The Land Under Pressure project aims to restore areas of montado to promote productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. One way of restoring the montado is to ensure that there is natural regeneration of the trees, which will guarantee the continuity of the tree stratum in the long term. Currently, natural regeneration in the montado system is having very low success rates, due to grazing intensity or frequent droughts that do not allow young trees to survive. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in the protection and care of young trees.
Twenty grazing exclusion fences have been installed in areas of montado where cattle, ungulates and pigs are present. The objective is to promote natural regeneration by reducing predation on acorns and herbivory of seedlings, creating "islets" of natural regeneration to guarantee the continuity of the tree stratum in the long term.
The grazing exclusion plots that are now implemented will be monitored during the project to identify the impacts of these fences on the natural regeneration of the Holm oak. These fences will remain in the field in the coming years, reinforcing the maintenance of natural regeneration and promoting the long-term sustainability of the Holm oak forests in the Parque de Natureza de Noudar (Land Under Pressure pilot area).