Companhia das Lezírias - Portugal

Basic Information
Site Name
Companhia das Lezírias
Short name
Montado 02_CL
Country
Portugal
Site Description
Companhia das Lezírias is one of the six research and monitoring stations of LTER-Montado, an umbrella site located in the Alentejo province in south Portugal (southwestern Iberia). The "Montado" represents an unique agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem (named "dehesa" in Spain) found only in the Mediterranean basin. These savannah-like landscapes are dominated by evergreen cork and/or holm oaks and were shaped over millennia of traditional land use practices. These multi-use forests are two-layered systems that combine, in a single space, forest harvesting, extensive livestock husbandry, pastures and/or cereal cultivation (the most evident economical revenues), with other traditional uses (hunting, beekeeping and mushroom picking). Recently, increasing awareness arose on their benefits as biodiversity reservoirs, recreation grounds, and other ecosystem services providers, but these non-productive functions are not equally perceived and valued by users, as they tend to be conflicting with productive ones. Companhia das Lezírias is a state-run property, located in the bank tributary of the Tagus River, in the Ribatejo province, 30 km northeast Lisbon and 7 km from Vila Franca de Xira.Cork oak (Quercus suber) is the dominant tree type, with an average of 68 adult trees per hectare.Cork oak stands are the major use and the priority in terms of land management. It covers 6.751 ha (78% of forested land). Pine and eucalyptus stands (1.900 ha), agriculture areas, pastures and dams complete the current use of soil. Some tree decline is observed, especially on podzols. The natural regeneration of the tree stand is not uniform, and it is lacking in some places because of grazing and shrub clearing for fire prevention. No fires have been reported in the last 20 years. Conflicting interests arise from the livestock grazing component that affects the natural regeneration of cork oak trees. Interventions and adjustments to promote natural regeneration and active afforestation (e.g. fencing combined with shrub clearing) have been included in the stakeholder´s management plan over the last years.
Last modified
2023-07-25 08:07:40

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2011
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTERThis site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER EuropeThis site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
LTER Portugal (LTER_EU_PT_004)This site is a verified "LTER Portugal" member.
Projects
Photos
Montado - Companhia das Lezírias

Montado - Companhia das Lezírias

Cattle - Companhia das Lezírias

Cattle - Companhia das Lezírias

Cork oaks - Companhia das Lezírias

Cork oaks - Companhia das Lezírias

Cork oak montado

Cork oak montado

TeaComposition initiative plot CL01

TeaComposition initiative plot CL01

TeaComposition initiative plot CL02

TeaComposition initiative plot CL02

TeaComposition initiative plot CL03

TeaComposition initiative plot CL03

TeaComposition initiative plot CL04

TeaComposition initiative plot CL04

TeaComposition initiative plot CL05

TeaComposition initiative plot CL05

TeaComposition initiative plot CL06

TeaComposition initiative plot CL06

TeaComposition initiative plot CL07

TeaComposition initiative plot CL07

TeaComposition initiative plot CL08

TeaComposition initiative plot CL08

TeaComposition initiative plot CL09

TeaComposition initiative plot CL09

TeaComposition initiative plot CL10

TeaComposition initiative plot CL10

TeaComposition initiative plot CL11

TeaComposition initiative plot CL11

TeaComposition initiative plot CL12

TeaComposition initiative plot CL12

TeaComposition initiative plot CL04 - Soil profile

TeaComposition initiative plot CL04 - Soil profile

TeaComposition initiative plot CL06 - Tea bag plots

TeaComposition initiative plot CL06 - Tea bag plots

Geographic
Elevation (average)
30.00msl
Elevation (min)
1.00msl
Elevation (max)
53.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]