M ISA RT - Terraprima

MISART supported course and final projects for
undergraduate and graduate courses. The initial training
of a large number of graduates was made, contributing
to their professional success. Many of them are still
connected to this project.
Part of the team from Junitec has moved to IST, where it
is working on project LandSTATE – Sustainability of
Tourism and Agriculture Through Total Consumer
Involvement, also financed by programme Life, and Protolactis – Production of Traditional Certified MilkProducts by Optimised Technologies.
MISART led to the creation of Terraprima –
Sociedade Agrícola, Lda., land tenant of Quinta da
França and responsible for the application of the
project’s results. It also led to the creation of CESEE Centre for the Study of Ecological and Economic
Systems, a non-profit organisation dedicated to
interdisciplinary research and training in ecological and
economic systems and to the promotion of sustainable
development.
The results of MISART are highly transposable. The
general model is applicable to any sustainable rural
development problem and some of its components are
applicable to any environmental problem. Specific
solutions are generally applicable to rural areas, in some
cases with particular relevance for Mediterranean areas.
Analysis of the Project
Junitec – Junior Empresas do Instituto Superior Técnico Av. Manuel da Maia, 36 c/v Dta., 1000 Lisboa
Instituto Superior Técnico – STA Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049 Lisboa
Tel/Fax: +351 21-8419163, E-mail: [email protected]
Contacts
Text, Figures, Editing and Photographs - MISART Team
Page 28
MISART
27
28
Selected Publications
Analysis of the Project
26
25
Information
management
National
Environmental Prize
24
17
Animal Husbandry
Renewable Energies
16
Agriculture
22
14
Areas of Intervention
Tourism
13
Spatial Integration
21
12
Sector Integration
Gravel Pits
11
Analytic Integration
20
10
Rural and Urban Areas
Game
8
Environment, Research,
Companies and Consumers
18
3
Quinta da
França
Forestry
2
Farms and
Sustainability
Contents
MISART is promoted by Junitec – Junior Enterprises
of Instituto Superior Técnico, in partnership with Instituto Superior Técnico. It is
financed by Programme Life of the
European Union and runs from
March 1995 through August 1997.
Hence, MISART contributes to sustainable rural
development, in a perspective of intervention at the
level of individual farms.
This project addresses several aspects of the
sustainable development of rural areas, integrating
landscape, energy, environment, economy, society,
ethic and aesthetic considerations, and promoting
synergies between agriculture, animal husbandry,
forestry and tourism.
M I S A R T – Integrated
Modelling
of
an
Environmental, Rural and
Tourist System aims to create
a model for the sustainable
management of farms. The
model is developed at a
general level and applied to a
specific area, Quinta da França, in Cova da Beira, Portugal.
Integrated Modelling of an
Environmental, Rural and
Tourist System
MISART
agriculture
impacts of intensive
and reduce the
traditional agriculture
provided by
maximise the services
are financially viable,
for rural areas that
finding new solutions
contribution to
MISART is a
Quinta da França
Page 2
MISART is a contribution to the pressing search for
new solutions for rural areas that guarantee financial
viability, maximise the services provided by traditional
agriculture and avoiding the impacts associated to
intensive agriculture.
The intensification of agriculture, considered one of the
main options for inverting this trend, is the cause of
severe environmental impacts, such as water pollution
by nitrates and phyto-pharmaceutical products, carbon
emissions and high consumption of water and energy.
Most mass production processes create additional
problems of food safety, like bovine BSE, the use of
synthetic hormones in cattle breeding or pesticides in
legume and fruit production.
Traditional extensive agriculture provides important
economic, social and environmental services, such as
conservation of biological diversity, regulation of the
water cycle, carbon storage, employment and
conservation of cultural landscapes. Nevertheless, and
especially in the interior areas of Europe, this type of
agriculture is experiencing a decreasing trend in
financial viability, due to the reform of agricultural
policies and to the globalisation of markets.
Farms and Sustainability
MISART
Silva, L. N., T. Domingos, T. Ribeiro. 1996. Avaliação ecológica e económica da floresta
de uso múltiplo. Actas da V Conferência Nacional sobre a Qualidade do Ambiente: 585594. Reedição em Floresta e Ambiente nº 33, 18-23.
Serra, L. A., M. I. Cabral, T. Domingos, S. Rodrigues, G. Carvalho, J. D. Domingos,
M. Magalhães. 1996b. Environmentally correct recovery of rural houses for tourism: an
integrative concept and a case study. Proceedings of the Workshop on Environment and
Interaction. Paper 09, 6 pp.
Serra, L. A., P. T. Canaveira, T. Domingos, T. Ribeiro, J. D. Domingos. 1996a. Análise
ecológica e económica da agricultura: desenvolvimento de uma metodologia. Actas da V
Conferência Nacional sobre a Qualidade do Ambiente, pp. 67-76.
Ribeiro, T., E. Rocha, T. Domingos. 1996b. The national accounting system and the
ecological economics perspective. Proceedings of the LIst International Conference of
Applied Econometrics Association “Econometrics of Environment and
Transdisciplinarity”, pp. 116-123.
Ribeiro, T., E. Rocha, T. Domingos. 1996a. Para que serve o Produto Interno Bruto no
contexto da Economia Ecológica? Actas da V Conferência Nacional sobre a Qualidade
do Ambiente, pp. 33-42.
Miragaia, C., L. Silva, N. Teles, T. Domingos, J. C. Borges. 1997. Conceptualização dum
sistema de informação para o planeamento em recursos naturais. Revista Florestal 9 (3):
46-50.
Martins, H., R. Borralho. 1998. Avaliação da selecção de habitat pelo coelho-bravo
(Oryctolagus cuniculus L. 1758) numa zona do centro de Portugal através da análise de
indícios de presença. Silva Lusitana 6 (1): 73-88.
Martins, H., T. Domingos, F. Rego, R. Borralho, J. Bugalho. 1997. Habitat evaluation
using logistic regression. Proceedings of geoENV 96 - First European Conference on
Geostatistics for Environmental Applications, Kluwer Series in Applied Geology and
Geostatistics, Kluwer, pp. 415-426.
Martins, H., T. Domingos, F. Rego, R. Borralho, J. Bugalho. 1996. Aplicação de um
método de custo-benefício em modelos estatísticos para ordenamento cinegético. Actas do
2º Congresso Nacional de Economistas Agrários, pp 3H.1-3H.8.
Fernandes, J. D., T. Domingos, N. Teles. 1996. Desenvolvimento de um sistema
integrado para a avaliação de impactos ambientais. Actas da V Conferência Nacional
sobre a Qualidade do Ambiente, pp. 241-250.
Domingos, T., T. Ribeiro, E. Rocha, L. N. Silva. 1996b. MISART - Integrated Modelling
of an Environmental, Rural and Tourist System. Proceedings of the LIst International
Conference of the Applied Econometrics Association “Econometrics of Environment and
Transdisciplinarity”, pp. 507-517.
Domingos, T., T. Ribeiro, E. Rocha. 1996a. Uma estruturação para a gestão de projectos
interdisciplinares em ambiente. Actas da V Conferência Nacional sobre a Qualidade do
Ambiente, pp. 77-86.
Cabral, I., Chalfoun, N. 1998. Microclimate control and passive cooling of a rural house
for tourism in Cova da Beira. Environmentally Friendly Cities: Proceedings of PLEA98 –
Passive and Low Energy Architecture – Lisbon. Ed. Eduardo Maldonado & Simos
Yannas, London: James & James, pp 479 – 483.
Cabral, M. I., J. Moreira, T. Ribeiro, L. A. Serra, G. Carvalho, T. Domingos,
S. Rodrigues. 1996. Reabilitação ecológica de uma casa rural para turismo: um conceito
integrado e estudo de caso. Actas do 2º Congresso Nacional de Economistas Agrários,
pp 3E.1-3E.12.
Selected Publications
MISART
1 master’s thesis
projects
7 graduate course
projects
undergraduate
4 final
course projects
11 undergraduate
general audience
5 articles for a
12 scientific papers
Page 27
in 1999
Environmental Prize
the National
acknowledged with
MISART
Page 26
This work was presented by the members of the
MISART team that have ages between 20 and 35,
coming from such diverse areas as agricultural,
environmental, civil, physical, forestry, computer and
mechanical engineering and biology, economics,
psychology and tourism
The competition had the “essential aim of rewarding
young Portuguese persons (with the maximum age of
35) that are carrying out work in the environmental
sector, regardless of sector of activity or professional
background“. Twenty six projects applied.
This prize was conferred by Câmara Municipal de
Moura, EDIA - Empresa de Desenvolvimento e InfraEstruturas do Alqueva, Direcção Regional de Ambiente
do Alentejo and ECOS, during the seminar "Ambiente
Moura 99", that took place in Moura, in December,
1999.
MISART was acknowledged with the National
Environmental Prize of 1999, with the value of one
million Portuguese escudos (approx. 5000 Euro).
National Environmental Prize
MISART
There are also constructions like water mines, wells and
deposits, stone weirs, irrigation reservoirs, flood
protection walls, irrigation channels, roads, tracks and
trails.
The built heritage is composed of 24 typical Portuguese
rural houses, with diverse sizes and a total area of about
4800 m2. They are built in granite stone and covered
with roof-tiles of the “mourisca” and “marselha” types.
The houses are aggregated in two main nuclei, the
“Quinta de Cima” and the “Quinta de Baixo“, a medium
sized nucleus and other small disperse houses. There is
also a more recent nucleus built in Raul Lino style.
Many houses have annexes like haystacks, pigsties,
dairies, cattle-sheds and baking ovens.
Isolated or in lines one may also find fruit trees like
quince, chestnut, fig, cherry, pear, apple and mulberry.
The rivers Zêzere and Caria set the south, east and west
borders of the farm, and present a well developed
riparian corridor with common alder, willows, narrowleafed ash, poplars and plane trees. Along the river
Zêzere it is possible to find three stone weirs. The farm
has also two small lakes, over 20 km of water channels,
lined with trees, and several water springs and mines.
Quinta da França is located in Cova da Beira, close to
the city of Covilhã. It has an area of about 470 hectares
with high landscape diversity, comprising irrigated and
dry land cereal crops, traditional flood irrigation
pastures, dry land pastures, oak forests, shrub areas and
pine and eucalyptus forests.
Quinta da França
MISART
Quinta da França
and agriculture
measures in tourism
to test sustainability
enhance its potential
of Quinta da França
landscape diversity
The size and
Location
Page 3
Sheep
Maize
milk production
- Sheep for meat and
crops
unirrigated cereal
- Irrigated and
on:
Agriculture is based
Page 4
Sheep breeding, carried out in an extensive regime, is
the second axis of agriculture at Quinta da França. The
flock has about 500 animals. It is fed mainly on
pastures. The different kinds of pastures have distinct
qualities and subsets of the flock (lactating or gestating
sheep, lambs in growth, etc.) use them differently. This
kind of feeding is complemented in periods of pasture
scarcity with hay and, for lactating sheep, with grain
cereals (maize, oats and rye), all produced in Quinta da
França. The flock is driven daily to the pastures and
brought back at night to a sheep-pen. Management and
milking are carried out by two shepherds. Milking is
performed manually, twice a day (once in summer),
before the flock leaves to the pastures and immediately
after its return. Milk is stored in a refrigerated tank and
sold for cheese production.
Cereal crops are one of the fundamental axes of
agricultural in Quinta da França. Irrigated maize is the
one with the highest area and profitability. Climatic
constraints impose the shortening of the production
cycle, both by postponing sowing to the beginning of
May and anticipating the end of irrigation to mid
August. Irrigation is made with traditional water
channels. Rye is used mainly for the production of seed
and straw. Its allopathic character and high rusticity
make it particularly useful in weed control, after shrub
clearings and long set-asides.
Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry
Quinta da França
MISART
Additionally, it is necessary to manage the information
related to the object of the project. For this, a
conceptualisation for an information
system was developed. A geographic
information system was used for georeferenced information on Quinta da
França, including aerial photographs,
type and use of soil, built heritage, road
system.
A relational database system was developed: GestOr –
Gestão de Informação e Comunicação em Organizações
(information management and communication in
organisations). It integrates two components: interaction
with external entities (people, contact reports);
information and knowledge (references, keywords,
citations, resumes, places).
Information management is crucial in highly
interdisciplinary and integrated projects. To that end,
MISART developed a general framework for
information and the conceptualisation of a relational
database system. The general framework is applicable to
all information not integrable in a relational database
system (paper documents, folder structure in the server
and allocation of responsibility, knowledge and tasks).
Information Management
MISART
project
interdisciplinary
crucial in an
management is
Information
Page 25
renewable energies
technologies based in
application of
the viability of the
MISART has analysed
Page 24
Water
mine
Windmill system
water
TUBING
Elevation height
10m
WATER TANK
Water deposit
Submersible
electric pump
h
manometric
height
Photovoltaic system
Peg for water
table access
photovoltaic
panel
In both cases, the viability of renewable energies is
compromised by the fact that the financial cost of nonrenewable energies does not account for their
environmental externalities.
In the water pumping case, the water is for human and
animal consumption and for irrigation. The diesel
engine driven water-pump system has the advantage of
smaller cost per m3, higher elasticity to variations in
consumption and smaller initial cost. The windmill
system is the best renewable energy system; it is only
marginally worse than the diesel engine system.
In the small hydro plant system the water is brought
from a weir through a water channel and accumulated in
a reservoir. From here it passes through a turbine and is
discharged back into the river. The installation of a
turbine and the rehabilitation of the water channel in
earth or concrete was analysed. It was concluded that
the project is viable if it uses non-commercial
technology.
MISART analysed the viability of different solutions for
the application of renewable energies: (1) small hydro
plant with water supplied by the river Zêzere;
(2) energy for water pumping provided by windmills or
a photovoltaic system (this was compared with a system
driven a diesel engine).
Renewable Energies
MISART
The list of forest types is completed with two small
forest areas dominated respectively by maritime pine
and blue gum eucalyptus trees.
The riparian corridor is the forest structure with the
highest development in Quinta da França. It covers
almost all of the margins of rivers Zêzere and Caria and
follows the main irrigation and drainage channels. Some
permanent water spots (puddles, water springs and
mines) also exhibit riparian species with some
frequency.
Where the terrain is more hilly, there is a forest area
covered mostly by oaks. The analysis of old aerial
photographs indicate that these oak forest areas were
established more than 50 years ago. Nowadays this area
is relatively degraded, showing a low tree density, with
a complex structure and dominance of young trees (less
than 20 years). These characteristics are due to the
management regime (cutting of oaks for firewood) and
to the occurrence and frequency of forest fires. There
are, therefore, different phases of oak forest
regeneration and, where the effects of forest fires were
more intense, its replacement with shrubs. These areas
are used extensively by sheep and goats, particularly
during winter and spring.
Forest
Quinta da França
MISART
Riparian
corridor
Oak forest
Page 5
Quinta de Baixo
Serra
Quinta de Cima
Terraprima
managed by
Quinta da França is
Tillage
Page 6
- Quinta de Baixo, mainly used for animal husbandry,
with extensive areas of pasture.
Quinta da França is divided in three main landscape
units:
- Quinta de Cima, where the more intensive irrigated
agriculture takes place;
- Serra, corresponding to the more hilly areas, with
forest or rocky outcrops;
Landscape
Quinta da França
Everyday management is guaranteed by a managing
partner, responsible for the co-ordination of work, stock
and warehouse management, planning of current
activities and for the co-ordination of the activities of
the rest of the staff. The permanent staff of the company
comprises one administrative worker, one tractor driver
and two shepherds.
The activity of Terraprima began in 1994, set up by five
partners, in the legal form of a proportional quota
company.
Quinta da França is managed by Terraprima - Sociedade
Agrícola, Lda. This company holds the agriculture and
forestry management rights of Quinta da França,
through a lease contract. It has an additional contract for
the management of game and hunting.
Management
Quinta da França
MISART
Present situation
Casa dos Eucaliptos
viability
has shown its
holiday camps project
evaluation of the
The financial
Page 23
Projected situation
The financial evaluation of the holiday camps project
has shown its viability.
During rebuilding some environmental impacts may be
minimised. During operations it is expected that no
significant impacts be produced by solid waste and that
water and energy consumption may have significant
impacts, which may be minimised by stimulating
changes in individual behaviours.
Water consumption is estimated to be 5m3/day, and
waste water production 4m3/day. To maintain thermal
comfort, the house must be heated from December to
February and cooled in July and August. Conservation
measures are proposed based on the use of insulation
and on changes in architectural design. To reduce solid
waste, reuse and recycling of materials is maximised.
Casa dos Eucaliptos is very degraded. The
rehabilitation project proposes to endow the house with
two dormitories, sanitary facilities, a work room, one
dining-room, one kitchen and a wood annex, with a total
capacity for 32 people. The project maintains the main
traditional characteristics of the building.
MISART
conventional tourism
synthesis of rural and
Quinta da França is a
The tourism model for
Horse-riding
Page 22
MISART evaluated this model for a holiday camps
project, at a house called Casa dos Eucaliptos. The
evaluation was made according to environmental and
financial criteria, considering architecture, water and
energy consumption and waste production.
Animation should be both fun and educational. It
includes sports, agricultural, scientific and cultural
activities.
The tourism project includes the following products:
one day in the farm, weekend, holiday camps, study
visits, incentives, research, sale of products,
accommodation and restaurant.
Interaction with the tourist is based on the following
concepts: environment, enrichment, structure,
permeability, personalisation and participation. The
tourists learn about the place that they visit and can
leave traces of their presence.
The tourism model for Quinta da França synthesises
rural and conventional tourism: personalisation, contact
with nature and rural areas, environmental education,
yearlong quality animation.
The factors that most contribute to the value of a
tourism product are environmental planning, service
quality, hospitality, intensive animation and a rich and
interesting gastronomy.
Tourism
MISART
During MISART some localised environmental
problems were identified. Gravel Pits and River
Banks: along the main rivers it is possible to find some
bank areas with severe erosion and stability problems.
Bathing Area: one of the weirs of Quinta da França is
used by local populations as a bathing area, creating a
problem of waste disposal. Invasive Plants: there are
three areas dominated by silver wattle, an invasive
species that must be controlled.
Localised Environmental Problems
Quinta da França
The flora inventory determined existence of about 190
higher plants, none of which with special conservation
status. However, some of those species are important as
indicators of community structure.
Of the 197 vertebrate species in Beira Interior, 142 have
been observed at least once in Quinta da França. Among
these, 13 have a special conservation status at European
level.
The characteristics of Quinta da França make it an
attractive place for a diverse set of species. Different
biotopes may be identified: annual cereal crops,
permanent pastures; forests and agri-forest areas;
riparian areas; constructions and social areas. Each of
these biotopes shows a characteristic composition of
fauna and flora, with dominance of species adapted to a
medium level of disturbance.
Flora and Fauna
Quinta da França
MISART
- Invasive plants
- Bathing area
margins
- Gravel pits and
identified:
problems were
environmental
Three localised
status
special conservation
species have a
10% of the observed
in Quinta da França
have been observed
species in the region
72% of vertebrate
Wetland
Page 7
than as a problem
opportunity, rather
considered an
The environment is
Alluvial soil
Page 8
In this company, environmental concerns should be
considered an opportunity, rather than a problem.
Planning tries to integrate economic, social and
environmental considerations.
Through the company Terraprima, the aim is to create,
within a single organisation, a synthesis between a
conventional company, with its financial and resource
optimisation rationale, and a non-governmental
organisation, with its mission of environmental
intervention.
Environment, Research,
Companies and Consumers
Soils belong mostly to two classes: incipient soils
(lithossoils, alluvissoils and colluvissoils) and litholic
soils (humic and not-humic). The fertility study that was
performed showed, in general, low organic matter
contents, high phosphorus and potassium contents and
high acidity.
The climate in Quinta da França is moderately humid,
mesothermic, with high water deficit and moderate
thermal efficiency during summertime. The average
daily temperature ranges from 7 ºC in December to
22.6 ºC in July, with extreme average values, in the
same months, of 2.8 ºC and 30.2 ºC.
Climate and Soils
Quinta da França
MISART
This project follows the general principle of creation of
multiple-scale heterogeneity, fostering the development
of multiple micro-habitats.
In the neighbouring area, a flooded pasture is created,
irrigated by a water channel coming from a weir in river
Zêzere. Surrounding this pasture an area of unirrigated
pasture is recovered. The area of maritime pine forest
that exists around the main gravel pits should be used as
the main barrier between this area and the adjoining
social areas (houses of Quinta de Baixo). The continuity
between the pine forest and the riparian corridor is
assured through the plantation of a corridor of common
ash, white poplar, oak, chestnut and maritime pine.
The margins are stabilised through the reinforcement of
the existing riparian corridor, plantation of common
alder, willows, poplars and common ash. The recovery
of the gravel extraction areas proper is made by
reinforcing their potential as water surfaces, supplied by
the groundwater table. The existence of water is
conditioned by an increase in depth, which should be
made compatible with smooth margin slopes, so as to
maximise the margin’s potential for the colonisation by
rooted aquatic plants.
A model is proposed for the ecological reclamation of
existing gravel pits through their conversion into
artificial wetlands. The specific objectives of these
actions are to increase biological diversity, rehabilitate
the scenic value of the landscape and promote
hydrological regularisation.
Gravel Pits
MISART
Wetland
wetlands
converted into
Gravel pits can be
Gravel pit
Page 21
land-use planning
consideration in the
taken into
of this study are
The recommendations
studied
wild rabbits was
existing habitats for
The suitability of
Rabbit burrow
Page 20
The results of this study will be incorporated in the
sizing of open habitats within forest areas, particularly
pastures and unirrigated cereal crops (see previous
page), and in the general land-use planning to be
applied to the farm.
The method was applied to the distribution of wild
rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Quinta da França. It
was considered that the use of different habitats could
be inferred from signs of the species’ occurrence. The
habitats were characterised according to variables like
density and height of plant cover, type and use of soil,
distance to water source, grazing intensity and
landscape structure. The most significant variables
were: size of habitat (positive effect); intensive grazing
(positive effect); existence of pine and eucalyptus forest
vs. existence of shrubs, degraded areas and oak forest
(negative effect).
In this context, a method for the evaluation of the
habitat for game species was developed, integrating
economic and ecological considerations. Multiple
logistic regression is used to obtain an occurrence
probability of each species at each point, based on
environmental variables. This probability is
transformed, through the application of a threshold
value, into predictions of occurrence
(presence / absence).
Game species are an essential component in the
financial viability of agri-forest and multiple use forest
systems.
Game
MISART
Participation
Supply
Demand
Households
$Payment
Demand
Multiple
Information
Transparent
Opaque
Price
Information
Demand
Supply
Services
Goods
Personalisation
Education
Enrichment
Firms
Supply
Relation between companies and consumers
In this way, trust is built between companies and
consumers, beneficial to both parties.
In the conventional economic perspective, prices are
essentially the only information shared between
producers and consumers. MISART proposes a more
complete communication system between companies
and consumers: consumers inform companies of their
preferences in a personalised manner, while companies
inform consumers about production processes and
environmental impacts during the product’s life cycle.
Additionally, companies allow consumers to participate
in decision making.
MISART proposes a concept of company where the
company’s activities are a scientific experience in itself:
it generates problems with practical relevance; it tests
scientific knowledge through its application in solving
real world problems.
MISART
proposed
consumers is
companies and
system between
communication
A more complete
River Zêzere
Page 9
sustainability
quality and
product’s safety,
guarantees about the
Agriculture
Accommodation
and Products
Product
Supply
Holidays
Customers
Consumption
The contact with the place of production guarantees
consumers the security, quality and sustainability of the
products, while acting as tourists. Consumers conciliate
the buying of quality products with a visit, where they
may experience activities not available in urban areas.
Contact with the place of production is enriching for
consumers, who will value more the products they
consume.
Distribution
Product
Transportation
gives consumers
Rural Areas
Urban Areas
Tourism
Quinta da França
Connecting the rural and urban worlds
MISART proposes that farms supply quality food
products and tourism in rural areas to urban consumers.
Consumers receive differentiated food products.
Differentiation comes from the quality of the product,
but also from the personalised service and from
environmental awareness raising actions.
Rural sustainability, and in particular that of farms, is
connected to a strong relation between farm
management and consumers, thus reinforcing the
relation between the rural and urban areas. This can be
achieved by acting at the levels of agriculture, tourism
and commercialisation.
Rural and Urban Areas
Families
Firms
place of production
Contact with the
Contact with
rural areas
Page 10
MISART
Travel
Common ash
Pyrenean oak
Maritime pine
Main forest species to be used
Common alder
The areas to be reforested should consider also the
maintenance of open areas (pastures, or unirrigated
cereal crops) and the construction of small water weirs,
important for a diverse set of animals, namely game
species like partridges and rabbits.
When expanding forest areas, regional species and
systems should be preferred, namely when the
restoration of riparian corridors and ridges is at stake.
The hillsides may be used for more intensively managed
and productive forest systems, eventually using nonnative species.
The proposed planning model considers three distinct
physiographical units: water courses and floodable
areas; hillsides; ridges. An overlapping criterion was
considered, i.e., to maintain existing forest areas,
regardless of forest type.
MISART
- ridges
- hillsides
- water courses
units:
on three landscape
A forest model based
Water course
Ridges
Page 19
financially viable
services and is
environmental
provides important
Multiple use forestry
Page 18
Multiple use forest provides important environmental
services, namely the prevention of erosion, decrease of
water runoff, maintenance of migration and nursery
habitats, conservation of biological diversity and use for
recreation purposes. It is financially viable when the
forest already exists, with revenues from the start.
It was concluded that multiple use forests is the best
system according to the criteria of diversity, flexibility
and social and economic impact. Short rotation forests
are the best system when evaluated according to
production criteria. Long rotation forests have positive
impacts in criteria like soil coverage, diversity and
sustainable development.
A method of integrated evaluation of a product or
service is developed and applied, based on life cycle
assessment and evaluation of impacts and services. The
evaluation may be either quantitative or qualitative and
includes economic, social and aesthetic criteria,
material and energy consumption and emission of
pollutants.
An analysis of three forest management scenarios was
carried out: short rotation forest; long rotation forest;
multiple use forest. These scenarios were evaluated
according to ecological, socio-economic and financial
criteria. Ecological criteria relate to regulation
functions (carbon and solar energy storage, nutrient
balance, soil acidity, erosion prevention, hydrologic
regulation and groundwater recharge, maintenance of
migration and nursery habitats and global biological
diversity), carrier functions (providing suitable
substrates for human habitation, recreation and tourism
and the development of socio-economic activities),
production functions (wood and non-wood products),
information functions (scientific, cultural). Socioeconomic criteria relate to the capacity and flexibility
to react to changing conditions, to management
complexity and to the availability of human resources.
Financial analysis was based in cost-benefit ratios with
different discount rates.
phytopharmaceuticals
seeds
fertilisers
irrigation
fertilisation
seeding
mobilisation
Financial costs
harvesting
general costs
phytopharmaceuticals
fertilisers
harvesting
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irrigation
fertilisation
seeding
mobilisation
pollutant emission
consumption and
material and energy
aesthetic criteria,
economic, social and
is based on
Integrated evaluation
Energy costs
seeds
general costs
Integrated evaluation of maize production
Therefore, priorities should be to reduce the use of
fertilisers, water and tillage. This can be achieved by
using manure, rotation with legumes, combined
fertilisation-irrigation, irrigation with centre pivot and/
or reduced tillage.
The figure below shows an example, the integrated
evaluation of maize production. From the financial and
energy perspective, fertilisation and irrigation represent
the biggest share. Environmentally, maize production
consumes a great amount of water, leading to nutrient
runoff.
Analytic Integration
MISART
Forestry
MISART
between activities
promoting synergies
reducing residues and
between sectors,
the integration
resource use through
Optimisation of
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Model of integration between sectors
The integration of tourism and agriculture provides
additional revenues. Tourism benefits from the
enriching context provided by farms.
The use of external resources as productive factors,
namely in animal and plant nutrition, contributes to the
sustainability of the surrounding region.
produces
fertilises
Animal
Production
feeds
Forage
Crops in the
Rotation
participates
Vegetable
Production
food
stable litter
produce
produces
Crop
Residues
The introduction of horses for tourism complements the
set of animal species proposed. There is a need to invest
in the genetic quality of the existing animals, using e.g.
selected breeding with pure Lusitano stallions from the
national horse service. The principles stated above
should also apply to horse production.
Adapted from Edwards, 1990
Animal
Manure
fertilises
Synergies between agriculture and animal husbandry
Therefore, MISART proposes the extensive husbandry
of sheep, cattle and goat for meat and sheep for milk.
The use of permanent pastures should be enhanced,
eliminating the use of concentrated feed produced
outside Quinta da França.
Extensive animal husbandry is seen as a way of creating
added value for cereal production, particularly in dry
land areas, nowadays poorly valued in the context of a
globalised economy. The synergies between animal
husbandry and agriculture are, therefore, one way to
increase the sustainability of agricultural activities.
The integration between production sectors allows the
optimisation of resource use and enhances the synergies
between activities within the company.
The residues of one sector may be a productive input in
another. Likewise, the products of one sector may be
used as raw materials in another sector.
Animal Husbandry
MISART
Sector Integration
MISART
Horses
animal nutrition
external inputs for
Total elimination of
Goats
Cattle
Sheep
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Rye
Maize
of good practice
application of codes
farming, with the
and conventional
synthesis of organic
A sustainable
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In the future, with the implementation of the irrigation
plan of Cova da Beira, all the irrigated crops should be
revised, leading to increased profitability and a
significant reduction of environmental impacts.
Landscape structure should be maintained, irrigation
procedures should be optimised, reduced tillage
practices promoted and pesticides and fertilisers used
selectively. As far as possible, agri-forest systems
should be promoted, inducing the multiple use of oak
forests and pastures.
Spatial organisation is based on the principles of
landscape planning.
For agriculture, MISART proposes a sustainable
synthesis between organic and conventional farming.
This should be complemented with the extensive
application of codes of good practice, namely those
related to nitrate fertilisation and tillage.
River and Margins
Leaching
Adjacent Area
Wet System - Main Water Course
Spatial intervention model
Slope
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Infiltration
Infiltration
Ridge
production
maximisation of
of resources and the
allows the protection
landscape planning
principles of
The application of the
Dry System
Wet systems are composed of water courses, margins
and adjoining (flat) areas. Adjacent areas may be used
for irrigated crops, as long as they are margined by tree
lines (parallel and perpendicular to the main water
course) for protection from flood erosion. These lines
also contribute to the creation of soil through the
deposition of sediment during floods and to capturing
nutrients leached from agriculture. Adjacent areas with
low agricultural potential should be forested or
converted into wetlands.
Dry systems are composed of ridges and hillsides.
Being erosion prone and less suitable for water
infiltration, these areas should have permanent cover,
either pasture or forest, thus facilitating infiltration
(especially in concave areas) and reducing the risk of
erosion.
The figure below represents a terrain cross section,
divided in the dry and the wet systems.
Spatial Integration
MISART
Agriculture
MISART
for Quinta da França
intervention proposed
Main areas of
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Agriculture
Better facilities for livestock housing increase the potential
for manure production
Fences allows better pasture management
Sheep are fed with
pastures, hay and cereal
grains produced in Quinta
da França
Livestock Breeding
Horses may be used by tourists
Burying of Cytisus shrubs for nitrogen
fertilisation of rye crops
Use of manure
Weed control using rye
Introduction leguminous-cereal rotation
Rotation with maize and hemp or legumes
Winter crops altered to legume and grass multicropping systems
Combined irrigation and fertilisation
Areas of Intervention
MISART
ç
Consumer awareness raising
- Water and energy savings
- Waste separation
Tourism
Solar technologies
- Water heating through solar panels
- Use of evergreen tree species on
the north side of the houses and of
deciduous tree species on the south
side
- Skylight windows on the south side
of the house
Conservation of existing
forest areas
Age diversity
Species diversity
Forestry
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