The Common Forest Project in partnership with the municipality of Melgaço (Portugal) and Corticeira Amorim, and with the support of the Cousso Town Council have made possible the planting of 2,700 cork oak trees in Cousso, a town lying on the valley slope of the River Mouro in Peneda Mountain.
The purpose of planting Portuguese native trees in this area is to create a natural barrier against forest fires in Peneda Mountain, near the Peneda Geres National Park. The tree planting project by the municipality of Melgaço had the support of Quercus' Common Forest Project, ICNF (Institute for Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity), ANMP (National Association of Portuguese Municipalities ) and UTAD (University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro), with the special support of the College of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University (Porto). Several employees of Corticeira Amorim volunteered for this tree-planting initiative.
Most of the cork oak trees planted in this event resulted from an application submitted by the municipality of Melgaço to the Tree Exchange Program of the Common Forest Project. The plantation of 500 cork oak tress was supported by 100% Cork, an organization that launched the "Like us, we'll plant a cork tree" initiative in the USA. The CorkWay online store has also contributed with 200 oak trees to this tree planting.
Spreading over a burnt area of about 10 hectares, this forest is located in an area of wasteland near Virtelo in Cousso and consists of 2700 cork oaks, 700 oaks, 570 elms and six other native species.
Native forests are better adapted to the area-specific soil and climatic conditions and, therefore, are more resistant to fire, pests, diseases, long periods of drought or heavy rain compared with forests planted with non-native tree and shrub species. Therefore, planting forest areas with native species such as oaks and cork oaks is one of the strategies recommended for the prevention of forest fires in northern and central Portugal (the areas most affected by wildfires). It should also be noted that this type of forest can help mitigate climate change by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, regulate the water cycle, conserve biodiversity and maintain the biological balance in the landscape.
Corticeira Amorim is a partner in the Common Forest Project since its inception. The revenue raised from Green Cork - a natural wine cork recycling program - is reinvested in preserving Portugal's indigenous forests.
Volunteers of Corticeira Amorim have planted over 11,000 native trees, mainly cork oaks, since 2011.
