In the past fire that occurred in Portugal, to burn 440.000 hectares of land. Wind erosion and lack of vegetation make the soil impoverished and immediate repopulation is necessary. A bird that is common among the forests of our peninsula has become a great ally for the reforestation of these burned hectares. It's about the jay.
How can a bird help repopulate a forest? If you want to know more, keep reading.
Jay
The jay is also known as the blue magpie and its scientific name is Garralus glandarius. It is a bird belonging to the corvids and its main diet is that of fruits such as acorn or chestnuts. The characteristic that makes it more special is that these fruits are kept under the ground to have food throughout the year.
Therefore, we want to promote the jay populations, so that they help in the reforestation of these areas. The portuguese environmental association "Montis" has developed a campaign based on crowdfunding to obtain funds.
More acorns needed
Isabel Dos Santos is one of those responsible for the campaign to obtain funds. On November 27 they launched this proposal to be able to raise money that they will use to buy the necessary acorns, with which, later, the jays will use to indirect repopulation of oaks in burned mountains.
The jay is capable of storing acorns within a radius of five kilometers, so they are able to cover a large area of repopulation per individual. These birds can be seen with the naked eye, since they stand out for their blue and grayish tones.
It must be taken into account that each one is capable of storing between 3.000 and 5.000 acorns underground throughout the winter, so over time these can be potential oaks, cork oaks, or holm oaks.
As is normal, after keeping acorns for so long, many of them are forgotten and in the end they end up germinating. This is what you want to take advantage of to repopulate.
Jays often use even the cotyledons of these shoots - without harming the growth of the plant - to feed their young during the spring.
Repopulation by natural processes
Taking this action will naturally benefit an ecosystem. Thanks to these natural processes, the oaks can be re-expanded on these lands. The habit of these birds offers a very cheap but resulting effect.
But how do you intend to do all of this? Montis will place several boards in a higher position, where some rodents that feed on acorns cannot reach, and will place a handful of them for the jays to catch.
Before placing the fruits, they will make sure that the area is close to the burned places and they are areas where jays abound.
All the areas where it is intended to start this have been damaged by the fire. These zones are the Sierra de Arada, the Sierra de Freita and in an oak grove in the Caramulo region.
They already placed one of these boards at the beginning of autumn, but on October 15, due to the fire, the destroyed facilities finished. Because of this, Montis will start the next campaign when they are able to collect the best quality acorns that the jays will use.
The jay has the potential to be able to transport distances of more than 100 kilometers these fruits, therefore, it is one of the best options for natural seed propagation.
It is important to repopulate the burned hectares with native trees that do not favor the spread of fires, as in the case of pines and eucalyptus (although these are more profitable).
Experts consider that the repopulation of Portuguese forests with oaks and cork oaks is the best option, compared to black pine and eucalyptus, species that do not favor biodiversity and are allies of fires.
Also, many volunteers have been launched to fly over the burned areas and throw seeds for the repopulation.