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According to the IPMA (Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere), "the autumn of 2017 (September, October, November) in mainland Portugal was hot and extremely dry", having been "the second driest autumn since 1931" and the driest since 1971.

As for the average value of the maximum air temperature, in this period, it was "the highest since 1931", that is, in the last 86 years.

However, the biggest problem is not in the occurrence of episodes of greater drought, but in the frequency and intensity with which they occur (more frequent, more intense and with higher temperatures), which begin to worry the researchers.

Regarding forest areas in Portugal, the southern region should be the most affected by the reduction of available water with a consequent reduction in the area. There is also likely to be a migration of forest species from the south to the north, and from the interior to the coast, with a widening of the season of fires and fires in greater numbers and dimensions. In addition, climate change will continue to have an impact on the annual cycles of many living things. For example, there are birds in Portugal that are already reproducing a few days earlier than usual. There are also species that anticipate the date of return to and from the migrations to the places where they spend the winter.

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In Portugal approximately 25% of the number of river fish species are of alien origin. Some of these taxa show a remarkable acclimatization to the national waterways, and could pose a serious threat to several Iberian endemisms. This is due to the competition for resources (food and / or habitat), predation, hybridization and occasionally being vectors of disease or responsible for the introduction of parasites.

The introduction has various origins:  to provide greater yield of inland waters for sport fishing and human feed, escape or release of aquaculture specimens and inadvertently through goods from other countries.

Examples: Sunfish - Lepomis gibbosus (photo), carp (Cyprinus carpio) and black bass (Micropterus salmoides).

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The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) said said the stock of sardines with one or more years of age had been falling since 2006. Sardine fishing should be banned in Portugal and Spain next year (2019) due to the reduction in the stocks that has been seen over the past few years.

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Achondrostoma occidentale is a species of freshwater fish from Portugal, it is considered endangered on IUCN red list of threatened species (EN).

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LIFE WolFlux - for the Iberian Wolf (Theme 3)

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LIFE WolFlux - for the Iberian Wolf (Theme 3)

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The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus Cabrera 1907) is a proposed subspecies of grey wolf (LC) that inhabits the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, which includes northern Portugal and northwestern Spain.

The Portuguese wolf sub-population in the south of the Douro river is fragmented and isolated from the rest of the Iberian wolf population due to geographic, ecological and social barriers.
Conflicts with animal husbandry, negative attitudes, poaching, a lack of wild prey and habitat loss are some of the main threats.

This project (about 1,639,036euros) aims reduce conflicts, diminish poaching and human-caused fires and increase availability of wild prey for the wolf.

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The gold-striped salamander, Chioglossa lusitanica, is an Iberian endemic amphibian with a small distribution and a distinct ecological niche. It is found in the north-west of Iberia at an altitude of up to 1,300 m. The species inhabits the banks of swift running mountain streams in areas characterized by high rainfall, high topographical relief and low summer and winter temperatures. Secluded places such as mine galleries are used for re-production.

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Cryphonectria parasitica (pathogenic fungus), the causal agent of chestnut blight, has been responsible for the decline in chestnut in Portugal for the last two decades (parasite).

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The pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is one of the most destructive species to pines and cedars in Central Asia, North Africa and the countries of southern Europe (parasite).

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The gold-striped salamander (predator) feeds primarily on invertebrates (prey), using its sticky tongue to catch them. It is threatened by habitat loss (VU).

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The wolves were brought in because the increased elk population was overgrazing the deciduous, woody species such as aspen and cottonwood.

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Linaria ricardoi is a small endemic plant, from the Beja region (Portugal), in danger of extinction (NT).

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By the turn of the 21st century, the Iberian lynx was on the verge of extinction, as only about 100 individuals survived in two isolated subpopulations in Andalusia.
Conservation measures implemented included a captive breeding program.

The Iberian Lynx reproduction centre near the town of Silves, Portugal.

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The conservation effort: from a population of less than 100 individuals in 2002 to 547 the Mediterranean forests of the Iberian Peninsula (2018).

Photo: The reintroduction of Iberian lynx in Portugal (2015).

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Lynx pardinus is the world's most endangered feline species, native of the Iberian Peninsula (EN).

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Anaecypris hispanica is found in the basin of the Guadiana River in southern Spain and Portugal (EN).

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Endemic species - Iberian imperial eagle

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Endemic species - Iberian imperial eagle

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Aquila adalberti  is a threatened species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula (VU).

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34% of the world's área of cork oak florest is located in Portugal (736,000 hectares).

In the Portuguese town of Águas de Moura is located the Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak), a tree 234 years old, 16 metres tal.  It has been considered a National Monument since 1988.

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Pressure on the natural resources: 135 million people live in it, 220 million tourists a year.
Forest fires: in Portugal, in 2017, more than 440 thousand hectares of forest were burned.

Photo: Monchique (Algarve), 2018

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It is ranked as the third-richest biodiversity hotspot in terms of its plant diversity.
Approximately 13,000 of its 30,000 plant species are endemic.

Photo: WWF, Portugal, Rui Cunha

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This hotspot covers 2,085,292 Km². It includes most of Greece, northern Italy and the majority of the Iberian Peninsula.

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In the north of Portugal, between Vila Real and Mondim de Basto, Alvão Natural Park was established in 1983 and covers just 70 square kilometers, but it is home to many species. For example, the red-billed chough (predator), a bird in the crow family, which takes mainly invertebrate prey (LC).