## 3 Results  
### Portuguese Agro Biodiversity  
Despite its small dimensions, Portugal has a huge environmental variability of orography conditions, soils, climate, land structure, social and cultural traditions. Furthermore, Portugal has great biodiversity, particularly regarding officially recognised as autochthonous breeds (15 bovine, 16 ovine, six caprime, three swine, six equine and four chickens' breeds). These breeds and their exploitation represent an important part of the country's historical and cultural heritage, contributing to the settlement of population in rural areas and resulting in different manifestations of gastronomy, social and cultural traditions [22]. Consequently, agriculture and forestry are crucial for sustainable development in the Guarda region in its economic, social, and environmental aspects. According to INE (2009) [23], the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA), represents 29.15% of Guarda district territory which corresponds to 161,405 ha, of which, permanent pastures occupy almost 50%. In Guarda district, 65.45% of the UAA (about 2/3 of total) is used for livestock production, highlighting the great importance of this sector and its impact in the economy and the region's society. The same source also indicates that existed 30,375 bovines in the region, 153,348 sheep, 20,403 goats, 13,759 pigs, 4585 equines, among other farm animals (INE 2009). Several autochthonous breeds originated in this region, namely: the goat's breed \"Cabra Serrana\" (\"Cabra Jarmelista\", \"Cabrito da Beira\" (Geographical Protected Indication--GPI)), the sheep breeds \"Churra Mondegueira\" and \"Bordaleira Serra da Estrela\" (producers of milk used for one of the most important PDO cheese of the country, \"Queijo Serra da Estrela\"), \"Borrego Serra da Estrela\" (PDO), the Serra da Estrela lamb meat, and the bovine breed \"Jarmelista\". In the last years, a significant decrease in the number of animals from autochthonous breeds in the livestock production was registered in the region and as stated by other authors, reducing the number of effective from autochthonous breeds would necessarily result in the desertification, with an emergency of actions in order to add value to this sector and products [22]. Globally, in animal production, meat still occupies a place of crucial importance, and traditionally, beef is the most relevant in the market. In 2013, Portugal had the 14 th largestcattle herd in the EU, with approximately 1,471,000 heads which remained constant over the years, contrary to other kinds of livestock for which the trend was negative [10; 24; 25]  
The bovine production in Portugal has traditionally been carried out on farms specialised in the farming or rearing and fattening [26]. In 2018, beef production represented about 20% of the total volume of meat produced in Portugal, and the certified meat (PDO and Protected Geographical Indication-PGI) represented only a 2.6% of the total beef production [27]. With the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis in the late 1990s and early 2000s, beef consumption declined. However, according to [PERSON] [28], the BSE crisis brought autochthonous breeds back into line due to their resilience to disease and consumers' confidence. Climate aggression gives these breeds so-called rusticity and significant competition power [29]. According to GPP (2017) [30], beef consumption in Portugal has been decreasing since 2008. In that same year, beef consumption was 19.6 kg/hab. ; in 2013, consumption decreased to 16.9 kg/hab. INE [23]. In terms of value, domestic consumption of beef in Portugal remained stable in 2008 and 2009 representing 207 thousand tons, decreasing in the following years by approximately 15% between 2009 and 2013 [23]. The production of beef in Portugal is not enough for domestic demand, and this situation has been worsening in recent years, according to [27]. From 2009 until 2012, the degree of self-supply only covered 52% of consumption needs.