Red Itinerary-Can Domènec
Can Domènec
In 1998 two nature trails were designed on the Bellaterra Campus: The Can Magrans trail and the Can Domènec trail. These trails take us to the most singular parts of the campus, where we can find the animal and plant species that are most typical of the area. Both trails are marked from beginning to end and take approximately an hour to walk. The aim is to promote the UAB's environmental values and maintain these areas.
The Can Domènec trail starts out from behind the Vila Universitària residence. It passes through the area that has received most anthropic pressure and where the oldest plant communities on the campus are conserved, such as the Mediterranean holm oak woods and the river-bank woods.
Download the map of the red trail
At the start of the trail the vegetation is closely linked to anthropic activity and consists of mosaics of different vegetation types: from planted pinewoods to dry fields, or scrubby areas with bushes such as broom and rosemary, among others.
One of the most firmly entrenched plant communities in the region is Mediterranean woodland. Here we find, above all, mixed woods of Aleppo Pine and holm oak, with a large number of the bushes and vines that are characteristic of a Mediterranean holm oak wood, such as Mediterranean buckthorn, laurustinus, hawthorn, asparagus, butcher's-broom, flax-leaved daphne, wild madder, rough bindweed, ivy and honeysuckle.
The trail passes through fields and orchards that remind us of the area's agricultural past. Most of this farmland has been recovered and is currently managed by the Farms and Experimental Fields Service.
The trail takes us past the ruins of old masies (Catalan farmhouses), such as Ca l'Isidre, which still has some garden flowers and fruit trees. The remains of Can Domènec farmhouse, which the valley is named after, can also be seen.
The second part of the trail runs parallel to the Can Domènec stream. Here we see a magnificent river-bank wood with species like poplar, white poplar, downy oak, Quercus cerrioides, plane, elm and hazel. In environments like this it is easy to spot birds like the blue tit, the European green woodpecker, the robin and the house sparrow, common in practically all habitats in the UAB area.
At the end of the trail, around the Font del Carme spring, the river-bank vegetation includes a white-poplar wood and also horsetail.
At the end of the trail is the Font del Carme spring, one of the outstanding features of Can Domènec. The spring is in the middle of a cool grove of trees, with species that are typical of humid environments. It was built in the sixties and played an important role in the community until the eighties, as local people used to go there on excursions to enjoy the natural surroundings.
Next to the Font del Carme is a majestic oak (Quercus cerrioides), around 130 years old and 22 metres in height. In its privileged location, on the bed of the Can Domènec stream and next to the Font del Carme spring, this is one of the oldest and grandest oaks on the UAB campus.