Portugal - Atlas do Ambiente II.1 - Carta Agrícola e Florestal

Summary

The Chart on the Agricultural und Forest-Land Use Great Groups may be considered as a synthesis of a dozen charts, published in this Atlas, showing the agricultural and forest species distribution throughout the Country. The Chart took into consideration the re-analysed information gathered since 1950 through direct observation of crops and forests by the surveyors of the Agrarian Survey and Land-Use Planning Service. It was based on the Military Chart of Portugal, scale 1:25000, and on the aerial photographic cover of the territory, on a similar scale. Obtained by successive photographic reductions, the actual Chart retains most of the information given in the detailed charts. The legend of the Chart includes the following land-use main types: agricultural, forest, agricultural-forest and other uses, namely tidal marshes, salt pans, social areas, rivers, lagoons and reservoirs. In the areas shown under agricultural use, landscapes are found with the highest degree of humanization, such as: annual crops in arable fields, pastures, meadows, cornfields and vegetable-gardens; shrubby crops, chiefly vineyards under several forms, sometimes associated with fruit-trees; and fruit-trees namely rain grown fruit-trees (carob-, almond-, fig-, olive- -lrees), citrus-, and other fruiít-trees. In the forest use areas, often displaying magnificent landscapes and environments of high quality, distinction is made between broad-leaved woods, namely oaks, chestnut, cork oak, holm-oak and popla