Production of native and endemic plants
In order to ensure an adequate supply of native and endemic plant species for the restoration actions, it was necessary to increase the capacity of production in nurseries of endemic and native plant species. The Regional Directorate for Forestry Resources, an important partner in this project, already produced endemic and native tree species before the project started. Native and endemic species production has significantly increased since then.
However, the need for more species and, specifically, the need for herbaceous and shrubby species to ensure a higher percentage cover of the area, led the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds to build a new nursery. This nursery is mostly focused on the production of herbaceous and shrubby species and is also important for planting areas with native and endemic species for seed collection, to be used for hydro-seeding techniques. Presently, these nurseries have an annual production of around 40,000 plants and around 160 kg of seeds.
These nurseries are also used for environmental education activities and for the promotion of the use of native species in gardening by the general public.
Classifications
Category
Scale of implementation
Phase of solution
Enabling factors
- European Commission funding through LIFE Project;
- Knowledge sharing between entities.
Lessons learned
- Production of native plants was already in development in the Azores region, but the increase in production and the need of different species helped to improve the techniques used, as well as develop new techniques in order to improve the cost per plant.
- A good planning of all phases in plant production with a view to actual restoration needs can be of great use in terms of increasing efficiency and reducing both costs and loss of plants. It is very important to coordinate all phases of production, since each one can only take place at a certain time of the year and some species may take more than two years to be ready to put in the ground.
Part of the panorama 30x30 solutions solution
