Good news for the Monchique oak – and for all of us

You have certainly heard of the Iberian lynx… But what about the Monchique oak? Both are endemic species seriously threatened in Portugal, yet the level of public attention they receive could not be more different.

Saving trees may not seem as appealing as rescuing wild animals, but there is a project making a real difference in the preservation of Portugal’s endemic forests – particularly the Monchique oak. Soon, this species is expected to improve its conservation status on the Red List of the Vascular Flora of Mainland Portugal (Lista Vermelha da Flora Vascular de Portugal Continental), moving from Critically Endangered to Endangered. And that is far from insignificant.

Quercus canariensis Willd. is one of the flagship species of the initiative “Genetic improvement, production and conservation of forest reproductive material”, which aims to strengthen the resilience of Portuguese forests to the impacts of climate change.

The project, whose first results have now been published, is jointly coordinated by RAIZ – Forest and Paper Research Institute and INIAV – National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research, with the support of the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In a pioneering collaboration between companies, academia and landowners, the project brings together several entities, including Navigator Forest Portugal, Viveiros Aliança and the Plant Biotechnology Centre of Beira Interior, with scientific consultancy from BIOPOLIS-CIBIO and the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto.

A manual of best practices

The enthusiasm of Carlos Vila-Viçosa, PhD researcher at BIOPOLIS-CIBIO and specialist consultant for the project, is backed by data collected for the first time in Portugal.

“The idea is for this project to become a model and be replicated for other species,” he explains. “Having populations well characterised at the molecular level, and consequently creating nurseries of genetically certified plants, in order to understand what to plant and where, is something still missing in our country. This initiative may provide an important starting point.”

A multidisciplinary approach — also unprecedented — was key to the project’s success. It combined taxonomy (the science that classifies living beings), genetic characterisation, field ecology supported by remote sensing tools (satellites), and horticulture. This made it possible to identify and characterise populations and qualify these relic woodlands — remnants of ancient forests that preserve unique biodiversity and cannot naturally recover if destroyed — and to genetically reinforce and restore these populations.

Survival of the fittest

The Monchique oak faces three major threats: climate change, particularly drought; wildfires; and land-use change driven by economic interests that prioritise more profitable species over this extremely threatened native oak.

“All these factors have caused the species to retreat to places where some hidden moisture still exists, especially in the form of fog at the end of the dry season, in narrow valleys of the Southwestern Alentejo and Algarve mountain ranges, or along watercourses where access to the water table compensates for decreasing annual rainfall,” explains Vila-Viçosa.

In Portugal, the species is now restricted to the mountains that bear its name and the adjacent valleys of the Mira river basin, which flows into Vila Nova de Milfontes, as well as the streams of Aljezur and the Ribeira do Seixe.

Due to the loss of suitable climatic conditions, the Monchique oak hybridises with the Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea Lam.), another native species of the same habitat that is more resistant to reduced rainfall. In this sense, hybridisation is both a threat and a form of “survival” for the Monchique oak’s genetic heritage through its natural hybrid, the Tlemcen oak (Quercus × tlemcenensis Trab.), which dominates some of the few remaining forest stands in the southwestern mountains of Portugal and Spain (Aracena, Pedroches and Alcornocales).

The high level of hybridisation was one of two major findings that surprised Vila-Viçosa. The other was that the purest (and therefore most threatened) individuals are those closest to the town of Monchique — not in Spain (Algeciras–Cádiz), as previously thought based on older molecular data with lower resolution.

The science of multiplication

The Monchique oak faces three major threats: climate change, particularly drought; wildfires; and land-use change driven by economic interests that prioritise more profitable species over this extremely threatened native oak.

“All these factors have caused the species to retreat to places where some hidden moisture still exists, especially in the form of fog at the end of the dry season, in narrow valleys of the Southwestern Alentejo and Algarve mountain ranges, or along watercourses where access to the water table compensates for decreasing annual rainfall,” explains Vila-Viçosa.

In Portugal, the species is now restricted to the mountains that bear its name and the adjacent valleys of the Mira river basin, which flows into Vila Nova de Milfontes, as well as the streams of Aljezur and the Ribeira do Seixe.

There is only one way to counter — or rather, balance — the increase of hybrid populations: maximise the number of pure individuals.

To achieve this, vegetative reproduction techniques — in vitro, grafting and cuttings — were combined with germination from acorns collected from genetically pure mother trees, supported by the Botanical Garden of Porto and carried out by Viveiros Aliança and the Plant Biotechnology Centre of Beira Interior.

The result was the planting of around 500 Monchique oaks this year alone, in addition to those planted since 2019 in Águas Alves, Monchique, a property of The Navigator Company, committed to implementing projects for the recovery of threatened species as part of its biodiversity strategy.

Beyond planting, restoring the species’ habitat has been a constant priority. For this reason, actions promoting natural regeneration were also carried out to improve the conservation status of local habitats, including Habitat 9240 – Iberian oak forests of Quercus faginea and Quercus canariensis.

In addition to the Monchique oak, one hundred specimens of Myrica faya were planted as part of a holistic approach to restoring laurel-like relic forests in southwestern Portugal.

A model forest

Águas Alves now serves as a management and monitoring area and as a model forest for conservation — another first in Portugal.

“Many times, trees are planted in the wild and people hope something will happen without any follow-up,” Vila-Viçosa notes. “That is unrealistic.”

This commitment to continuity is shared by Nuno Rico, Head of Conservation and Biodiversity at The Navigator Company, and supported by local communities, including residents, landowners, and public and private institutions. Rico highlights the involvement of local municipalities, who are “keen to implement concrete projects”.

Águas Alves is not the only destination planned for these trees: the idea is to distribute them across gardens, university arboretums and private collections, particularly in the southwest, extending the species’ presence towards Odemira or even Grândola. Other Navigator-managed properties will also host the species, and ecological projection models indicate that, in the future, northwestern Portugal may become the optimal region for the Monchique oak.

For now, you can still find it in the picturesque Algarve town.

Next time you visit Monchique, make sure to look for it in person. After all, it is easier to protect what we truly know.