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Site:AR35

REINFFORCE - Arboretum - Tapada da Ajuda
Municipality: Lisboa
Region: Lisboa
Country: Portugal
Website: http://www.isa.utl.pt/cef/ForEcoGen/3_proj_ong.html
Partner in charge of the site: ISA
Responsible name: António Correia

Site characteristics

Altitude (m): 106
Topography: middle slope
Orientation: E
Slope: 8.0
Hydrology: Site is situated in the Tagus hydrographic basin. The lower part of site is 10-15 m apart from seasonal water course, which flows some 250m along the site margin
South containment: 0
Soil type: LEPTOSOLS
Soil sub-type: vertic
Parent rock: basic to ultrabasic volcanic rocks
Soil depth (cm): 60

Climate

Average temperature (°C): 17.5
Average precipitation (mm): 826
Number of frost days: 0
Reference period for climatic data: 1960-2012

History of the site

The arboretum site is located at Tapada da Ajuda, which is a walled Public Property covering 100 ha, where Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) is located. The area is managed by ISA, mainly for educational and research purposes. ISA proffers teaching and research excellence in agronomy, forestry, biology, environment, food, zootechnics and landscape architecture, and includes the climate change impact theme as one of its major action topics. ISA board promptly accepted the possibility to install an arboretum in its intramural area. Nowadays, “Tapada da Ajuda” has an area of approximately 100 hectares. Since the XVI century it was used as a royal hunting reserve. In 1910, with the establishment of the Republic, this area was given to the Institute of Agronomy (ISA) “for the educational benefit of farmers or any other visitors, as well as for tuition of children and students of all schools” as specifically mentioned in the conveyance deed. Awareness of the heritage value of “Tapada da Ajuda” led to the classification of the existing intramural structures as Property of Public Interest under a protection law (nº5/2002, Official Bulletin No.42 of 19th February, 2002). This location coincides with REINFFORCE’s Portuguese Team headquarters, allowing for more frequent monitoring. The Tapada da Ajuda arboretum is the most Southern arboretum of the network. The arboretum is divided into 2 parcels, separated from each other by a 6m wide road. The parcels are: -P1, 1 ha, which was fully occupied with Acacia sp., since the 1940's, but where conifers are now installed; -P2, 1 ha, previously used for grazing, where broadleaves are now installed. Soil preparation for the arboretum installation was initiated in September 2011, consisting mainly in Acacia and spontaneous vegetation removal/ control.
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Provenances on site

Provenance N Provenance
Acer pseudoplatanus 3
Betula pendula 3
Calocedrus decurrens 1
Castanea sativa 4
Cedrus atlantica 1
Ceratonia siliqua 3
Cunninghamia lanceolata 1
Cupressus sempervirens 2
Eucalyptus globulus 1
Eucalyptus gundal 1
Fagus sylvatica subsp. orientalis 3
Larix decidua 3
Liquidambar styraciflua 3
Pinus brutia 3
Pinus elliottii 2
Pinus nigra subsp. laricio 2
Pinus pinaster 5
Pinus pinea 4
Pinus ponderosa 2
Pinus sylvestris 3
Pinus taeda 2
Pseudotsuga menziesii 3
Quercus ilex subsp. rotundifolia 4
Quercus petraea subsp. petraea 3
Quercus robur 5
Quercus rubra 2
Quercus shumardii 1
Quercus suber 9
Thuja plicata 2