Antarr
The Antarr case study is managed by the Sustainable Productive Forests company Antarr and encompasses three sites located in the mountainous landscapes of central Portugal, namely in the municipalities of Seia, São Pedro do Sul and Góis.
This mountainous landscape is characterised by rocky outcrops and high-altitude plateaus cut across by rivers and streams. This area includes important populations of endangered species and priority habitats listed in the annexes of the Habitats and Birds Directives, although little now remains of the archetypal mountain vegetation.
Antarr aims to increase the tree species diversity by planting fire-resistant trees and reducing shrub encroachment.
Challenges
Little remains of the archetypal mountain vegetation (including conservation priority habitats) due to historical conversion of many natural areas into agricultural fields.
Where historical land use change has not resulted in agriculture, intensive grazing and wildfires have instead progressively devastated this mountain vegetation. Major restoration within the study sites has involved forestry as a strategy to restore degraded lands.
Research
Research will be conducted by BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, the Portuguese Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, with the aim of characterising restoration management options for mountainous landscapes of central Portugal, and exploring the trade-offs between land-use change scenarios that prioritise biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, wildfire risk mitigation, or production. Multi-purpose solutions will be designed through the inclusion of stakeholder preferences and their feasibility and cost-benefits will be evaluated.
Meet the Team
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Francisco Moreira
Senior researcher at the Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (BIOPOLIS-CIBIO). He is the coordinator of the Antarr Case study. He works on various aspects related to the conservation of biodiversity in forest and agricultural ecosystems.
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Ricardo Ceia
Junior researcher at the Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (BIOPOLIS-CIBIO). He is co-responsible for the development of the two Portuguese rewilding case studies and will also be engaged in designing operational guidelines for landscape rewilding in Europe (WP4).
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Pedro Lencart
Managing director of Antarr
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Tiago Mucha
Business development at Antarr
Case studies
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Coillte
Managed by Coillte, an Irish state-owned commercial forestry business.
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Gelderse Poort
Managed by Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch government organization in charge of management and conservation of forests.
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Ruhrgebiet
Managed by German government institutions and organisations Rheinelbe, Zeche Zollverein, Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Naturerfahrungsraum Peisberg and Gleispark Frintrop.
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Sabor
Managed by CIBIO, the Portuguese Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources.
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Sveaskog
Managed by Sveaskog, a Swedish, state-owned forest owner.
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Tatras
Managed by the Slovakian National Park of High Tatras (TANAP).
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Barcelona Metropolitan Region
Managed by CREAF Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre.