12/11/2023
Es Canar beach 🏖 in November and POSIDONIA 🌱….did you know…?
Friday 10th of November 2023, another beautiful sunny ☀️ and warm autumn day on Ibiza (about 22 degrees Celsius in the shade). Very quiet, only the occasional dog walker around. As you can see from our photos Es Canar beach has been filled with mounds of Posidonia by the council. I believe they will also spread it across the entire beach in due course. A regular exercise done every year by the council in order to protect the beaches of Ibiza against erosion and also to help to protect the amazing Posidonia. Before the season starts, they collect it with diggers and trucks 🚜, store it inland on the island, and then after the season is finished, they bring it back onto the beaches. For you guys who are interested to know a bit more about Posidonia here I gathered a few facts.
ABOUT POSIDONIA 🌱 AND IBIZA
The oceanic Posidonia is an endemic plant of the Mediterranean. It cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Although it looks like a seaweed, it is a very long-lived plant. Posidonia is a plant that, unlike algae, has roots, fruits and flowers. Posidonia meadows can live up to 60 years. The sea beds of Ibiza and Formentera are home to the largest living organisms in the world - large sea grass meadows of Posidonia oceanica, eight kilometers long and over 100,000 years old. Its morphology and reproductive capacity astonish many scientists, which is why it has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
This underground forest stretching from Es Freus (Formentera) to Ses Salines beach (Ibiza) is the habitat of many species and responsible for the clear and turquoise waters of Ibiza and Formentera. It turns these waters into one of the best places of the Mediterranean to dive.
It is a jewel for the sea fulfilling vital functions, such as the clarity of the water on the beaches that surround the whole of the Balearic Islands, it helps to make the water transparent.
It absorbs CO2 - much more than a tropical forest, it generates oxygen and creates the perfect habitat for thousands of marine species 🪸🐠🦀🦞🦑🦐🐟🐙. Another very interesting point is that Posidonia is also capable of generating sand.
Posidonia is vital in order to continue having beaches with beautiful and transparent waters, full of life. In order to keep being able to fish, we also need Posidonia.
We are used to seeing it in summer. In autumn, the leaves reproduce and we can see its green flowers which become fruit in spring (sea olives). These olives float and when they rot, some fall down and help to plant seeds, generating more of the Posidonia plant. In summer it loses its leaves which turn brown, these brown leaves reach the beach in autumn and help to keep the sand there.
We hope you enjoyed reading our more informative post. If you managed to read down to here, please 🙏 write us in the comments if you already knew about Posidonia before, or if we helped you to learn about this amazing wonder plant through our post. Thank you guys!
Love from Martina and Ivar 😘
