulnerable habitat, which may disappear. It is declining in southwestern Europe. Its preservation is further committed in the context of climate change (increase in temperature of the Earth) with a consequent increased risk of fire.