COORDINATION: João Carneiro (Estação Nacional de Melhoramento de Plantas/INIAP)
CEABN TEAM: Miguel Bugalho (CEABN Coordination).
OTHER INSTITUTIONS: Centro de Estudos Florestais (Instituto Superior de Agronomia - Universidade Técnica de Lisboa), Direcção Regional de Agricultura do Alentejo, FERTIPRADO, Sementes e Nutrientes Lda., Estação Nacional de Melhoramentos de Plantas (Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e das Pescas), Laboratório de Química Agrícola Rebelo da Silva (Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e das Pescas) Universidade de Évora.
We aimed to demonstrate that pastures rich in legumes and with high species richness are a sustainable alternative for over 2.5 ha of marginal agricultural land in Alentejo, Southern Portugal.
Demonstration was conducted at 15 ha plots in 6 different locations representing areas of poor or degraded soils in Portugal.
In each of these locations seed pastures rich in legumes and other species adapted to the region are compared (biomass, productivity) with natural grasslands. Adequate levels of fertilizing and adequate technical support is provided to farmers implementing such schemes.
