Seminar - Rocky outcrops: Small Natural Features to promote biodiversity in oak wood-pastures

16 Setembro 2021, 11:00 • Sergio Chozas

In this seminar I presented the Rocky outcrops in the context of the montado system.

The montado is an agroforestry system dominant in the Southern region of the Iberian Peninsula. These cork and holm oak wood pastures are recognized as a hotspot of biodiversity supporting rich communities and many endangered plant and animal species. However, during recent decades, a combination of factors led this system to change, compromising its habitat heterogeneity and consequently its potential to hold biodiversity. In this context, it is important to understand the potential role of landscape elements in enhancing the ecological diversity of montado. This includes rocky outcrops, rock island-like formations that are common in this agroforestry system. These elements, usually covering small but significant areas, are not cleared due to its rocky nature and therefore limit both grazing and farming activities.

We analyzed the role of the presence of rock outcrops in both species composition and functional diversity patterns of plants in montados. We found that the presence of these elements clearly increases montado landscape biodiversity. Moreover, this increase did not compromise the economic productivity of montados since even very small outcrops significantly increase both compositional and functional diversities. Our results indicated that minor changes in management strategies, such as the establishment of small rock outcrops and protection of the spontaneous vegetation, can provide efficient, low-cost means to increase the capacity of agroforestry landscapes in supporting biodiversity.