In Portugal we commit ourselves to landscape restoration in Faia Brava Reserve, together with our partner, ATNatureza. By planting trees we restore nature, increase biodiversity and cause the reserve to be more efficient towards climate change.
trees
species of trees and shrubs
planting period
Through the ages, the area which Faia Bra reserve is part of, has changed from a landscape rich in nature into a monotonous plain. Many of its original trees and shrubs have disappeared, as a result of agriculture and sheep farming. This has caused the soil to deteriorate and dry out and new nature to develop only slowly. And this leaves its obvious effects on the climate, biodiversity and people in the region.
Thus the area gets drier and drier, increasing the risk of wild fires and desertification. And less habitat remains for animals originally belonging to Faia Brava, such as the Iberian lynx and birds of prey, such as the Egyptian vulture and Bonelli’s eagle. The lack of fertile soil offers local farmers less ands less perspective to stay in the area.
Plenty of reasons, therefore, to bring about some change and re-create variation in the landscape!
Together with ATNatureza we work from a landscape approach in order to get Faia Brava’s nature going again. The starting point of our approach will be ‘Plant a tree, help a tree and protect a tree’. Concretely, this means that we will plant 6,000 trees of several indigenous species, set 40,000 acorns and prune some 20,000 shrubs in order to have them grow into trees.
First and foremost, we are going to plant 6,000 seedlings (baby trees) from a local nursery in so-called “tree islands”. In this concept, several kinds of trees and shrubs are planted groupwise, fenced off by means of railings. In this manner we bring back to the area several rare and endangered species of trees which naturally belong here. Think of the Portuguese oak, strawberry tree, hackberry and juniper. The railings will protect the baby trees from wild boars and grazing cattle.
The tree island approach has proved successful over the past few years when we planted the first 8,000 trees in Faia Brava. The idea is to have these species of tree and shrub spread their seeds in natural ways through the area over the years, increasing nature’s variety and biodiversity. Several characteristic species will benefit from the trees and shrubs, such as the European wild cat, roe deer, European turtle dove, wild rose and narrow-leaved ash.
Photo 1: During our field visit to Portugal. Photos 2 and 3: Planting in tree islands.
Apart from the plantation of tree islands, ATNatureza will set 40,000 acorns. It is to be expected that from these at least 8,000 holm oak, cork oak and Portugese oak trees will grow. ATNatureza have experimented with setting acorns. It is an effective method with which to bring back more holm oaks to less accessible places in the area, such as spots among rocks. ATN field workers will monitor carefully how many acorns germinate and how many grow into healthy baby trees after one year.
This approach also boosts natural regeneration in general. The holm oak is a species which naturally belongs to Faia Brava and is conducive to better growing circumstances for other trees and shrubs. Thus holm oaks create shade and shed their leaves to make for healthy and fertile soil.
Our approach of ‘Plant a tree, help a tree and protect a tree’ as a whole contributes to the restoration of nature and biodiversity. Next to planting and setting ATNatureza will prune 2,000 shrubs in such a way that they will grow height as trees. In this way even more shade is created in the area, which contributes to a better (growing) climate and less drought.
In order to prevent the danger of fire, our partner will also remove easily combustible shrubs and sink pools. These pools in turn are good for biodiversity, as they attract all sorts of aquatic animals, such as amphibians and dragonflies. And in very dry periods they provide a buffer, from which to water the young trees.
We will plant the trees in Faia Brava Reserve in Portugal, an area of more than 1,000 hectares. The reserve has been recognized as a protected region by the Portuguese authorities.
Within this project we work in close co-operation with Associação Transumância e Natureza (ATNatureza). This foundation was established in 2000 and specializes in ecological recovery and nature conservation in Portugal. ATNatureza owns and manages more than 1,600 hectares of nature reserve, including Faia Brava Reserve, one of the largest private nature parks in Portugal.
For this project, ATNatureza works closely together with people from the area who have an interest in a healthy climate and landscape in Faia Brava. Think of hotel owners, people selling regional produce or farmers practicing regenerative agriculture. Besides, there are good relationships with Portuguese universities for applied scientific studies and practical training periods in the area.
