″In Southern Europe, Portugal is the second country with the highest percentage of its occupied by forest″
Is Portugal a more forested country than other Southern European countries?
Although its absolute forest area (3.3 million hectares) is not comparable to much larger countries in area, in relative terms, Portugal is one of the countries with the most forest among the European Union and European countries. In the south of Portugal, the second largest percentage of its Italy is occupied by forests (36%), Croatia will follow Spain (37%), being above countries such as Europe (34%), Croatia (32%) France (31% ) or Greece (30This may be surprising, considering the fires that have had our country over the last few decades.
How diverse is this forest? It’s not just a north/south divide, is it?
The forest in Portugal is not very diverse. Eucalyptus and maritime pine forests alone represent about half of the country’s forest area. More than 80% of this area is occupied by just four types of forest: eucalyptus, pine forest and cork oak and holm oak forests. However, there are many other types of forest in Portugal and there are regions (such as Trás-os-Montes) where the forest is more diverse. There are differences in ecological areas between the north and the interior and the mountains and the ecological terms (between the coast and the interior and the lowlands) that explain the distribution of the species, but we still have to consider the regime and structure of the property and the policies and economic investments made during the 20th century. XX to the many many general.
Environmental function and economic opportunity. How do they conjugate in the Portuguese case?
InThe aspects tend to combine when we apply concepts such as natural capital and ecosystem services that allow us to place all the two contributors that the forest provides to society at the same level, whether of wood, fiber or cork goods, of water regulation processes. , climate or soil or opportunities to enjoy nature. Prof. Américo Mendes coordinates a team that estimates that the Portuguese forest offers ecosystem services worth more than 2 billion euros a year. However, about half of this amount corresponds to services that are not paid to forest managers and owners. I believe that full recognition and payment for these services will significantly contribute to the sustainability of the Portuguese forest.
fires, so common in summers, can serve all Portuguese people through balanced forest management
Fires can serve, fires cannot reduce their impact on ecosystems, the economy and your society. If it does not control the climate, it can act on the remaining components of the fire regime, which are ignitions and fuels. We can (we must) modify the behavior of people and the structure of the forest and landscape to reduce the frequency of fires, in particular those of greater size and severity. The number of fires in Portugal has been decreasing significantly as a result of the application of targeted measures. There are no longer public policies for the conditions of the settlements and the landscape that cannot be projected as possible to be projected.
Where can we see a very well preserved example of the autochthonous forest?
we don’t have many native forests which is related to our history of unsustainable use of natural resources. No end of the century XIX there would be only about 3-7% of the national territory covered by forest. The best preserved forest in Portugal is the Laurissilva da Madeira. It is the largest remaining area of a forest type that dominated southern Europe until 15 million years ago. It is included in the Madeira Natural Park. On the mainland, Mata de Albergaria (Peneda Gerês National Park) and Mata do Solitário (Arrábida Natural Park) represent part of the Portuguese forest. There are other autochthonous forests, such as oaks, in Ts os Montes, with conservation value, often with elevation or elevation of management.
What is the impact of climate change on our forest?
The changes are expected to significantly reduce the productivity of the main forest species in Portugal, particularly in the South and in the climatic part of the Centre. It is invasive that increases living beings also by pests and diseases and impacts associated with other species. The most worrying impacts are, they cannot, they may result from the effects of heat waves and droughts, which tend to be more frequent and prolonged, on vegetation and without fire behavior, which can increase when catastrophic fires occur. We have time to avoid part of these impacts, but time is short. The landscape transformation and example policy management initiatives have to be more assertive and can do it much faster than it has to close fire for now.
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