cultivar_22_Final_EN

26 ANALYSIS AND PROSPECTIVE STUDIES CULTIVAR Issue 22 APRIL 2021 to support conservation policies and the manage- ment of HNV farmland. 3. High Nature Value farmland in Portugal Portugal is among those member states considered hotspots of HNVf, which relates to the way farmland has been managed over the centuries (Moreira et al . 2005; Oppermann et al . 2012). In fact, published data estimates that in 2009, 52.4% of UAA was occu- pied by HNV farming systems, which fell to 51.8% in 2011 (GPP, 2010). In general, four types of HNV farming systems have been described in mainland Portugal (Moreira et al . 2005; GPP 2010; Oppermann et al . 2012): extensive mountain pasture and com- plex polyculture systems in the north; and, pseu- do-steppe cereal and cork oak farming in the south. Like most HNVf, these areas are adapted to local environmental conditions – climatic, soil and topo- graphical – which are reflected both in terms of the farming systems themselves and the nature value associated with them. Extensive mountain pasture systems, seen in Portugal’s northern and central regions, are asso- ciated with natural grasslands such as the ones dominated by Festuca indigesta (habitat 6160) or Brachypodium phoenicoides with abundant orchid species (habitat 6210) and semi-natural grasslands dominated by Nardus (priority habitat 6230*). They are also related to the occurrence of Mediterranean reed-beds in non-halophytic wetlands (habitat 6420) and scrub, namely shrub thickets dominated by ericaceous plants and/or gorse (habitat 4030). The resources supported and promoted by these extensive pasture systems create conditions for various emblematic vertebrate species, namely vul- tures and wolfes (Moreira et al . 2005; Oppermmann et al . 2012). As the name itself indicates, complex polyculture systems reflect a high diversity of crops, namely pastures, annual and perennial crops, which occur in a tight mosaic in a landscape where linear ele- ments like fringe vegetation proliferate. Mostly seen in mountainous areas, these landscapes are charac- terised by low-altitude meadows (hay fields) (habi- tat 6510). In addition to these, among the habitats associated with these systems, of note are commu- nities dominated by megaphorbic vegetation (hab- itat 6430), Mediterranean reed-beds in non-halo- phytic wetlands (habitat 6420) and Molinia caerulea grasslands and non-nitrophilous reed-beds (habitat 6410). Of the species associated with these farming systems, daffodils ( Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. nobilis ), Iberian endemism associated with low-al- titude meadows, stand out. Animal species with conservation value associated with these systems include the red-backed shrike ( Lanius collurio ) and the hen harrier ( Circus cyaneus ). Cork oak forests are the dominant agrosilvopasto- ral systems in the south of Portugal. These multi- functional systems are characterised as pastures dominated by cork oaks ( Quercus suber ) and/or holm oaks ( Quercus ilex ) under whose cover dryland cereals farming and/or Mediterranean scrub prevail. Under certain farming practices, the undergrowth on cork forests can be relatively continuous as a result of high levels of plant diversity, of which a variety are of conservation interest (eg Linaria algarviana , Festuca duriotagana , Euphorbia transtagana ). Cork oak forests are a natural habitat of conservation interest – habitat 6310, evergreen cork oak ( Quercus spp .) forests associated with these farming systems. Temporary Mediterranean ponds, classified as the priority habitat 3170*, are also associated with these farming systems. It should also be noted that count- less vertebrate species of conservation interest are associated with these landscapes, such as the lynx, black vulture ( Aegypius monachus ) and the Spanish imperial eagle ( Aquila adalberti ). Cereal-steppe farming, or pseudo-steppe, character- ize landscapes where extensive dryland and cereal crops proliferate, normally under sheep grazing. They mostly occur in the Alentejo region and Castro Verde is one of the most important areas (Moreira et al . 2005). These High Nature Value farming sys- tems are the habitat for a series of bird species whose conservation status is currently recognised as “unfavourable”, thus contributing to their survival. Included among these species, for example, are the