Mosaic Landscape Regeneration
Why Mosaic Landscapes Matter
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Across the Mediterranean, nature once arranged itself into mosaics—living patchworks of native woodland, open pasture, riparian corridors and smallholder farms. These diverse habitats do more than create a beautiful countryside. Their variety of trees, shrubs and meadows breaks up continuous fuel, forming natural firebreaks and cooler, moister micro-climates that slow the spread of flames and help the land recover after a burn.
Species such as the cork oak, Portugal’s national tree, have evolved within these systems and are key to fire resilience.Mosaic landscapes are also biodiversity powerhouses. The mix of shaded forest, sunny pasture and wet stream margins provides niches for countless plants, birds, insects and mammals while enriching soils and conserving precious water. For centuries, traditional low-intensity grazing and small-scale farming maintained these habitats. Today, however, industrial plantations of fast-growing, highly flammable trees are replacing them, and the mosaics are disappearing.
Montado is an example of a cultural landscape that preserves mosaic conditions. Montado, in fact, is an ancestral cultural landscape of mixed native open forest and agricultural land, open grazing and wetlands. This agro-silvo-pastoral system was maintained for centuries by age-old protective legislation and guardianship. The cultural and environmental value is so significant, Montado was included in UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List in 2017. The interconnectivity between local community and land extends to cultural practices, storytelling, gastronomy, folk-tales, song and dance, romerias, festivals. In Beira Baixa, cultura arraiana or border culture is deeply connected to territory. However, montado has all but disappeared from the territory, being replaced by industrial farming and monoculture plantations of pine and eucalyptus
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Guardians Worldwide at Floresta Portelas
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At Floresta Portelas in Penamacor, Guardians Worldwide is working to bring the mosaic back. On our 2-hectare living laboratory we are restoring native oak woodlands, creating open glades and riparian plantings, and supporting low-impact grazing to keep the land humid and diverse.
This “fire-smart” design not only protects wildlife but also safeguards local communities, demonstrating how traditional stewardship can regenerate landscapes and create sustainable livelihoods in nature tourism, small-scale forestry and regenerative agriculture.
By combining ecological science with community action, Guardians Worldwide shows that mosaic regeneration is both an ancient practice and a modern solution—one that protects wildlife, prevents megafires and offers a resilient future for people and the land alike.
