Read More: Iberian lynx are dispersing seeds and reshaping ecosystems in Spain, and researchers find that a top predator can also act as a gardener<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nTheir results point in one clear direction. Eucalyptus plantations had significantly lower bird richness and abundance, meaning fewer kinds of birds and fewer birds overall. Mature native trees were especially important for forest birds, while mature eucalyptus trees did not play the same ecological role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That matters because birds are not just background music on a walk through the woods. Many eat insects, spread seeds, and help show whether a forest is functioning well. When the morning chorus<\/a> fades, it can be a sign that the whole system is thinning out.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy eucalyptus changes the rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eucalyptus arrived in Spain in the 19th century, but its large-scale expansion took off in the 20th century as forestry planners sought quick-growing trees for the paper industry. In Galicia, eucalyptus now covers about 30% of the region\u2019s forested area, according to the study summary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tree grows quickly and can be profitable, which explains why landowners and industry embraced it, but a plantation is not the same thing as a native forest. Ecologists often describe these areas as \u201cgreen deserts\u201d because they may look lush from a distance while offering little food, shelter, or nesting space for local wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One reason is \u201callelopathy,\u201d a process in which a plant releases chemicals that can slow the growth of other plants around it. In plain English, eucalyptus can make life harder for shrubs, herbs, and native seedlings beneath its canopy. Spanish scientific advisers have also pointed to eucalyptus leaf litter and soil effects as ecological concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The birds hit hardest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Insect-eating forest birds are among the most vulnerable. Species such as the long-tailed tit, goldcrest, marsh tit, Eurasian treecreeper, and common chaffinch depend on the small insects and layered vegetation that native woods usually provide. No insects, no breakfast. It really can be that direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Birds that nest in tree holes face another problem. Great spotted woodpeckers, European green woodpeckers, and Eurasian nuthatches need older trees with cavities, cracks, and soft spots where nests can be made. Eucalyptus plantations are often cut on short rotations, roughly every 10 to 15 years, before many trees develop those natural features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why replacing native woods with eucalyptus does more than change the scenery. It removes parts of the forest \u201chardware\u201d that birds have used for generations. A straight, fast-growing trunk may be useful for pulp, but it is not always useful for a bird trying to raise chicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/galicia-eucalyptus-plantations-impact-birdlife.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
New research reveals that eucalyptus plantations in Galicia act as “green deserts,” significantly reducing bird diversity by lacking the complex structure native forests provide.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nRivers feel the impact too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The effects do not stop at the forest edge. When eucalyptus leaves fall into streams, they can decompose differently from native leaves and may alter the tiny life forms that help fuel freshwater food chains. Spain\u2019s scientific committee cited research showing poorer aquatic decomposer communities when eucalyptus litter enters rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Spain breaks 40 years of tradition with Morocco as it tests a 2,020-ton patrol vessel that strengthens its navy with advanced military technology<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThat sounds small, but small creatures are often where a river\u2019s food web begins. Caddisfly and mayfly larvae, along with amphibians such as the palmate newt, are part of the living chain that supports fish, birds, and other wildlife. Take away the base, and the effects can travel upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For people, this is the quiet part of biodiversity loss. It is not always a dramatic collapse. Sometimes it looks like fewer insects under stones, fewer birds in spring, and fewer signs that a stream is alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A political fight over one tree<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The debate is not new. In 2017, a scientific committee advising Spain\u2019s environment ministry recommended including several eucalyptus species in the Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Alien Species<\/em>, citing their invasive character and their ability to transform ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Spanish government later rejected the request, reflecting the economic weight of eucalyptus forestry. At the time, eucalyptus represented about 3% of Spain\u2019s forest area and supplied 32%<\/em> of the wood consumed by national paper industries, according to reporting by El Pa\u00eds<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGalicia has tried to slow the trend through a moratorium on new eucalyptus plantations. In October 2025, the regional government<\/a> said it would extend that moratorium until 2030, while also allowing some exceptions tied to replacing existing eucalyptus areas with smaller new plantings and more conifers or broadleaf trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe proposed fix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The researchers are not simply calling for every eucalyptus tree to vanish overnight. Their proposal is more practical. They recommend adding unmanaged strips of vegetation free of eucalyptus inside plantations, allowing native plants to grow and giving birds more food and shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of those strips as breathing lanes in a crowded landscape. They would not instantly turn a plantation into an old oak forest, but they could help reconnect insects, shrubs, birds, and other wildlife. They may also support natural pest control by bringing insect-eating birds back into working forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why eucalyptus changes the rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eucalyptus arrived in Spain in the 19th century, but its large-scale expansion took off in the 20th century as forestry planners sought quick-growing trees for the paper industry. In Galicia, eucalyptus now covers about 30% of the region\u2019s forested area, according to the study summary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tree grows quickly and can be profitable, which explains why landowners and industry embraced it, but a plantation is not the same thing as a native forest. Ecologists often describe these areas as \u201cgreen deserts\u201d because they may look lush from a distance while offering little food, shelter, or nesting space for local wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One reason is \u201callelopathy,\u201d a process in which a plant releases chemicals that can slow the growth of other plants around it. In plain English, eucalyptus can make life harder for shrubs, herbs, and native seedlings beneath its canopy. Spanish scientific advisers have also pointed to eucalyptus leaf litter and soil effects as ecological concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The birds hit hardest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Insect-eating forest birds are among the most vulnerable. Species such as the long-tailed tit, goldcrest, marsh tit, Eurasian treecreeper, and common chaffinch depend on the small insects and layered vegetation that native woods usually provide. No insects, no breakfast. It really can be that direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Birds that nest in tree holes face another problem. Great spotted woodpeckers, European green woodpeckers, and Eurasian nuthatches need older trees with cavities, cracks, and soft spots where nests can be made. Eucalyptus plantations are often cut on short rotations, roughly every 10 to 15 years, before many trees develop those natural features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why replacing native woods with eucalyptus does more than change the scenery. It removes parts of the forest \u201chardware\u201d that birds have used for generations. A straight, fast-growing trunk may be useful for pulp, but it is not always useful for a bird trying to raise chicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The effects do not stop at the forest edge. When eucalyptus leaves fall into streams, they can decompose differently from native leaves and may alter the tiny life forms that help fuel freshwater food chains. Spain\u2019s scientific committee cited research showing poorer aquatic decomposer communities when eucalyptus litter enters rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds small, but small creatures are often where a river\u2019s food web begins. Caddisfly and mayfly larvae, along with amphibians such as the palmate newt, are part of the living chain that supports fish, birds, and other wildlife. Take away the base, and the effects can travel upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For people, this is the quiet part of biodiversity loss. It is not always a dramatic collapse. Sometimes it looks like fewer insects under stones, fewer birds in spring, and fewer signs that a stream is alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The debate is not new. In 2017, a scientific committee advising Spain\u2019s environment ministry recommended including several eucalyptus species in the Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Alien Species<\/em>, citing their invasive character and their ability to transform ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Spanish government later rejected the request, reflecting the economic weight of eucalyptus forestry. At the time, eucalyptus represented about 3% of Spain\u2019s forest area and supplied 32%<\/em> of the wood consumed by national paper industries, according to reporting by El Pa\u00eds<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galicia has tried to slow the trend through a moratorium on new eucalyptus plantations. In October 2025, the regional government<\/a> said it would extend that moratorium until 2030, while also allowing some exceptions tied to replacing existing eucalyptus areas with smaller new plantings and more conifers or broadleaf trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers are not simply calling for every eucalyptus tree to vanish overnight. Their proposal is more practical. They recommend adding unmanaged strips of vegetation free of eucalyptus inside plantations, allowing native plants to grow and giving birds more food and shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of those strips as breathing lanes in a crowded landscape. They would not instantly turn a plantation into an old oak forest, but they could help reconnect insects, shrubs, birds, and other wildlife. They may also support natural pest control by bringing insect-eating birds back into working forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRivers feel the impact too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: Spain breaks 40 years of tradition with Morocco as it tests a 2,020-ton patrol vessel that strengthens its navy with advanced military technology<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
A political fight over one tree<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The proposed fix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n