PORTUGAL.
A pamphlet written for the International Exposition at Rio de Janeiro in 1908, contains a chapter written by a forester, Borges, which gives most recent and authentic information.
Besides notes scattered through the literature, an article by L. Pardée, a French botanist, in Revue des Eaux et Forêts, 1911, gives an extensive description of forest conditions and especially of the forest of Leiria.
The small kingdom which occupies the west coast of the Iberian peninsula, with 34,000 square miles and 6 million people, is in many respects similar to Spain, except that a larger portion is fertile, being situated in the litoral region, the climate less excessive, and the people somewhat more enterprising. Not much more than one-half of the country, however, is utilized; nearly 15,000 square miles being waste.
Three sections or zones are recognized, the northern, bounding on Spain which is mainly mountainous but also contains extensive sand dunes, is the best wooded; the central, which is hilly and less well wooded, contains (in Estremadura and Beira) one of the most desolate regions of Europe and at the same time the best managed forest; the southern, the richest in farm lands, with semi-tropic climate and flora, the zone of evergreen broadleaf flora.
About 10% of the land area, or 4 million acres are under forest, although 2 million more are wooded with olive, fig, almond plantations, or open woodlands and brushwood. Of the actual forest area the State owns only 82,000 acres, 30,000 of which reforested areas or sand dunes in process of recovery.
The composition is nearly one-half of pine (Pinus maritima and pinea), one-fifth, cork oak “with pastures,” a little over one-fifth, other evergreen oaks “with pastures,” and the balance, chestnut and deciduous oaks.
The fact of the extensive private ownership and the reference to the pastures in the enumeration of forest areas suffice to give an idea of the condition of most of them. The oak forest is also to a large extent still used for hog raising.
Besides the native forest areas, there are in existence a number of parks and plantations of exotics, the climate of Portugal in parts resembling that of California and permitting a wide range of introductions, even tropical. There is perhaps nowhere such a good opportunity of seeing the most varied forest flora in fine development as the forest parks of Montserrate, of Bussaco, and in the various botanical gardens.
Extensive Eucalyptus and Acacia plantations, some 1500 acres, of high economical value, near Abrantés, are the enterprise of a private landowner, W. C. Tait.
The deficiency of wood supplies is covered by an importation of about 1.5 million dollars against which there is an export of a little over half a million, mainly cooperage stock. The best developed forest industry is the growing of cork giving rise to an export of around 5 million dollars. A considerable naval store production is also developed.
The first attempt at a real management of the State’s property dates from 1868; a regular organization, however, did not take place until 1872, when, under the Director-General of Commerce and Industries, a forest administrator with a technical staff of three division chiefs, corresponding to the three sections of country, and six forestmasters were installed.
At present, the staff of the Inspector consists of 8 technically educated assistants, each in charge of some branch of service. Under these, there are a number of field agents or supervisors (some 14 in 1903) with less education, and underforesters and guards.
The only really well managed forest, the pride of the Portuguese foresters, is the forest of Leiria in Estremadura, a planted pinery of about 25,000 acres, on which over 50 men of various grades are employed, with naval store distilleries, impregnating works, and saw mills. Its management (in natural seed tree system) dates from 1892.
Besides attending to the management of the State forests, a committee composed of the administrator and some of the technical staff, were to examine the country and decide what parts needed reforestation. As a result of a very full report, in 1882, a reboisement law was enacted under which some of the sand dunes were fixed.
In 1903, a more thorough organization of this work took place, which, with liberal appropriations, promises more rapid progress.
This law recognizes two ways of placing private property under a forestry regime, namely obligatory and facultative or voluntary. Territory in the mountains and on dunes may if deemed by the superior Agricultural Council as requiring it from the point of view of public utility be placed under the regime by royal decree. Or else private owners may ask to have their properties so placed, either merely securing police protection, obligating themselves to keep the property wooded, or working under a working plan or reforestation plan provided by the Forest Service.
In either case the owner is obliged to pay the guards and at the rate of about 2 cents per acre for the working plans. Planting material is furnished free or at cost price, and exemption from taxes for 20 years is granted for reforested lands. Expropriation of waste lands declared as of public interest is provided, if owners object to enforced reforestation. Some 275,000 acres have so far been placed under the forestry regime.
There are provisions for forestry education in the School of Agriculture at Lisbon, or the education for the higher positions in the forest service may be secured at German or French forest schools, and some have secured it at Vallambrosa.