Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina
The Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (German Nature Park Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina ) is a nature park in southwest Portugal . It extends along the Atlantic coast , the Costa Vicentina , over a length of 80 km and an area of 75,000 ha between São Torpes in the Alentejo Litoral and Burgau , west of Lagos in the Algarve .
Established in 1988, the park includes various unique biotopes and is visited by zoologists and botanists from many parts of the world. Birds like osprey and white stork build their nests in the rocks of the coast. The otter has one of its last natural marine habitats in Europe here. The flora includes a large number of endemic species , including the Biscutella vicentina or the rare plantain, Plantago almogravensis .
area
The Natural Park of Sudoeste Alentejo e Costa Vicentina comprises the southwestern coastline of Portugal, in the south of the Alentejo coast and the western Algarve around the Cabo de São Vicente . It covers areas of the following association communities:
In addition to the coast and the underwater zone up to two kilometers from the coast, the park encompasses the valley of the Mira river from its mouth to the town of Odemira.
In the park there are several types of landscapes with natural and semi-natural habitats such as rocks with steep and rugged incisions, beaches, numerous small islands and reefs (including the island of Pessegueiro and an unusual coral reef at Carrapateira ), the Mira estuary, Cape Sardão, the promontory of Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente , dunes, moors, swamps, salt marshes, at times lagoons, gorges (valleys with dense vegetation). The highest peaks are 324 m in the interior, more precisely in São Domingos ( Odemira ), and with 156 m on the coast in Torre de Aspa, Vila do Bispo . The deepest point is 32 m and is 2 km before Carrapateira ( Aljezur ).
climate
The climate is Mediterranean, with a strong Atlantic influence. The winters are moderate and the summers pleasantly cool.
The wind is an important factor in the region's climate. The prevailing winds come from the north and northwest. Winds from the southwest are decisive for Sagres and Vila do Bispo in January and February . In summer the winds often bring high humidity.
Temperatures rise from north to south; the annual averages are 15 ° C in Monte Velho and Sines and 16 ° C in Vila do Bispo and Sagres. The Sagres promontory has the lowest temperature fluctuation in mainland Portugal.
The greatest rainfall occurs in December, with an annual average between 400 mm in the Sagres region and 700 mm in the area north of Odeceixe . Usually it rains more in the north and inland.
flora
The flora of the Natural Park is divided into three types of geomorphological environments: in the western zone between coast and mountains, on the plateau of the southern Vicentino with typical limestone vegetation, a dry and hot area; the coastal plateau, with diverse vegetation, dunes, heather and wetlands; it is a fresh and humid area; Coastal mountains and gorges, with thick trees and bushes, typical of wet river areas.
There is a mixture of Mediterranean, North Atlantic and preferably African vegetation throughout the park. There are about 750 species, of which more than 100 are endemic, rarely or even only locally; There are 12 of them nowhere else in the world. The park has endangered species in Portugal and several species that are protected in Europe.
Among the endemic species, for example, include plants such Brillenschötchen ( Biscutella Vicentina ), Blue Star ( Scilla Vicentina ), knapweed ( Centaurea vicentina ), double seeds ( Diplotaxis vicentina ), bluebells ( Hyacinthoides vicentina ), rock rose ( Cistus palhinhae ), plantain ( Plantago Almogravensis ) . Other species are considered rare, such as the myrica ( Myrica faya ), rowanberry ( Sorbus domestica ) or limeweed . However, agricultural activity has already caused the extinction of plants such as carnations ( Armeria arcuata ).
The tree species in the park are divided into natural and planted stands. Among the former are oaks such as Quercus suber and Quercus faginea , which are mainly found in the ravines. The strawberry tree ( Arbutus unedo L. ) is also characteristic of this area.
Pines ( Pinus pinaster ) and eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus globulus ) are mainly planted for economic reasons .
fauna
60% of all reptile and 65% of all amphibian species in Portugal are represented in the area of the park. Over 200 species of birds are known in the park, including ospreys and white storks . It is the only place in the world where storks nest in the cliffs by the sea.
The otter has one of its last natural marine habitats in Europe here.
tourism
In order to promote sustainable tourism, the Rota Vicentina, a 450 km long network of hiking trails with daily sections between 15 and 25 km and eight circular paths that can be walked on half a day , was created in the nature park . In February 2016, the route was awarded the Europe-wide quality label Leading Quality Trails - Best of Europe by the European Hiking Association .
The two main hiking trails of the Rota Vicentina are:
- the fishing path ( Trilho dos Pescadores ), 4 stages, a total of 75 km, plus five additional circular routes with a total length of 45 km
- the Caminho Histórico , 12 stages, a total of 230 km
Conflicts
Agriculture, which is becoming more industrialized and increasingly producing fodder and maize in particular, is often in conflict with landscape protection, if only because its need for artificial irrigation is very high. At the beginning of the 1990s, conflicts arose over foreign agricultural investments, which were suspected of being corrupt. At the same time, local smallholders and fishermen protested against a restrictive licensing practice imposed on them by the nature park. In 2003 a study came to the conclusion that all those questioned recognized the importance of agriculture in the region, but also that of biodiversity. However, 78% of those questioned were apparently only partially aware of the biodiversity. 61% were in favor of environmentally friendly agriculture, while 22% were in favor of forms of agriculture based on industrial ideas. All those questioned supported the integration of conservation and production efforts and supported the participation of all residents living in and around the park.
In recent years, wind turbines have been installed in the south, which has met with resistance from many residents of the Algarve. A project at Tavira was abandoned in early 2010.
literature
- Frederico Cardigos: A apanhado percebe no Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina. In: Ders .: Gestão de recursos marinhos. Principia 2006, ISBN 972-8818-60-2 , pp. 217-293.
- Werner Krauss : Hang the Greens! Environmental conflicts, sustainable development and ecological discourse. An ethnological case study (Portugal). Berlin, Reimer Verlag 2006, ISBN 3-496-02724-X .
- PAID Nunes: Measuring the Economic Profits from Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina of Commercial Tourism Development. Results from a Contingent Valuation Survey. In: Portuguese Economics Journal. 1 (2002), pp. 71-87.
- JE Mateus, P. Queiroz: Aspectos do desenvolvimento, da história e da evolução da vegetação do Litoral Norte Alentejano durante o Holocénico. In: I Encontro de Arqueologia da Costa Sudoeste. Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia do Distrito de Setúbal e Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, Setúbal 1997, pp. 49-68.
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Eva Missler: Algarve. DuMont Reiseverlag, 2001, p. 21.
- ↑ Pedro Rui Beja: Temporal and spatial patterns of rest-site use by four female otters Lutra lutra along the south-west coast of Portugal. In: Journal of Zoology (2009) 741-753.
- ↑ Kerry Scott Walter, Harriet J. Gillett: 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Species Survival Commission 1998, p. 451.
- ^ Eva Missler: Algarve. DuMont Reiseverlag, 2001, p. 21f.
- ↑ Werner Krauß : We are not the Indians of Europe: Field research, regional identity and ecological discourse using the example of a landscape protection area in southwest Portugal. In: Waltraud Kokot, Dorle Dracklé (Ed.): Ethnology of Europe. Borders, conflicts, identities. Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1996, pp. 95-108.
- ^ Maria Inès Trigo: Participatory Approaches to the Integration of Conflicting Land Uses within Protected Landscapes: A Case Study in the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, Portugal. Dissertation. University of Wales, Aberystwyth 2003.
- ↑ Residents versus wind power. ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Algarve News. May 1, 2010.
Coordinates: 37 ° 27 ′ N , 8 ° 46 ′ W