Global warming has an impact on the main shrub species of the Serra da Estrela, as well as on the growth of pastures in the region, concluded a study led by researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC).
In a note sent to the Lusa agency, the UC indicated that these are the first results of the research project “ESTRELA – Effect of global warming on the diversity and functioning of the alpine ecosystems of the Serra da Estrela”, coordinated by Susana Rodríguez Echeverría, Cristina Nabais and Marta Correia, from the Center for Functional Ecology of the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra (FCTUC).
This study, started in 2020, aims to study the effect of global warming“A primary factor of climatic alterations, non-functioning and diversity of the ecosystems of the upper plateau of the Serra da Estrela, especially in the bush communities and in the cervunais (pastagens where the cervum predominates, a plant of the grass family that grows spontaneously in the Sierra of the Star)”.
According to the project coordinators, the focus of the study has been centered on the growth rings of the juniper and the python, species typical of the high mountains of the Iberian Peninsula and that in Portugal appear almost exclusively in the Serra da Estrela.
The results obtained so far indicateincreased growth of these shrubs (juniper and pygmy) in recent yearsdue to the minimal increase in temperature in spring and autumn, which translates into a longer growing season.”
According to Susana Rodríguez Echeverría, even so, there are differences between the species. “The juniper begins to grow earlier due to the increase in temperature in spring, while the worst does not respond to the spring temperature, but delays the end of growth due to the increase in temperature in autumn. The increase in the minimum temperature in the summer and the decrease in rainfall in the winter only have a negative effect on the growth of juniper, ”she reported.
For this researcher from the Functional Ecology Center of the FCTUC, this means that “it is necessary to take into account the seasonal pattern of climate change to understand the effects on the diversity and functioning of ecosystems.”
This team is also carrying out an experimental study of temperature manipulation in five cervunais, and has already verified that “the increase in temperature causes greater growth of grasses, but that depends on the availability of water and the conditions of the soil ”.
“Whether this rapid growth, in response to high temperatures, affects the nutritional quality of these grasses is still being studied,” said Susana Rodríguez Echeverría.
The team of researchers has also pointed out “the need to monitor climatic conditions on a small scale, in parallel to ecological studies that allow better inferring the responses of ecosystems to climate”.
There are few ecological and functional studies in Serra da Estrela and the data provided by the Penhas Douradas observatory or by current climate models cannot collect the diversity of topoclimates and microclimates in Estrela”, he concluded.
The ESTRELA project has as a partner the Serra da Estrela Interpretation Center (CISE) of the Municipality of Seia and has the support of the Estrela Geopark and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF).
It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Portugal 2020 program, within the framework of the Center’s Regional Operational Program, and by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through national funds (PIDDAC ).
Source: Observadora
