Barroso Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral System - Potential GIAHS/FAO site - March/2018 I. SUMMARY INFORMATION Name/Title of the Agricultural Heritage System: Barroso Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral System Barroso main activity and source of agricultural income is livestock farming (cattle, goats and sheep). Livestock production is carried out in extensive systems of rough and semi-free grazing (cattle). This type of grazing uses both permanent pastures (lameiros) and poor pastures (shrubs), which cover very significant extensions of the Barroso territory. These pastures may also be found under tree cover (oak or pine forests). In addition to permanent pastures, the region has a number of agricultural productions, where annual and forage crops prevail (rye, potatoes, etc.), providing a very important part of human food and animal feed (namely rye, potatoes, gourds, turnips and cabbages). In arable land, an annual crop rotation system is used, including a fallow period during which the land is used for livestock grazing. Forest areas not only allow direct animal grazing, but are also a source of plant material (by brush-cutting) to be used as animal bedding and later, after decaying in stalls (already in the form of manure), to be applied to arable land in order to fertilise agricultural crops. These forests are also a source of fuel (firewood) still widely used for home heating by the local population. The persistence of community-based systems for practicing agro-sylvo-pastoral activities should also be noted in a significant area of the Barroso territory. This interconnection of agriculture, forestry and livestock pastoral production in a harmonious overall complementary system justifies the designation Barroso Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral System Requesting Agency/Organization: Development Association of the Alto Tâmega Region (ADRAT) Responsible Ministry (for the Government): Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development 1 Location of the Site: *please annex land use maps and geographical coordinates of the site The Barroso region is located in Northern Portugal (Fig. 1), bounded to the east by the River Tâmega, to the west by the mountainous regions of the Upper Minho, to the south by Terras de Basto, and to the north by Galicia (Spain). In administrative terms, it covers 2 municipalities: Boticas and Montalegre. It is divided into the Upper Barroso, covering a large part of the municipality of Montalegre, where the Gerês, Larouco and Barroso mountains are located, and the Lower Barroso, covering the municipality of Boticas and part of the municipality of Montalegre, marked by the Tâmega, Terva, Beça and Covas river valleys (Chaves, s/d). Key Land use and occupation in Barroso Agricultural land Agroforestry áreas Semi-natural áreas Water bodies Forest Artificialised land Source: COS2007 Figure 1 – Geographic environment of the Barroso region and main land uses and cover. The Land Use and Cover Charter for 2007 (COS2007) shows that the Barroso region is mainly covered by forest and semi-natural areas (scrubland, natural grassland, and open areas or areas with sparse vegetation) representing about 30% and 48% of the region, respectively (Fig. 1). The agroforestry areas (mostly a mosaic of annual crops with trees) and the farming areas (particularly for annual crops) account for 18% of the territory. The remaining area is taken up by artificialised spaces and bodies of water. With regard to municipalities, the semi-natural areas are more represented in Montalegre, taking up 53% of the municipality’s total area, followed by forests which take up 23% of the territory. In the Municipality of Boticas, almost half of its area (46%) is taken up by woodland, followed by semi-natural areas, which account for about 33% of the total area. Coordinates: 41.715848; -7.826219 Accessibility of the Site to Capital City or Major Cities: Access to Barroso can be done from the major cities of Northern Portugal by Motorways A41 (from Sá Carneiro Airport in Oporto), A3 - A7 and A24 connecting to Chaves. From Chaves, one can opt for the main National Road EN103, which connects and crosses both the Boticas and the Montalegre municipalities. Also from Chaves, one can follow the Municipal Roads (EM507 and EM508) connecting Chaves to Montalegre. Any of these routes takes about 02:00h, for an approximate distance of 190km. Another option from Sá Carneiro Airport (A41) is to follow the A41-A3 to the city of Braga and from there go towards Chaves by the National Road EN103. The route to Montalegre is about 150 km, covered in about 02:15h. 2 From Spain, access is via A52 and A75 Motorways, next following the A24 to Chaves and then the EM507 to Montalegre. There is also another option: from Xinzo de Límia (province of Ourense, Galicia) choosing the direction of Portugal (Montalegre) by roads OU-504 and OU-1109 until the border with Portugal in the Montalegre municipality. Legend: Barroso area proposed for GIAHS site Area of Coverage: 1.127,40 km2 Agro-Ecological Zones1 (for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries): From a biogeographic perspective, the largest share of the territory of Barroso is part of the Eurosiberian Region, Cantabian-Atlantic Province. Based on the transition of the Geres Sierran- Queixa Sierran Subsector to a Sector proposed by Rivas-Martinez et al. (2002), it can be observed that most of the territory falls within the Geres Sierran-Queixa Sierran Sector and a number of areas in the southern half of the region are included in the Galician-Portuguese Sector (Miniese Subsector). Only a small part in the eastern area of Barroso is biogeographically integrated in the Mediterranean Region, in the Orensanian-Sanabrese Sector (Maragatan-Sanabrese Subsetor) (Costa et al. 1998, Honrado 2003, ICNB 2008) (Fig. 2). 1 The agro-ecological zones are defined by FAO as homogenous and contiguous areas with similar soil, land and climate characteristics. 3 Figure 2 – Biogeographic environment of the Barroso according to Costa et al. (1998), Honrado (2003) and ICNB (2008). The Barroso territory is mainly a plateau, with a harsh, severe climate: very wide variations in temperature and variable rainfall according to altitude (from valleys below 400m to high mountains above 1,500m of altitude). Snow is frequent, lasting for several days, especially when followed by frosty days. The poor, thin soils have restricted farming development, and the extensive grazing land (making use of broad areas of brushwood) is more important than agriculture. The dominant cereal is rye, usually grown in two-yearly crop rotation, alternating with fallowing and potato. Closer to water courses, there is a focus on permanent grazing (marshes), which are essential for cattle and sheep farming. The Barroso forests take up about one third of the region, and are mainly represented by stands of natural woodland of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), which occur either on their own or associated with other species. These are spaces with high ecological, economic and cultural value because they provide a large number of valuable ecosystem services which are important at regional, national and international level. These forests play a key role in soil formation and conservation, the regulation of the nutrient cycle and the water cycle, the production of various goods and services (e.g. firewood, timber and wild mushrooms), the creation of aesthetic and landscape value (mostly associated with forest and agrosystem mosaics) and the preservation of biodiversity. Topographic Features: The Barroso region is a land of plateaux and mountains, whose overall appearance is that of a dense mass of highlands, consisting of an agglomeration of mountains separated by wide depressions and plateaux and crossed by many permanent water courses, albeit small. Worthy of note are the Gerês (at 1,546m), the Larouco (at 1,525m) and the Barroso (at 1,279m) mountains. The most important valleys are those of the Tâmega, Cávado, Beça, Terva and Rabagão rivers. On the steepest slopes, land for farming, especially grazing, is established on small terraces supported by granite walls. Climate Type: Temperate climate, dominated by the Plateau Cold Land type, but also with Mountain, High Mountain and Transition Cold Land types. Approximate Population (Beneficiary): Resident population (2013): 15,589 inhabitants Ethnicity/Indigenous population: Not applicable. Main Source of Livelihoods: Agriculture, livestock breeding and processing of foodstuffs, forestry and grazing and tourist activities. 4 Executive Summary: Barroso is a natural landscape composition of Northern Portugal, integrating part of the Peneda Gerês National Park, where the existing agrarian system is strongly influenced by the soil and climate conditions, with a predominance of smallholdings and cattle, sheep and goat pastoral farming in the region’s agricultural economy, as well as pig farming, which contributes significantly to household economies and plays an important social role. This is a system which has remained, virtually to the present day, a rural subsistence economy, typical of mountainous regions, with poor utilisation of inputs, very few surpluses and where the level of consumption of the population is relatively low compared to other regions in the country. Farms are usually small on average and agro-climatic conditions have fostered collective farming habits whereby everyone benefits from the community effort, and relationships between residents are based on mutual help and solidarity. Isolation and the difficulties faced by large agricultural production have promoted archaic lifestyles, based on a strong sense of the collective in each village, where self-sufficiency and solidarity between residents are very specific cultural features. Forest areas are dominated by Quercus pyrenaica oak woods and Pinus pinaster pine woods, and also thickets of various species. In lower areas there are Quercus robur oak woods and in the highest mountains (> 800m) there are also Pinus nigra and Pinus sylvestris pine woods, the latter more adapted to the more frequent adverse wind and snow conditions. Along the water courses, there are riparian woods of alder (Alnus glutinosa), ash (Fraxinus angustifolia), birch (Betula celtiberica) and willow (Salix atrocinera). Crops are mostly rainfed, the most important being rye and potato which are cultivated in rotation with set-aside. Closer to villages and their houses, a belt of irrigated crops is kept (mainly for family vegetable gardens), followed by permanent pastures for the production of hay and cattle grazing. Further removed from populations, are rainfed cereal fields and scrub wasteland (usually common land) where various types of animals (cows, sheep and goats) graze. The geographic location, the orography, the soils, the climate and Man have led to the development of important plant and animal communities, including endangered species/populations, according to the IUCN system. These are humanised landscapes with a strong cultural identity of their human communities which have been built on a close, intelligent relationship with the natural environment: the system of exploiting resources is sustainable, resulting in high levels of biodiversity and environmental quality (ICNB, 2008). It is no wonder, therefore, that parts of this territory are covered by Portugal’s only national park, Peneda Gerês National Park (PNPG), the Gerês-Xurês Crossborder Biosphere Reserve, and the Natura 2000 Network, SPZ Gerês mountain (PTZPE0002) and the Peneda-Gerês site (PTCON0001). Both for the extent of the cover of these species and for their quality, they attest to the huge importance of the region both nationally and internationally as regards the conservation of nature and biodiversity. From a cultural perspective, the people of Barroso have developed and maintained forms of social organisation, practices and rituals which make them stand out from most populations in the country in terms of habits, language, and values, as a result of both the conditions and geographic isolation, and the limited natural resources which have led them to develop exploitation and usage methods consistent with their sustainability. One of their differentiating features is the still strong prevalence of a local food system, based on local produce and dishes, made from locally produced smoked meats, bread, potato, cabbage and pulses. The role played by the different types of landscape, mountains, plateaux and valleys, and the historic role of farming in forming the landscape, have led to the emergence of villages with a local identity which are a driving force behind local subjectivities. 5 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE SYSTEM 1. Significance of the Proposed GIAHS Site Explain the global importance of the Proposed GIAHS Site. Given that this is a composite criterion, the overall value of the agricultural2 system, as a heritage of humankind, should be described including historical background and contemporary relevance 3 of the site. Summarize the features and characteristics of the system in terms of their agricultural and other cultural heritage values, their relevance to global concerns addressing sustainable development, biocultural diversity4, including agro-biodiversity and ecosystems management. Explain the totality of the functionalities, goods and services provided by the system. The characteristics of the site should reflect the complex relationships and linkages between the system’s elements as an integrative holistic system. Starting with the Global Significance of Agro-Silvo Pastoral System in Barroso one can say that there are five key aspects contributing for its global importance: 1. Extensive agriculture developed in harmony with the environment Surrounded by the regions where modern European agriculture are employed, this area has been conserving for many years a pattern of land occupation of extensive animal grazing supported by crop production, maintaining significant and relatively intact environmental areas in the area. This is evidenced by the fact that this area is covered by Portugal’s most important national park, Peneda Gerês National Park (PNPG), the Gerês Xurês Crossborder Biosphere Reserve, although agricultural activity, mainly cattle rearing are widely conducted in this whole proposed area. This is the landscape formed with a strong cultural identity of Barroso communities and built on a close, intelligent, relationship with the natural environment and the sustainable resource uses. 2. Remarkable agroecological interactions among grazing, crop production, forestry The system has rich traditional knowledge that mainly rely on agroecological functions connecting livestock to crops production and forest taking advantage of the ecosystem services as follows: i) the whole system connects livestock to crop production and forest with transfer of manure as fertilizer and soil quality enricher; ii) Crop production and forest provide grazing pastures and food for animals; iii) The agricultural system consists in rotating a cereal with other crops and livestock pasture; 2 The term “agriculture” and its derivatives include fisheries, marine products, forestry and primary forestry products (From Paragraph 1, Article I of the FAO Constitution). 3 The systems’/sites’ contemporary relevance is established by its present and future capacity to provide food and livelihood security, to contribute to human well-being and quality of life, and to generate other local, national and global economic and environmental goods and services to its community and wider society. This relates to the relevance of an agricultural system/site to global or national policy and sustainable development challenges, most prominently achieving food security, human well-being and environmental goals, such as climate adaptation, carbon sequestration, water, land and biodiversity conservation. It should highlight particular lessons learnt or principles that can be derived from the system/site, which might be applied elsewhere. 4 Biocultural diversity results from the combination of historical and on-going environmental and land use processes and cultural heritage. The GIAHS sites are multifunctional landscapes and/or seascapes providing a crucial and effective space for integration of biological and cultural diversity for human wellbeing. 6 3. Family farmers’ knowledge to operate the production Farmers’ knowledge is skillful to maintain the appropriate balance among rearing animals (animal grazing methods), crop production (soil management) and use of forestry and shrubs. For example, richest soils around the villages are dedicated to vegetables production then, agroforestry areas including mosaic of marshes, riparian forest, woodland border and rain-fed cereal fields come. Finally, semi-natural areas and some forest, functioning as poor pastures, where the rough grazing of the various types of cattle in the region takes place. 4. Unique social systems Due to greater isolation for many years, the communities in this area have organized themselves so as to manage their problems and resources independently, promoting community management methods, even though private ownership and rights never ceased to exist. That is why the social organizations and mutual support are one of the main characteristic of the system despite the challenges brough with agriculture modernization. Sowing, treatment and harvesting operations are usually carried out jointly by the entire household and neighbours. In addition, common lands are shared lands for livestock grazing. It plays an important role in the region's land structure since it accounts for 64% of the region’s total UAA. 5. Valuable endemic animal genetic resources Barroso’s agrobiodiversity is also of global importance since this system is at the origin of the domestication and the selection of endemic and local breeds and varieties among which: the native breed Barrosã and Maronesa regarding cattle, the Cabrito do Barroso and Cordeiro do Barroso for goats. These entire traditional products are recognized for their organoleptic qualities and got the certification of Protected Geographical Indication. Barroso food products are famous for the smoked meat produced: meat quality and traditional/agro-ecologic smoking process are of high cultural value for Barroso but also for Portuguese heritage and national identity. Generaly speaking one can argue that Barroso is a complex and singular eco-system were livestock production, forestry and traditional mountainous crops have been developed. With human occupation for thousands of years, this area of Northern Portugal is clearly marked by the historical influence of diferent people, namely, Celtics and Romans. The use of sustianble agriculture agriculture (and processing) technologies is linked in to a certaing extend with that occupation. Barroso presents today a pattern of land occupation marked by human activity for agriculture, forestry and grazing, while an expressive and relatively intact environmental areas are still found (mainly associated with oak woods, riparian corridors and the higher rocky regions), amongst which the Peneda-Gerês National Park stands out, also making a relevant contribution to other activities undertaken in the territory (beekeeping, mycology, nature tourism). It should be noted that about 20% of the area of the National Park is located in the municipality of Montalegre. In this region there are numerous plant and animal species which are extremely important for nature conservation, particularly those considered Priority Species under the European Commission’s Birds and Habitats Directives. The primary sector continues to be the basis of the Barroso economy and society, with about 20% of the active population engaged in it (Census 2011): 18% in the municipality of Boticas 7 and 22% in the municipality of Montalegre. If we add some of the characteristics of the agricultural holdings (size and number of plots) to this data, it is easy to understand that the economic structure is essentially composed of family-run microbusinesses. Pursuant to the 2009 General Agricultural Census, the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA), in the municipalities of Boticas and Montalegre together, was 68,913 hectares (689.13km2), which corresponded to 61% of the whole area. The average value of the UAA/holding was 11.7ha in Boticas and 22.8ha in Montalegre. Young farmers account for 8.2% of individual farmers and 4.7% of the UAA. Inversely, however, they account for 14% of the Standard Output and 20% of Livestock Units. It should also be noted that Young Farmers almost double labour productivity when compared to all other farmers. Common land plays an important role in the region's land structure since, while only representing 2.3% of holdings, it accounts for 64% of the region’s total UAA. These communities, which for centuries have lived in greater isolation and been further removed from the country's main urban and decision-making centres, have organised themselves so as to manage their problems and resources independently, promoting community management methods, even though private ownership and rights never ceased to exist. The village has always been an indissoluble unit with a heightened sense of unity and mutual help. These factors have strengthened social and cultural aspects of great resilience, and the populations, despite the social and economic changes Portugal and the world have undergone, have managed to preserve their identity, culture and traditional knowledge throughout the centuries. The traditional agricultural system consists in rotating a cereal with set-aside, which is then used by the village animals. Potato was introduced into this rotation, which contributed to enriching local gastronomy and diversifying the economy and self-sufficiency of the families, and has become a social and economic focus of the region’s agrarian system. Common land is also part of this production model, with broad areas that allow for extensive grazing and a larger number of animals, notably cattle and goats. In addition to directly providing pasture, the common land provides firewood (the main source of household fuel in the region’s villages to this day), timber, mushrooms, water and even a few arable areas for annual crops. For long periods in its history, this has been a cattle farming region, whose key strength lay in driving agricultural work, mostly for coastal regions in the country, where corn was the dominant crop and where the orographic and cultural demands require huge physical and mechanical effort. In other words, the selection of cattle originally met the need for traction, which lessened radically with agricultural mechanisation, particularly from the second half of the 20th century. This mechanisation contributed to improving the quality of life on the farms, and the increase in beef consumption led to the selection and rearing of cattle that were more suitable for producing meat. The landscape, its sub-units, the land structure and the land use have remained stable over the last few years. As an example, 3 Barroso localities (on an approximately north-central-south axis) were selected, the aerial photographs of which show that the Barroso landscapes maintain a clear differentiation in the use of agrarian spaces, which develop in a kind of spiral from the residential centre (the village), and with reasonable consistency between the two moments recorded (2010 and 2015). 8 Figures 3 & 4 – Aerial photographs of the area around Padornelos (2010-2015). Source: DRAPN. The first type of soil occupation is dominated by annual agricultural crops (more intensive vegetable gardens) and agroforestry areas (mosaic of marshes, riparian forest and woodland border and rain-fed cereal fields), occupying valleys and half-slope colluvium land, as well as some plateau depressions, where the accumulation of sediments and water is more favourable. Figures 5 & 6 – Aerial photographs of the area around Aldeia Nova (2010-2015). Source: DRAPN. Further away from the villages, as if framing the agricultural spaces, there are common land hills, with a more irregular terrain, thinner and eroded soils, with semi-natural areas and some forest, functioning as poor pastures, where the rough grazing of the various types of cattle in the region takes place. Figures 7 & 8 - Aerial photographs of the area around Covas de Barroso (2010-2015). Source: DRAPN. The maintenance of this landscape has been ensured mainly by the extensive grazing (to which practices such as the cutting of weeds for animal beds, fires for the renovation of the shrub pastures and the cutting of firewood for heating the dwellings are associated), and by the maintenance of the marshes, given their importance in the livestock economy. The agricultural occupation by smallholdings is also characterised by the division of plots by traditional dry stone walls, giving a unique character to the territory (see also photo 60). This diversity of landscape elements reflects the indispensable multifunctionality of the agrarian systems of regions that have traditionally been deeply isolated. With restricted accessibility and considerable distance between villages, the agricultural system was structured from a perspective of self-supply of the populations. The mountain landscape is historically related to traditional farming systems, largely based on rearing livestock and the production of cereals. This gave rise to a landscape mosaic in which ancient pastures (marshes and common land), farming areas (rye and potato fields and vegetable gardens), thickets and forests are interwoven, and where the animals (mainly cattle) are a key element in the flow of materials between the system's components. Currently, all this represents a fundamental asset, also in terms of the ability to promote tourism, especially 9