But a cork harvest isn't typical of forestry, because the tree itself isn't cut down. In fact, there is no harm to the tree thanks to the cork oak's unique ability to regenerate outer bark the layer we know as cork and the mastery of the farmers. Every summer from May to August, teams of agriculturalists called extractors — skilled workers with years of experience and a generational connection to the forest — set out with their simple tool, a locally-made, frighteningly sharp ax.
The extractor makes a horizontal slice and several vertical slices in an instinctive way. A precise depth is required to pull the bark safely from the cambium, a membrane of cells just under the bark.
As the cuts are made, the cork is drawn away in great sheet planks, revealing the stunning red tree underneath. The planks are taken out of the forest by truck, by hand, or even by mule if necessary, on their way to the cork processing facility.
The montados play a very valuable role environmentally, ecologically and economically. They uphold rich biodiversity and a regular source of income and development opportunities in disadvantaged areas. The montados capabilities to store carbon, retain water and preserve the soil are ecological invaluable assets. These characteristics turn the montados into one of the best Mediterranean examples for balancing between conservation and development for people and nature 's benefit.
Global warming is commonly associated with the human act of releasing excessive amounts of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, to the atmosphere. This warming is affecting the ecosystems in a very dangerous way and, continuing like this, some of them will eventually extinguish. With its ability to store carbon, the cork oak tree plays a very important role in reducing the greenhouse gases.
Per year, each hectare of montado is able to retain around 6 tonnes of CO2 Result of a recent study by the School of Agronomy in Lisbon. Ctcor Technological Centre for Cork states that one single cork stopper is able to retain approximately the double of its own weight CO2, about 8g, whilst a vehicle releases g of CO2 per kilometer.
In many cases, especially in the climatic regions of the Mediterranean, the fertility if the soil depends on the organic matter, that results from the organic waste's decomposition dry grass, leaves, branches, for example.
The soil that is richer in organic matter is characterized for having better water storage, infiltration, aeration, nutrient retention and root growth capacities. In the montados' case the renewal of leaves happens annually. The plant and animal debris' decomposition brings back up the nutrients that, in part, were caught by the roots in deeper soils.
This process, which allows to herbaceous vegetation to thrive, is called translocation and is characterized by the transference of nutrients from the lower levels to the upper soil. The thin roots, that have a short lifespan and proliferate close to the soil surface, are the main contributor of organic matter in the soil. Also, the evergreen treetop of the cork oak protects the soil against wind erosion and, by intercepting more than one quarter of the total precipitation, decreases the amount of water run-off, thus preventing soil erosion.
The Quercus Suber L also has a high water retention capacity due to its porosity and organic content. The microclimate created by the treetops is less extreme in winter and summer, allowing a longer growing season for the herbaceous vegetation.
By reducing the wind speed they also help protecting the crops. Even in the middle of winter, the cork oak treetop is green and full. Cork is socially and economically very important for the countries of the Western Mediterranean. Due to the high market value of cork, the montados are economically sustainable as well as one of the few examples of fully sustainable forestry exploitation.
Work in the montado is limited to the stripping season, thus mainly seasonal. Aside from the thousands of indirect jobs, the cork oak montados originate direct jobs, of which in forest exploitation. Due to the expertise and care that it requires, the extraction of cork is the most well-paid agricultural work in the world. The sustainable land use and economic viability are the only way to prevent desertification of the rural areas.
Cork oaks forests, an ecologically and economically sustainable system, play a crucial role in averting soil degradation, thus being an essential instrument in the battle against desertification in Portugal.
The high levels of biodiversity they generate are really important in desertification prevention. From the environmental point of view and taking into account the harsh climate and poor soil, no other alternate product of cork can be this sustainable. Some regions are only economically viable due to the wealth that cork not only creates but also distributes.
There are towns where the main output is cork keeping them alive with economical and social activities. But cork is not important only for the rural population. Residents of urban areas rely on this unique ecosystem for leisure, recreation, home and personal products and small scale agricultural production.
In parallel to the harvesting of cork, in these rural landscapes, some of the activities that take place include:. Fishing is a favorite along the lakes of the Portuguese region Alentejo. In the forests, partridges and wild boars can be hunted but only during the hunting season, respecting the delimited areas and obeying the applicable laws. Besides being a recreational activity, hunting is also a source of food and employment.
Cattling in these areas supplies the farmer with the meat used to make many certified European products, such as the pork smoked ham known and sold internationally. Being breed on the open areas of grassland and eating acorns makes the meat and milk derived from these animals to be considered superior quality. A large variety of food resources can be found in cork forests including herbs, seeds, fungi, acorns and wild animals, thus making a noteworthy direct contribution to the food diversity of pastoral populations.
Bees are kept for polen, honey and candle wax and are fed on lavender, heather and rock rose. The last also providing firewood for the traditional stone-built bread ovens. The wild fungi associated with the cork oak trees are another provider of food and income. The edible mushrooms are an essential economic supplement for many families as they obtain high prices in the market. Tourism is, then, an important source of employment in the local towns, throughout the cork forest regions, where a number of small lodges, hotels and camps prosper, and serves also as a marketing tool to draw possible inhabitants and industry to the region.
Environmental awareness is being heighten due to the small scale ecotourism that promotes nature conservation with its recreational activities, mostly outdoors, including bird watching, fishing, hunting and camping.
In an ecosystem, each organism has its own role to play. It consists of all the living things in a given area that interact with each other and also with their non-living environments. Home to a rich natural biodiversity, including grasslands, diverse flora and wildlife, and with the cork oak as the center of the food chain, the montado is the habitat for a wide variety of species of animals and plants.
The Mediterranean Basin uphold an extensive variety of habitats for fauna and flora, and is considered one of the 35 biodiversity hotspots. The cork oak is just one of the around 11, endemic plant species thriving in the Mediterranean Basin. And these are just about half of the It is the region of the world with the third highest number of endemic plant species. Reaching a level of plant species per square meters, cork oak lanscapes are an important economic resource for local inhabitants that harvest and subsequently process these plants, many with aromatic, culinary or medical use.
Other organisms like fungi Basydiomycetes occur in montados. These species are important for the decomposition of organic matter in the soil.
Other species, however, are pathogenic and dangerous to the montado plants. Many species are mycorrhizal - that is, they associate symbiotically with the tree roots obtaining organic carbon from the tree and helping it absorbing soil nutrients. For the Cork Oak, mycorrhizal are essential. Without them the trees would find difficulty in assimilating phosphorous and other minerals from the poor soils where they occur.
Many mushrooms are edible, some having great gastronomic value. Picking mushrooms is a montado's important activity in the Iberian Peninsula.
More than species of fungi where found in cork forest, of which about one third are edible. Some of the mushrooms found in the montado are highly valuable. The degree of difficulty of extraction can be gauged from the 'feel' of the axe.
When the edge of the axe is applied to the strip, a hollow sound of tearing is heard if the cork is going to come off easily. If it is going to be difficult, the axe gives off a short, firm, dry sound. The plank is then separated from the tree, by inserting the edge of the axe between the strip and the inner bark. The axe is twisted between the trunk and the cork strip to be extracted. A horizontal cut defines the size of the cork plank to be removed and what is to remain on the tree.
During dividing, the inner bark is frequently marked and these mutilations can sometimes alter the geometry of the trunk. The plank is removed from the tree with care so that it does not split. The larger the planks extracted, the greater their commercial value. The removal of entire planks depends on the skill of the workers. After the first plank has been stripped, the operation is repeated over the whole trunk.
After the stripping of the planks, some fragments of cork remain attached at the base of the trunk.
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