The Montesinho/Nogueira Nature Conservation Area (ZEC) is located in the northeast of the Northern Region of Portugal, on the border with Spain. Its geographical position in the Montesinho Mountains, the altitude range reached, the geological and geomorphological diversity, and the human activity developed over the centuries have been and are key factors in the establishment of an extraordinary diversity of communities and species, among which the only population of Eryngium viviparum in the country stands out. Here, typical elements of the mountain ecosystems of the Pyrenees-Cantabrian axis, at the southern limit of its distribution, intersect with typically Mediterranean elements, at the northern limit, as well as typical elements of Atlantic and/or continental ecosystems. The landscape is characterized by a mosaic of habitats, also the result of mountain agriculture, based mainly on extensive sheep and cattle farming, which, in most cases, has contributed to the maintenance of existing natural values. The great geological variety of this area favors the establishment of a wide variety of habitats, among which those corresponding to the vegetation typical of basic substrates stand out.
ZEC Montesinho/Nogueira – PTCON0002
OVERVIEW
Area (ha): 108.029,13 ha
Natura 2000 Code: PTCON0002
The territorial scope of this SAC overlaps almost entirely with that of the Montesinho/Nogueira SPA (PTZPE0003). Furthermore, most of the SAC was declared a Natural Park in 1979 by Decree-Law 355/79 and subsequently reclassified in 1997 by Regulatory Decree 5-A/97. Since 2015, this Natural Park has been part of the core area of the Iberian Plateau Transboundary Biosphere Reserve.
CURRENT SITUATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS OF THE PROJECT
Most of the SAC is occupied by scrubland and scrubland (40%), although agricultural land (23%), deciduous and semi-evergreen holm oak forests (13%), and rocky outcrops and pioneer grasslands (11%) are also very important. The area is completed by black pine plantations (5%), evergreen sclerophyllous forests (3%), herbaceous and shrubby wetlands (3%), and artificial surfaces (2%).
Regarding ownership, the land is almost entirely private, primarily vacant land, owned by the community. In the case of LIFE GLOBAL’s actions in Portugal, these will be located in the Oleiros Vacant Land, part of the parish of Gondesende (Bragança). This vacant land is currently managed by the national agency responsible for biodiversity conservation, the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF), which provided support to LIFE GLOBAL. The project’s actions will strengthen the management objectives of this SAC, and therefore, the ICNF will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the environmental benefits generated by LIFE GLOBAL.
The Montesinho/Nogueira SPA is home to several highly vulnerable flora, such as Linaria coutinhoi, Festuca elegans, and Veronica micrantha. Among them, *Eryngium viviparum stands out. This species is a priority species (according to Directive 92/43/EEC) and in danger of extinction, classified as “critically endangered” in Portugal. The only known species in Portugal is this SPA. Due to the strategic role of this unique population, LIFE GLOBAL includes a series of specific measures to improve its conservation status, consisting of population reinforcement and the improvement and increase of the area of *Eryngium viviparum habitat.