Portugal has a high diversity of agroforestry systems like other
Mediterranean countries. This is the result of the Mediterranean climate, great variability
of bioclimatic conditions, a long history of land use, and a marked variation
in land tenure between north and south of the country. Four major silvopastoral
systems are described: two classically Mediterranean – montado and Olive tree
system, and two typically of the transitional environment between Mediterranean
and Temperate conditions – Pyrenean oak and Chestnut systems. Some products of
traditional agroforestry systems such as charcoal, organic manure, livestock production
and others have become less valuable with the socio-economic transformation
of the 1960s. These systems have been declining from approximately 1950 onwards.
Currently, the focus on sustainable agriculture, with greater emphasis on nature and
landscape conservation, has meant that environmental values now represent new
opportunities for income generation from these systems. A better understanding of
traditional agroforestry systems is needed for the formulation of a specific European
policy that will preserve European landscapes. This paper looks at the future potential for silvopastoral systems in Portugal based on current status.
