Preservación del medio natural en los Reales Sitios del entorno de Madrid

The aim of this article is to analyse the relevance of the Royal Sites in Madrid and Segovia for the preservation of ecologically significant land around the palaces. The Royal Sites have been previously studied as part of the historical, artistic, and touristic heritage. However, their relevance in the preservation of natural heritage is less known. Given their high levels of protection, they act as a natural limit to urban spread, limiting soil sealing, and preserving the natural environment and biological diversity. Despite the demographic impact of Madrid, whose population has constantly grown over the last 50 years and produced an increasing sprawl of urban development, the Royal Sites have maintained their original landscape surfaces. Nevertheless, soil sealing has fragmented some of these territories and broken the connexion between them – as can be observed in satellite images.