Spain just found its finest ancient forests — and the scientists’ verdict is: don’t touch them

A new CREAF/CTFC study has mapped Spain’s finest old-growth forests: 20 stands across 432 hectares in Aigüestortes National Park in the Pyrenees, scoring up to 8.7 out of 10 on maturity against a Catalan average of 2.3. These are forests centuries in the making — the researchers’ advice, in the study’s spirit, is simple: leave them be. In a country where ancient woodland is rare, finding this much of it intact is a small miracle of patience.