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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Quinta da França (QF) is a farm located in Cova da Beira, Covilhã, which is managed by
Terraprima. The farm’s main activities are agriculture and livestock production. Among the
fodder crops, the most important are temporary and permanent pastures and annual crops (such
as maize, both irrigated and rainfed). Livestock consists of sheep, cows and goats (the latter in
smaller numbers). The management of QF privileges sown seeks to optimize the environmental
services of agricultural activities through the use of biodiverse pastures and no-tillage, and to
obtain payment for those services. Regarding forest occupation, the oak-Negral is dominant, but
there is a non-neglectable area of pine, and some small plots of eucalyptus marble and/or acacia.
The main promoters of change in QF are: investment and participation in R&D projects;
payment for environmental services; land use changes, biotic and abiotic threats and public
support. Some R&D projects were particularly important in the management of QF. theProject
Agro 87) plaid a pivotal role in the implantation of a significant area of biodiverse pastures in
QF. Project Landstate was the source of the trademarked Terraprima products. Project Extensity
contributed to the improvement and monitoring of the environmental performance of QF. QF,
through Terraprima, was also a pioneer in the payment for environmental services. Terraprima
signed with EDP (the Portuguese electrical company) the first contract in Portugal for carbon
sequestration resulting from agro-forestry activities. Main promoters of land use change in QF
are the construction of the irrigation perimeter of Cova da Beira, and the consequent
intensification of agricultural and livestock activities. The main abiotic and biotic threats
identified are the occurrence of fires and the incidence of the brucellosis disease. In terms of
public support, agri-environmental payments are particularly important.
The main themes for conditions and trends identified in the QF are biodiversity, food production,
carbon sequestration / soil protection / regulation of water cycle and the supply of scientific
information. In terms of biodiversity, and with respect to vertebrates, species with confirmed
occurrence in QF are 72% of all species in the region. Main food products in QF are beef, lamb
and calf meat, sheep milk, and grain silage maize. Carbon sequestration, soil protection and
water cycle regulation are all achieved together by planting new forests, introducing sustainable
Description
Keywords
Serviços ecossitémicos
Citation
Domingos, T.; Valada, T.; Teixeira, R.; Rodrigues, O.; Rodrigues, N.; Aguiar, C.; Carmona Belo, C. (2010). Quinta da França. In Pereira, H.M.[et al.] (eds.) - Ecossistemas e bem-estar humano: avaliação para Portugal do Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Lisboa: Escolar Editora. p. 661-684. ISBN 978-972-592-274-3