Nuno Guiomar

Universidade de Évora | uevora · MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development

Fire is infrequent in the oak woodlands of southern Portugal (montado) but large and severe fires affected these agro-forestry systems in 2003-2005. We hypothesised transition from forest to shrubland as a fire-driven process and investigated the links between fire incidence and montado change to other land cover types, particularly those related w...

This study aims to develop and propose a methodological approach for montado ecosystem mapping using Landsat 8 multi-spectral data, vegetation indices, and the Stochastic Gradient Boosting (SGB) algorithm. Two Landsat 8 scenes (images from spring and summer 2014) of the same area in southern Portugal were acquired. Six vegetation indices were calcu...

Large fires and their impacts are a growing concern as changes in climate and land use proceed. The study of large-fire controls remains incipient in comparison with other components of the fire regime. Improved understanding of large-fire size drivers can disclose fire–landscape relationships and inform more sustainable and effective fire manageme...

The assumption that increased wildfire incidence in the Mediterranean Basin during the last decades is an outcome of changes in land use warrants an objective analysis. In this study we examine how annual area burned (BA) in the Portuguese public forest varied in relation to environmental and human-influenced drivers during the 1943–2011 period. Fi...

The present paper addresses the conservation planning and management issues of terrestrial ecosystems with particular insight to small islands (with examples of application in the Macaronesian archipelagos of Cape Verde, Canaries, Madeira and Azores). It analyzes specific conservation planning and management approaches and proposes concrete charact...

Wildfire behaviour depends on complex interactions between fuels, topography and weather, over a wide range of scales, being important for fire research and management applications. To allow for a significant progress towards better fire management, the operational and research communities require detailed open data on observed wildfire behaviour....

Context Here we develop a practical framework (Mosaico) and report a real-world example of early implementation of a Fire-Smart Territory (FST) in Sierra de Gata-Las Hurdes region of central Spain. Objectives We aimed to assess the impact of landscape changes induced by local land managers (indirect prevention) on simulated fire spread under differ...

The InduForestFire project seeks mitigation solutions to avoid damage caused by large fires in industrial areas through scientific studies that explore the phenomena associated with these damages. For this, the project involves two approaches of very different nature, but complementary. The first is a forest-based approach, aimed at understanding f...

Fires of natural origin are usually a very small fraction of the total number of fires in southern Europe, and as such, they are not relevant to contemporary fire regimes and policies, even if they occasionally develop into large-scale conflagrations. However, lighting-caused fires might have been a relevant landscape-level disturbance prior to the...

Motorways in Portugal received large scale funding after the country joined the European Union in 1986, making it an ideal case to study the effect of road accessibility on the development of lagging rural areas. We investigate the relationship between rural population change and road accessibility to the urban hierarchy between 1991 and 2011. We f...

The preservation of High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) is essential for meeting many of the new European Union (EU) Green Deal targets, as they correspond to production systems which respect the preservation of natural resources and support multiple ecosystem services. However, most of the farming systems on which HNVf rely cannot survive without su...

The expansion of the 2017 mega-fires in Portugal was observed to be locally halted by native forest patches. Here we present spatial simulation scenarios of fire behaviour to assess whether native forest cover mitigates fire spread during extreme wildfire conditions in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas around Industrial Zones (IZs). Our results...

Recent findings on the contribution of smallholders to global food production and security challenge the values used in several reports of international organizations. The skewed distribution of the number of farms and the agricultural area by farm size may explain overestimations in small farms' food production. In fact, the highest values found i...

Understanding the effects of weather and topography on fire spread in specific contexts, such as oceanic islands, is critical for supporting fire prevention and suppression strategies. In this study, we analyse the atmospheric conditions associated with historical forest fires that have occurred over complex terrain in Madeira Island, Portugal. The...

Os vários recursos de uma paisagem obedecem a uma disposição, a um arranjo, ou seja a um determinado padrão. Os diferentes padrões que podem ser observados nas paisagens resultam de diferentes processos que ocorrem simultaneamente em áreas geográficas de grandes dimensões, e que variam de lugar para lugar. É com este enfoque que o capítulo se desen...

As paisagens podem ser caracterizadas como um mosaico resultante de uma fusão de elementos naturais e antrópicos que variam em tamanho, forma e estrutura (FORMAN; 1981), e que provêm da integração espacial e temporal de múltiplas funções ambientais, sociais e económicas (2001). Esta integração é materializada nas estruturas sociais e nos sistemas d...

A publicação de um livro didático sobre Ecologia da Paisagem (EP), escrito em português, surgiu por iniciativa conjunta da Associação Portu-guesa de Ecologia da Paisagem (Apep) e da Associação Brasileira de Ecologia de Paisagens (Iale-BR) que mobilizaram recursos humanos e financeiros no sentido de compilar num livro impresso e também em e-book con...

Ecologia da Paisagem no Contexto Luso-Brasileiro é um livro didático composto por dois volumes. Este volume é composto por três partes: a parte I é composta por uma Introdução na qual se contextualiza, sob uma perspectiva histórica, a evolução das abordagens em Ecologia da Paisagem em Portugal e no Brasil. Nas partes II e III são apresentados Conce...

A paisagem é o resultado da ação e da interação, ao longo do tempo, dos fatores naturais e/ou humanos. Entende-se, por isso, como o substrato vivo da história e da memória do Homem e o fundamento da sua exis-tência futura. O aumento populacional e a alteração dos modos de vida conduziram a uma significativa artificialização da paisagem e à criação...

Ecologia da Paisagem no Contexto Luso-Brasileiro é um livro didático composto por dois volumes. Dando continuidade ao volume I, este volume II é composto por duas partes. Na parte das aplicações são apresentados 14 capítulos nos quais se mostra como a ecologia da paisagem pode ser aplicada nos mais diversos contextos socioambientais em Portugal e n...

ContextThe Portuguese montado is an agro-silvopastoral system, similar to the Spanish dehesa, known for its cultural, economic and ecological value. Despite its importance, contrasting processes such as land abandonment and land use intensification, together with several other factors, have been responsible for montado degradation in the last decad...

Worldwide sustainable development is threatened by current agricultural land change trends, particularly by the increasing rural farmland abandonment and agricultural intensification phenomena. In Mediterranean countries, these processes are affecting especially traditional olive groves with enormous socioeconomic costs to rural areas, endangering...

Understanding land system dynamics is fundamental for policy-making from local to global scale. Land system is a combination of land use, land management and territorial practices. To attain such complete information about landscape structures is a challenging task. Aiming to deepen knowledge on land systems, we applied a methodology meant to achie...

O fogo afeta negativamente a saúde e qualidade do solo, favorecendo a ocorrência de processos erosivos e a sua perda. Este impacto nos solos é intensificado pelo aquecimento global, que agrava o risco de incêndios. Consequentemente, novas formas de carbono (C) são produzidas no solo, também ocorrendo modificações térmicas nas formas de carbono prev...

Neste seminário discutiu-se um conjunto de questões relacionadas com a abrangência e eficácia da prevenção de incêndios florestais, tendo como base o conceito de “Fire Smart Territory”, que representa uma perspetiva na gestão dos incêndios florestais assente numa nova relação das comunidades, organizações e instituições com o fogo, com o objetivo d...

The dataset presented in this paper is based on data gathered from several countries within the West Mediterranean area at the highest detailed scale regarding official statistics, with the aim of investigating land and food systems dynamics in the Mediterranean. Characterizing land and food systems dynamics is critical to reveal insights regarding...

Forests can be modified by fine-scale disturbances such as those prompted by cattle grazing, but their impacts on biodiversity are far from being understood. Here, we investigate the response of insectivorous bats to cattle-driven forest disturbances, using a savanna-like Mediterranean agroforestry system, the Portuguese montado, as study system. I...

Eucalypts, especially blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), have been extensively planted in Portugal and nowadays dominate most of its forest landscapes. Large-scale forestation programs can intensify fire activity, and blue gum plantations are often viewed as highly flammable due to the nature and structure of the fuel complex. The role of eucalypt pla...

Increasingly large fires are occurring in southern Europe, especially at its westernmost part, where a humid Mediterranean climate combines with rough topography, flammable vegetation types, undermanaged forest and high ignition rates. These fires have huge socioeconomic and environmental impacts, including the potential loss of human lives. Portug...

Contribuição para a história do fogo no Centro de Portugal 1966-75 No pós 1961, os incêndios na região assumem uma faceta catastrófica: comparados com periodos anteriores, são mais e maiores e, sobretudo, muito mais danosos, forçando inclusivamente a visitas de altos responsáveis para se inteirarem das repetidas tragédias, e apesar da musculada fo...

The paper analyses the current limitations of the constraints of decision and action processes in land-use, resource management and conservation policies and approaches, identifying their main factors, proposing alternative strategies to solve the present gaps and limitations. It identifies the need for a new paradigmatic approach based on innovati...

Contribuição para a história do fogo no Centro de Portugal 1956 – 1965 As páginas d’”A Comarca de Arganil” dão-nos conta de um “mar de chamas” no longo verão de 1961. De Castanheira de Pêra a Tábua, de Penacova a Oliveira do Hospital, Seia, etc, há notícias de um ano infernal, como antes haviam sido 1933 ou 1953, mas com uma devastação incomparave...

Contribuição para a história do fogo no Centro de Portugal 1946 - 1955 No período de dez anos que medeia entre 1946 e 1955, compilámos informação noticiada n’”A Comarca de Arganil” sobre 62 incêndios que lavraram nos concelhos de Arganil, Góis e Pampilhosa da Serra. A imagem 1, apresenta um esboço cartográfico sobre os mesmos. O padrão de fogo é...

Apresentam-se os dados recolhidos para os incêndios noticiados no jornal regional “A Comarca de Arganil” entre 1936 e 1945. Neste período de dez anos, compilámos informação sobre 57 incêndios para os concelhos de Arganil, Góis e Pampilhosa da Serra. A imagem 1 apresenta um esboço cartográfico sobre os mesmos. Comparando com o período 1926 - 1935,...

1926-1935 “O incêndio na serra do Rabadão assumiu proporções assustadoras, tendo chegado a recear-se que atingisse a vila de Góis” lê-se na primeira página do nº 1480 de “A Comarca de Arganil” a 25 de Setembro de 1928. Efetivamente não faltam referências a “pavorosos incêndios” nos números da I série deste periódico regional. No período de dez anos...

O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar a flora e a vegetação dos afloramentos rochosos isolados e de baixa altitude (lajedos), na vegetação de Caatinga Arbustiva Aberta, que se encontram nos municípios de Sobral, Groaíras e Santa Quitéria, no estado do Ceará, Brasil e propor uma classificação fitossociológica para estas comunidades xerófi...

The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omi...

Due to their complex structure and traditional low-intensity management, Portuguese oak woodland rangelands known as montados are often considered high nature value (HNV) farming systems, and as such, they may be deemed eligible for subsidies and incentives by governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Too little is known about how the HNV concept...

The aspiration to establish an effective dialogue between science and society has inspired some ground breaking examples of transdisciplinarity (TD). The core idea of TD is that different academic disciplines work jointly with practitioners to solve common problems. The first step of TD implies a contextualization that requires holistic and systemi...

This paper analyses the concept of nature‐based solutions as instruments to turn anthromes more nature‐compatible, efficient, causing less degradation and developing new biodiversity hotspots. It is mainly focused in solutions using living organisms (in particular plants and microorganisms) to perform functions such as those of soil‐ and water‐bioe...

Assessments of society’s perceptions of rangeland systems offer insights into the motivations, cultural beliefs, and values that can support landscape conservation and the everyday decisions of landowners. Silvo-pastoral landscapes, the grazed oak woodlands known as montado in Portugal and dehesa in Spain, are the main rangelands of southwestern Ib...

The availability of accurate and updated spatial information of tree cover in semi-arid and arid silvopastoral systems (SPSs) is crucial to understand their spatial patterns and trends. Although remote-sensing techniques have been proved useful in estimating tree canopy cover in general, more research is required to investigate the capabilities of...

The turnarounds from decrease to expansion in forest areas that took place during the last century have been examined through the lens of forest transition theory (FTT). Among temperate and Mediterranean European countries that have seen an expansion of forest cover, Portugal stands out as the only case in which this trend has recently been reverte...

The present study deals with the development of systematic conservation planning as management instrument in small oceanic islands, ensuring open systems of governance, and able to integrate an informed and involved participation of the stakeholders. Marxan software was used to define management areas according a set of alternative land use scenari...

No final do século XIX Portugal inverteu o milenar processo de desarborização e iniciou uma rápida expansão da área florestal, um processo designado por " transição florestal ". No entanto, depois de 1970 o equivalente a metade da área do país foi percorrido pelo fogo e o inventário florestal nacional de 2010 reflete um decréscimo da superfície flo...

Portuguese forest landscapes are significantly affected by wildfire. We analysed national forest inventories and land use, area burned, and fire severity mapping data to assess how fires affect forest cover and density in Portugal. Fire incidence is highly variable among forest types. Deciduous oaks, maritime pine and eucalypt are the most affected...

Abstract: Madeira Island is a biodiversity hotspot due to its high number of endemic/native plant species. In this work we developed and assessed a methodological framework to produce a RapidEye-based vegetation map. Reasonable accuracies were achieved for a 26 categories classification scheme in two different seasons. We tested pixel and object ba...

Montado in Portugal and Dehesa in Spain are open woodlands covering about 6 million ha and comprising mainly cork (Quercus suber) and holm (Q. rotundifolia) oaks. Although Montados and Dehesas may differ, they both are exploited through multiple land use where the main income is extensive livestock production. For both systems, the main available f...

Modifications in vegetation cover can have an impact on the climate through changes in biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes. In this paper, the tree canopy cover percentage of a savannah-like ecosystem (montado/dehesa) was estimated at Landsat pixel level for 2011, and the role of different canopy cover percentages on land surface albedo (LS...

Background: High Nature Value Farmlands (HNVF) harbor species dependent upon habitats maintained by low-intensity farming. Among HNVF, the montado (dehesa in Spain) is a multifunctional system declining due to droughts, pathogens, and increasing grazing pressure. Specifically, grazing pressure leads to compact soils and hinders natural tree regener...

This paper tries to characterize the factors determining human relations with its environment and to identify the drives of those behavioral patterns and ‘‘praxis’’. One scrutinizes the physiological and psychological factors that influence those drives, and tries to determine ways of overriding instinctive drives in favor of rational, sustainable...