| The southern Iberian Peninsula is dominated by a savannah-like ecosystem, the montado, which is a typically Mediterranean cultural adaptation to generally poor productive areas. Montados are exploited for three main uses: forestry, agriculture, and extensive grazing, in proportions that vary according to local conditions (more or less productive land) and historical circumstances. Because these ecosystems occur over a large geographic area (they occupy some 6 million ha), biodiversity would be expected to vary among montados. However, differences in management practices may also influence species distribution. In this paper, we investigate differences in plant and bird species diversity among 60 montados distributed all across southern Portugal. The... |
