The main objective of these projects was to contribute to the conservation of cork and holm oak forests (Montado/Dehesa). The implemented measures correspond to six categories, covering the promotion and/or conduction of natural regeneration of trees belonging to several native species, with particular emphasis on the cork oak (Quercus suber) in the context of the Montado forest, as well as the diversification of the under-cover of the Montado, the application of sowing techniques that do not require soil tillage (such as direct sowing), the control of undergrowth without soil tillage and the holistic management of pastures.
All farms are holdings in the context of Montado oak or holm oak, under extensive grazing with cattle or sheep. About half of these farms are suppliers to retailers and others sell to intermediaries without their own brand or directly to the consumer.
In most cases the project supported financially and technically the implementation of the measures, but there were cases where the measures were implemented and/or had already been implemented by the farms on their own for some years and the project then served as a vehicle for their dissemination.
The success of the measures will now be monitored, in some cases several years after the end of the project.
IST, the Portuguese Partner of the EU LIFE Food & Biodiversity Project, has recently completed the implementation of pilot projects on 11 farms under the project.