The Peneda-Gerês National Park is located in the northwest of Portugal, extending through the municipalities of
Melgaço,
Arcos de Valdevez and
Ponte da Barca (in the district of
Viana do Castelo),
Terras de Bouro (district of
Braga), and
Montalegre (district of
Vila Real). The park includes an area of 702.90 km2, of which 52.75 km2 are
public lands, 194.38 km2 are
private property and the remaining 455.77 km2 are
commons.
Physical geography of the Homem river The park is a vast amphitheatre-shaped space sculpted during the
Variscan orogeny by geological forces, wind and water, and extends from the Castro Laboreiro to the Mourela plateaus, encompassing the Serra da Peneda, Serra do Soajo, Serra Amarela and the Serra do Gerês. These form a barrier between the ocean
plains to its west and the
plateaus in the east. The highest peaks are Peneda (1340 m), Soajo (1430 m), Amarelo (1350 m), Gerês (1545 m) and Altar dos Cabrões (1,538 m) located on the border with Galicia, continuing into this territory as part of the
Serra do Xurés. The granitic rocks that dominate this shield were deposited during the process of continental collision that brought together the lower Iberian peninsula with Europe, between 380 million and 275 million years; • Gerês granite structures - includes Gerês, Paufito, Carris, Borrageiro and Tieiras, and is composed of special mineralogical and geochemical intrusions that occurred through third phase of Hercynian faults, caused by a differentiating of basic magmas. The terrain in these regions include a vigorous relief, a rounded granite petrography, such as in the Serra da Peneda; The incorporation of biomass and elevated precipitation, along with the low autumn-winter temperatures give an origin to the alterations in pH levels. Its climate is greatly influenced by the topography; the mountains exert a barrier effect to the passage of hot and wet air masses coming from the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in elevated precipitation throughout the year. It falls in a part of Portugal (and Europe) that is affected by extreme rainfall, obtaining precipitation levels of per year on higher altitudes, and at lower altitudes,
Flora of Peneda-Gerês . There are over 24 species of fern in the park. Biomass coverage of the Serra do Gerês, Serra Amarela, Serra do Peneda and Serra do Soajo, as well as the Mourela and Castro Laboreiro plateaus, are dominated by four distinct biomes: oak forest, shrubbery, marshes and riparian vegetation. There are 627 flora species identified by Serra and Carvalho (1989) as under pressure and considered endangered, which included two medicinal plants: tutsan (
Hypericum androsaemum) and sundew (
Drosera rotundifolia). Many of the studies conducted on the species that inhabitant the park have been concentrated in the area of Matas de Albergaria/Palheiros, traditionally identified as the
"heart" of the park. Work by the Faculty of Sciences at the
University of Porto and
University of Minho have concentrated on a few mammals (
Pyrenean desman,
European otter,
roe deer, and
wild boar), reptiles and fish. Meanwhile, other mammals, such as the population of
Iberian wolf (
Canis lupus signatus) have collapsed with human encroachment, while the number of exemplars are limited. Worthy of mention are the
Garrano (or Minho horse), a breed of small
equine species who were ancestors of the
Galician pony and
Andalusian horse, which mostly live in the wild, but are a gentle breed with no significant fear of humans. This management plan was based on a combination of biodiversity conservation and wilderness protection approaches. The plan was based on an up-to-date synthesis of all information and literature available about the protected area.
Human geography Although there has been variable growth throughout the
Norte region, there has been a general population decrease in those administrative units that fell within the Peneda-Gerês National Park (1981–1991), in the municipalities of
Melgaço (-16.8%),
Arcos de Valdevez (-13.4%),
Ponte da Barca(-6.1%),
Terras de Bouro (-7.2%), and
Montalegre (-20.3%). There was a population of 9,099 according to the 1991 census, a 16% decrease from the 10,849 registered in 1981. There are no positive-negative variations between civil parishes; of those civil parishes that fell within the PNPG authority, their populations dropped from 0.8% (
Vilar da Veiga) to 38.6% (
Sezelhe). These residents are concentrated primarily in various agglomerations: small nuclei separated from each other; an extension of buildings located along roadways; some isolated groups; constructions along agricultural roads in pasturelands; and three or more homes isolated by pastures. Consequently, there are six homogeneous zones: • Castro Laboreiro and Rio Laboreiro Valley - consisting of small agglomerations separated by short distances. It was still common practice for the residents of mountain communities to spend part of the year in two locations, primarily near
Castro Laboreiro. From about
Easter to about
Christmas, residents would live in homes above 1,000 m above sea level, known as
branda (from the Portuguese
brando, meaning
mild or
gentle). In the remaining part of the year, these inhabitants would occupy homes in the river valley, known as
inverneira (from the Portuguese
Inverno, meaning
winter); • Serras da Peneda and Serras do Soajo - small pastoral agglomerations, with different summer and winter residences; • Lima Valley and Serra Amarela - where the Lima Valley consists of two or more agglomerations connected by lines of residences between them, while in the Serra Amarela populations are concentrated in isolated pockets; • Gerês Valley - development of tourism, around the Caniçada Dam and Thermal baths, resulted in uncontrolled re-construction, re-modelling and expansion of existing residences, although there already existed a tendency for expansion along the avenues and accessways along the valley; • Cabril-Gerês - steep areas along the River Cávado and Salamonde Dam, where buildings are concentrated along the accessways, and Cabril River, with pasturelands located between agglomerations; • Mourela/Barroso Plateau - extending south, southeast and southwest, the plateau is a series of agglomerations, connected by avenues of built-up occupation. The expansion of Várzea, owing to the construction of the Paradela Dam, resulted in the reduction of cultivatable lands, meadows and marshes. Some of the villages in the high lands are located near the arable lands.
Terraces, built to make better use of these scarce lands, and traditional houses, with granite walls and
thatch roofs, shape the landscape with an indelible, harmonious, human mark in some of the most isolated villages such as Pitões das Júnias and Ermida. == Research ==