Valladolid

Abstract

Valladolid, the capital city of the Comunidad AutÓnoma de Castilla y LeÓn, is situated 200 km north of Madrid at 690 m above sea level (a.s.l). It is a midsized town with about 300,000 inhabitants and occupies 4.45 km2. The city is located in the middle of the largest agricultural area in the Iberian Peninsula, which has resulted in its urban biodiversity being unnoticed. Valladolid provides a good example of how the human environment affects vertebrate communities. The star role of the urban rivers in the local ecology and landscape are centres of interest, emphasizing the importance of the most valuable natural resource in the city. The river is not only the real spine and the true architect of the city but also the entry gate and the crossing path through the urban area for most terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. The vertebrate fauna of the city and its surroundings watch each other and share the ‘blurry’ land between the urban and rural spaces. Understanding the drivers and constraints the town imposes on the two areas provides an alternative way to address the ecological role of cities and the flows and forces interacting in the narrow ecotone of the city boundary. The aim of this chapter is to narrate the inside of a land shared between urban people and vertebrate fauna. The preparation of the chapter has been a collaborative exercise involving the authors and many other people, some experts and some nonprofessionals, who are interested in the natural history of Valladolid and to whom the authors are eternally grateful.