A ''dehesa'' () is a multifunctional, agrosylvopastoral system (a type of

agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...

) and cultural landscape of southern and central Spain and southern Portugal; in Portugal, it is known as a ''montado''. Its name comes from the Latin 'defensa' (fenced) referring to land that was fenced, and usually destined for pasture. Dehesas may be private or communal property (usually belonging to the municipality). Used primarily for grazing, they produce a variety of products, including

non-timber forest product Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, see ...

s such as

wild game Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, th ...

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, and

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood ca ...

. They are also used to raise the Spanish fighting bull and the Iberian pig. The main tree component is oaks, usually holm (''

Quercus rotundifolia ''Quercus rotundifolia'', the holm oak or ballota oak, is an evergreen oak native to the western Mediterranean region, with the majority on the Iberian Peninsula and minor populations in Northwest Africa. The species was first described by Jea ...

'') and cork (''

Quercus suber ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

''). Other oaks, including melojo ('' Quercus pyrenaica'') and quejigo ('' Quercus faginea''), may be used to form dehesa, the species utilized depending on geographical location and elevation. Dehesa is an anthropogenic system that provides not only a variety of foods, but also wildlife habitat for endangered species such as the

Spanish imperial eagle The Spanish imperial eagle (''Aquila adalberti''), also known as the Spanish eagle or Adalbert's eagle, is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The binomial commemorates Prince Adalbert of Bavaria. Due to its distinct “epaule ...

. By extension, the term can also be used for this style of

rangeland management Rangeland management (also range management, range science, or arid-land management) is a professional natural science that centers around the study of rangelands and the "conservation and sustainable management f Arid-Landsfor the benefit of c ...

on estates.

Ecology

The dehesa is derived from the Mediterranean forest ecosystem, consisting of grassland featuring herbaceous species, used for grazing cattle, goats, and sheep, and tree species belonging to the genus ''Quercus'' ( oak), such as the holm oak ( ''Quercus'' ''rotundifolia''), although other tree species such as beech and

pine trees A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garde ...

may also be present. Oaks are protected and pruned to produce acorns, which the famous black Iberian pigs feed on in the fall during the ''montanera''. Ham produced from Iberian pigs fattened with acorns and air-dried at high elevations is known as '' Jamón ibérico'' (" presunto ibérico", or "pata negra" in Portuguese), and sells for premium prices, especially if only acorns have been used for fattening. In a typical dehesa, oaks are managed to persist for about 250 years. If cork oaks are present, the cork is harvested about every 9 to 12 years, depending on the productivity of the site. The understory is usually cleared every 7 to 10 years to prevent the takeover of the woodland by shrubs of the rock rose family ( Cistaceae), often referred to as "''jara''", or by oak seedlings. Oaks are spaced to maximize overall productivity by balancing light for the grasses in the understory, water use in the soils, and acorn production for pigs and game. There is debate about the origins and maintenance of the dehesa, and whether or not the oaks can reproduce adequately under the grazing densities now prevailing. The dehesa is many ways similar in to the

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal ...

, although the former is typically much more intensively managed.

Importance and economic context

The dehesa system has great economic and social importance on the Iberian Peninsula because of both the large amount of land involved and its importance in maintaining rural population levels. The major source of income for dehesa owners is usually

, a sustainable product that supports this ancient production system and old growth oaks.McGrath (2007) High end black iberian pigs and sale of hunting rights also represent significant income sources. Periodic hunts in the dehesa are known as the ''monteria''. Groups attend a hunt at a private estate and wait at hunting spots for game to be driven to them with dogs. They usually pay well for the privilege, hunting wild boar, red deer and other species. The area of dehesa usually coincides with areas that could be termed "marginal" because of both their limited agricultural potential (due to the poor quality of the soil) and a lack of local industry, which results in isolated agro-industries and very low capitalization.

Extent

Dehesa covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers on the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, mainly in: ;Portugal Francisco Manuel Parejo Moorish, 2010 * Alentejo *

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

;Spain * Córdoba *

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

* Sierra Morena ** Sierra de Aracena **

Sierra Norte de Sevilla Sierra Norte de Sevilla or Sierra Norte (Northern Range) is one of the western mountain ranges of the Sierra Morena, Andalusia, Spain. Its name derives from its location at the northern part of Sevilla Province. The highest point of the range is ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

Fra. Paleo, Urbano. (2010). "The ''dehesa/montado'' landscape".
pp. 149–151 in ''Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Socio-ecological Production Landscapes,'' eds. Bélair, C., Ichikawa, K., Wong, B.Y.L. and Mulongoy, K.J. Montreal: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Technical Series no. 52. * Huntsinger, Lynn; Adriana Sulak; Lauren Gwin; and Tobias Plieninger. (2004). "Oak woodland ranchers in California and Spain: Conservation and diversification". In ''Advances in Geoecology'', ed. S. F. A. Schnabel. * Joffre, R; Rambal, S; Ratte, JP. (1999). "The dehesa system of southern Spain and Portugal as a natural ecosystem mimic," '' Journal of Agroforestry'' 45(1-3): 57-79.
McGrath, Susan. (2007). "Corkscrewed,"
''

Audubon magazine ''Audubon'' is the flagship journal of the National Audubon Society. It is profusely illustrated and focuses on subjects related to nature, with a special emphasis on birds. New issues are published bi-monthly for society members. An active blo ...

'', January–February.

External links

Plataforma integralDehesa
- Página web de agentes del sector
Proyecto Biodehesa

Foro encinal

Dehesas ibéricas

Observatorio de la dehesa y el montado
{{Non-timber forest products Natural regions Geography of Spain Agriculture in Spain Non-timber forest products Forestry in Spain Agriculture in Portugal Geography of Portugal Agroforestry systems Quercus Cultural landscapes