Conservation work at Ponta Branca

Nov. 25, 2024

Last September, conservation work was carried out at Ponta Branca on the island of Graciosa:

- 61 Metrosideros excelsa trees, 40 Sweet Pittosporum trees (Pittosporum undulatum), Elmleaf Blackberry and Common Bracken were removed in an area densely covered with native species;

- Invasive herbaceous species were carefully cut down to protect the endemic species on the site;

- Seeds of Azorean Bishopsweed (Ammi trifoliatum), Azorean St. John's Wort (Hypericum foliosum), African Boxwood (Myrsine retusa) and Azorean Crowberry (Corema album ssp. azoricum) were collected. Some of these seeds were sent to the seed bank and the rest to the greenhouse of the Graciosa Agrarian Development Service for propagation;

- Azorean Bishopsweed (Ammi trifoliatum) was also sown directly in a previously cleared area.

All this work was carried out as part of the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, under action C3.2 - In-situ conservation, to improve the conservation status of endemic and native species protected by the Habitats Directive.

Find out more about these works at: www.lifeazoresnatura.eu.