## 2 The Montado Ecosystem  
Montado is characterized by an arboreal stratum formed by trees with open canopies, dominated by holm oaks, cork oaks or other quencines (Quercus genus), and by herbaceous annual species and shrubs [9]. So, it is an agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem, multifunctional, and characteristic of the Alentejo region in Portugal, where agricultural, livestock and forestry, beekeeping, forestry, hunting, and tourism activities are combined [1; 9; 10; 11]. This agro-silvo-pastoral system, typical of semi-arid Mediterranean conditions, is called \"Dehesa\" in Spain. In the Iberian Peninsula, Montado occupies 73,000 Km2 (7,300,000 ha), where cork oaks (_Quercus suber_ L.), holm oaks (_Quercus rotundifolia_ [PERSON]), and black oaks (_Quercus pyrenaica_ [PERSON]) are found [12; 13]. In Portugal, the Montado represents 33% of the forest area [14; 15]. A recent work mentions that the Portuguese territory is occupied by 1 million hectares of Montado [16]. Figure 1 shows the distribution of Montado/Dehesa in the Iberian Peninsula. Montado, as found nowadays, is the result of an evolution of the Mediterranean forest, shaped by different agrarian policies and, consequently, by the human presence [17]. The opening of the Mediterranean woodland and the maintenance of grazing and agricultural practices in its understory led to the Montado ecosystem [18]. This ecosystem originated by interactions between humans, who lived in this region, and nature, shaping it over time to meet their survival needs [19]. Over the centuries, the original Mediterranean ecosystem was changed into an agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem associated with extensive land holdings [17]. Until 1880, the use of Montado was more similar to the current use in modern times, with livestock (mainly sheep and Iberian pigs, but also some goats and cows) being the animal's fundamental element of this ecosystem. After 1880, the development of new cultural techniques, especially for cereals, and the progress of roads and railways led to the creation of a cultivated Montado, decreasing the area of the traditional Montado [17]. [PERSON] [20] states that, until 1850, Montado was dense scrubland governed only by natural laws, without direct human intervention and with very fertile soils, where sporadic ground clearance by fire facilitated spontaneous regeneration. With the national policies that promoted the intensification of cereal production (in the early twentieth century until 1918; the wheat campaign between 1929 and 1935, lasting until the end of World War II; and the agrarian reform between 1975  
Figure 1: Distribution of Montado and Dehesa in Portugal and Spain. Adapted from [13]. and 1979), the trees of Montado were eliminated, and the landscape became clean and treeless (Figure 2a), distinct from the traditional Montado (Figure 2b) [(11,17)]. All these stages of cereal production, namely, wheat, led to significant soil degradation due to deforestation by burning, cutting down trees, successive tillage with heavier farm implements, and, consequently, erosion [(17,19)]. Until the mid-twentieth century, the agricultural activity in Montado was based on rotations, starting with wheat, followed by barley or oats, with variable duration, based on soil fertility [(20,21)]. These cultural practices led to the degradation of this ecosystem, mainly by the tillage technique, which damaged the soil structure and the tree roots. [PERSON] [(20)] also mentions that the cultivation of Montado led to higher crop yields and acorns and lower risks of fires, highlighting that Montado provided cork, cereals, firewood, and meat as a result of the greatly intensified production in this ecosystem. The disturbance of the soil structure influences seed germination factors, such as water content, temperature, light, oxygen, and nitrates ([PERSON] et al., 1995; [PERSON] et al., 1998) cited by [(22)]. In addition to this action, soil disturbances also influence the location of seeds in the soil profile and thus can promote or inhibit the germination status [(23,24)].