Habitat restoration to promote wolf's natural prey in Portugal
Forest management works in the Protected Landscape of Corno do Bico, a Natura 2000 site located in Paredes de Coura (Northwest Portugal), started on November 2024, in order to restore a patch of oak forest using best practices such as horse traction, with the aim of recovering native forests to increase the populations of wolf's natural prey, such as roe deer, thus reducing the risk of wolf attacks on livestock.
This action for ecological restoration aims to improve native forest habitats, such as oak woodlands and riparian forests (i.e., along watercourses), through the eradication of exotic vegetation and highly flammable shrublands, using innovative and more environmentally sustainable practices, such as horse traction, which allows a better protection of the soil and regeneration of native vegetation, compared to the use of heavy machinery.
The intervention site with about 20ha will be managed during the next years, where in a first phase, a dense patch of Cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens), an exotic coniferous tree with low ecological value and high risk of fire, was cut by Forest Brigades, and tree trunks were removed by a team of 3 man-horse pairs, duly trained to perform this type of sustainable forestry activity.
As next steps, it is intended to develop other interventions for ecological restoration on this site, such as eradicating other exotic coniferous trees (e.g. Chamaecyparis sp) and promoting natural regeneration and plantation of native trees and shrubs, including the reintroduction of locally extinct tree species, such as Yew (Taxus baccata). This initiative will ensure an improvement in the conservation status of native forests listed in Annex I of Habitats Directive, allowing to increase refuge and food conditions for wild ungulates, the natural prey for wolves, and demonstrating good practices in forest management that could be replicated in other areas.
This initiative carried out within the scope of the LIFE WILD WOLF project, of which BIOPOLIS/CIBIO, the Municipality of Paredes de Coura and GNR are Portuguese partners, had the collaboration of ICNF (Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests), the Common Lands of Bico, represented by the parishes of Bico and Cristelo, and several partners of the Rural Laboratory in Paredes de Coura, namely APTRAN (Portuguese Association of Animal Traction) and the University of Vigo (Spain).
For more information: lifewildwolfportugal@gmail.com
