REACTION

VI. PROJECT ASSESSMENT
VI.1. LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
1. Proportion of uses at regional scale (%)
Agricultural:		38
Forestry:		11
Urban & Unproductive:		4
Others	Uncultivated, marsh land, water lines	47
Name of the reference region/province/county:
Castro Marim County

2. Which ecosystems/habitats once occurred and now occur in the project area?

	Before the project		Present
	% of project area	Main species	% of project area	Main species
Mixed Mediterranean evergreen woodland forest			13	Pinus pinea Quercus suber
Mediterranean shrublands (macchia, matorral, garrigue, phrygana,...)	Unk	Cistus ladanifer
Evergreen oak woodland
Deciduous forest
Pine forest			77	Pinus pinea, Cistus ladanifer
Other conifer forest
Savannah-type ecosystem (e.g., dehesa)
Steppes
Permanent grassland, prairie
Annual grassland
Riparian ecosystem
Orchards, tree crops, etc.
Annual winter crops	Unk	Triticum spp.
Annual summer crops
Bare land (fallows)

Please indicate the reference date (e.g., at the Vtime of project implementation; 25, 50, etc. years before project implementation; etc.):

At the time of project implementation

3. In the project area, are there any abandoned agricultural terraces?
No
a) Date of abandonment of most of them -year(s) or decade(s):

b) Are they narrow (limiting agricultural mechanisation)?
No
c) What is their current degree of conservation?
	-	Good
	-	Medium
	-	Poor
d) Have they been repaired within the framework of the project?
No

4. Are there protected areas in the project area:
Yes
a) Describe relevant legislation (if any) related to species or habitat protection (add reference dates):
Ministerial Council Resolution n.º 66/2001 - Rede Natura 2000
b) Natura 2000 and other protected habitats:
Yes, Guadiana
c) Are there protected ecological corridors ?
Yes
Date:
d) Is there a protected area network ?
Yes
Date:

5. Landscape pattern: (Please, provide maps if possible and indicate it in section I.2.3.)

	Yes	No	Partly	Description
a) Is the project area connected to other similar ecosystem/habitat(s) in the surrounding area?	-	-		All units are connected to scattered small forested areas
b) Are project habitats fragmented into a number of patches?	-	-		There are a few isolated small patches and national and forest roads roads create patches inside the stands
c) Habitat patches within the project area are close enough to allow free interchange of species?	-	-		The patches created by roads are, in most cases, clouse enough to allow the free interchange of species; However, some few isolated patches are not in the same situation
d) Is there a natural gradation between habitats within the project area?	-		-
e) Are project edges natural?	-	-		Some project edges are social areas (Odeleite village and others), or traffic intensive National road


6. Are there negative visual impacts?
a) Resulting from project implementation (e.g., terracing or subsoiling impacts):
No
Description:
b) Resulting from project maintenance works
No
Description:
c) Resulting from exploitation works
No
Description:
d) Resulting from other works
No
Description:

7. Flooding assessment at landscape/catchment scale

Before the project

Since project implementation

Reference period:	n/a

Reference period:	n/a

a) Flood frequency

Nil

Once every 1-10 years

Once every 10-20 years

Once every 20-50 years

Once every > 50 years

b) Date of last recorded flood event (year(s))

Unknown

c) Comments on damages from last recorded flood event

Unknown

8. Erosion assessment at landscape/catchment scale

Before the project

Since project implementation

Reference period:	n/a

Reference period:	n/a

a) Erosion/sedimentation rate
(Mg ha-1 year-1)

Unknown

b) Method of assessment
(USLE estimation, lake/reservoir/dam sedimentation, measurements at plot/catchment scale, etc.)

Unknown

REACTION: This research is supported by the "Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development" programme, under contract EVK2-2002-80025

VI. PROJECT ASSESSMENT