International Biodiversity Day in Montis

MONTIS - Associação de Conservação da Natureza is a NGO based in Vouzela, Portugal. The organisation was created in March 2014 with the central objective to manage marginal and abandoned territories, focusing on the conservation of natural values.
This is how we spent the Biodiversity day: “Our solutions are in Nature”.

Today, in International Biodiversity Day, we were in Costa Bacelo, a property that MONTIS manages, to conclude the last plantations of the season 2019/2020. We also wanted to do an update on the evolution of the river Vouga’s riparian gallery that bounds the property, in special considering the effects of the storm Elsa that hit Portugal in last December. And we found something that never stops surprising us:

Riparian gallery (2^nd February 2020)

Riparian gallery (22nd May 2020)

The first image shows the impact of the storm “Elsa”. Due to the strength of the river flow, most of the undergrowth and shrub vegetation was swept away. However, in the second image we can observe the regeneration strength and resilience of a riparian gallery that was reasonably well maintained with a little help from our team and volunteers. In between a diversity of ferns (Polypodiopsida), common oaks (Quercus robur), black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and ash trees (Fraxinus sp.), we could confirm the area recovery.

Enthusiastic with the findings we looked for more surprises, showing the increase in biodiversity regarding the wildlife in the property: