Altitude (m): 79 Topography: plateau Orientation: FLAT Slope (%): 4.0 Hydrology: Nearest waterline is 1.5 km apart from trial site Soil type: CAMBISOLS Parent rock: limestone PH: 5.0
Climate
Average temperature (°C): 15.8 Average precipitation (mm): 564 Number of frost days: 33 Reference period for climatic data: 1970-1999
History of the site
“Herdade de Monte Fava”, classified as public property and owned by Direcção Regional de Agricultura do Alentejo, has been used for agricultural and forestry research. Monte Fava’s 1998 Quercus suber provenance trial is managed by ISA staff and part of a multi-locality provenance test carried-out within a network set up by concerted action : “European Network for the Evaluation of Genetic Resources of Cork Oak for Appropriate Use in Breeding and Gene Conservation Strategies” where 35 cork oak populations from its natural distribution area are represented (Portugal – 9; Spain – 7; Italy – 5; France – 4; Tunisia – 2; Morocco – 6; Algeria – 1; and 1 on the Portuguese/Spanish border). Cork oak adaptability to environmental conditions is poorly understood vis-à-vis climate change scenarios forecasting more frequent and longer water deficits in the Mediterranean region. In order to allocate the most adequate seed sources to each set of climatic conditions in future afforestation activities, and considering that an important source of variation in the characteristics related to adaptability may be found at the provenance level, REINFFORCE evaluated inter-provenance variability of growth, phenology and health, and assessed correlation between bud burst and pest damage.
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