## 2 The Montado Ecosystem
### The Components of the Montado
#### 2.2.3 Pastures, Characteristics, and Management
Temperatures of 5.5 \({}^{\circ}\)C generally stop plant growth, and temperatures lower than 8-10 \({}^{\circ}\)C reduce the growth of temperate grasses [29]. The evapotranspiration rate in pastures, at the beginning of spring (April), decreases until the end of spring and ends at the beginning of July. During summer (July to September), when the soil surface is dry, there is no transpiration of the pasture, resuming after the beginning of autumn rains (October) [43]. Furthermore, in summer, the pasture is dry, so it has no transpiration. Soil moisture increases N availability and the rate of N assimilation by plants, leading to an increase in pasture productivity [64]. Most permanent pastures in the Montado have a deficient production of DM [21] and are also considered poor [41]. What is referred to by [PERSON] et al. [21] is based on studies cited by them: (a) [PERSON] et al. (1999) found DM production values in pastures in Montado of 800 kg/ha/year; (b) [PERSON] (1997) notes that the production of DM does not usually exceed 1500 kg/ha/year; (c) [PERSON] (2004) refers to a DM production in autumn/winter of 695 kg/ha and in spring of 2014 Kg/ha. However, [PERSON] [65] refers to around 3000 kg/ha/year. In a more recent study, comparing pasture DM production under the canopy and outside the canopy, [PERSON] et al. [43] found the following average values: (i) under the canopy--437, 1232, 1804, 2751, and 2363 kg/ha for the months of December, March, April, May, and June, respectively; (ii) outside the canopy--425, 1868, 2987, 3582, and 6191 kg/ha for the months of December, March, April, May, and June, respectively. In another study carried out by [PERSON] et al. [53], in which the DM production of the pasture in Montado was compared under and outside the tree canopy, the authors state average values under the canopy of 980, 916, 2469, 3852, and 3180 kg/ha for the months December, February, March, May, and June, respectively; outside the canopy, the values are 964, 1698, 1757, 3414, and 2936 kg/ha for the months of December, February, March, May, and June, respectively. In the same study by [PERSON] et al. [53], the authors obtained mean CP values under the canopy of trees of 22.9, 22.4, 15.9, 11.2, and 8% for the months of December, February, March, May, and June, respectively; outside the canopy, the values were 21.3, 19.8, 13.5, 9.8, and 6.3% for the months of December, February, March, May, and June, respectively. In a study where pasture samples were collected and CPwas determined in Montado, at the peak of spring (30 March to 13 April), average CP values of 13.5%, 12.1%, and 10% were found for the region of Evora, for the Portalegre region, and for the Beja region [66]. In another study carried out on rainfed pastures in Montado, [PERSON] et al. [67] obtained CP values for autumn, winter, and spring, under and outside the tree canopy, and in soils with the application of dolomitic limestone and without this application in the agricultural years 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. For the year 2018/2019, they obtained average values of CP in autumn, winter, and spring of 24.7 and 21%, 19.6 and 19.1%, and 10.5 and 8.9% in soils with the application and non-application of dolomitic limestone, respectively. For the year 2019/2020, average CP values were obtained in autumn, winter, and spring of 19.3 and 18.8%, 14.4 and 15.7%, and 13.7 and 13% in soils with and without the application of dolomitic limestone, respectively. For the year 2018/2019, they obtained average CP values in autumn, winter, and spring of 21.1 and 20.5%, 20.3 and 18.4%, and 12.2 and 7.2% under and outside the canopy of trees, respectively. For the year 2019/2020, they obtained average values of CP in the autumn, winter, and spring of 22.1 and 16%, 15.5 and 14.6%, and 17.4 and 9.3% under and outside the canopy of trees, respectively.