Conservation areas of Portugal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portugal's conservation areas are divided into five categories: One national park (Parque Nacional), 12 natural parks (Parque Natural), 9 natural reserves (Reserva Natural), 5 natural monuments (Monumento Natural), and 7 protected landscapes (Paisagem Protegida).

The action of man, the diversity of the climate, and the geographical diversity has shaped the Portuguese Flora. There are almost 2,800 autochthonous species. Due to economical reasons the pines tries (especially the Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea species), the chestnut tree (castanea sativa) and the eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) are very widespreed.

The national park, Peneda-Gerês National Park (mostly known has Gerês) is located in the extreme north of Portugal. The park has a wide variety of oaken and mixed forests, with rare habitats, groves, peat bogs, and diverse bushes. The Golden Eagle, the Eagle Owl, the Honey Buzzard, and the Whinchat are some of the 147 Portuguese birds that can be found in Gerês. Along with the Pine Marten, the Stoat, the Wolf, the adders (Vipera Latastei and Viepera seoanei) and a growing number of squirrels. The Natural parks of Serra da Estrela, with its extense valleys and turf soils and the Arrábida with is Mediterranean character and the sand varieties of its beaches unveil the ecological variety of Portugal.

The Tapada Nacional de Mafra is conspicuous, due to its rich flora and fauna. The Tapada was created in the reign of King John V for royal delight, in an area of 800 hectars with stags, boars, foxes, rapine birds and several other species. Today, the Tapada is classified as an area of national hunting (Zona de Caça Nacional).