page_title: Azores
section_title: Biome
hierarchical_section_title: Azores / Geography / Biome
caption_attribution_description: Ilheu de la Ballena, Ponta da Barca
context_page_description: The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,360 km west of continental Portugal, about 1,500 km west of Lisbon, in continental Portugal, about 1,500 km northwest of Morocco, and about 2,980 km southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
  Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. The capital is Angra do Heroísmo but the main city of the Azores is Ponta Delgada.
  There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas Reef to the east. They extend for more than 600 km and lie in a northwest–southeast direction.
context_section_description: The archipelago lies in the Palearctic realm, and has a unique biotic community that includes the Macaronesian subtropical laurissilva, with many endemic species of plants and animals. In total, there are at least 6112 terrestrial species, of which about 411 are endemic. The majority (75%) of these endemics are animals, mostly arthropods and mollusks. New species are found regularly in the Azores (e.g., 30 different new species of land snails were discovered circa 2013).
  Even though the Azores look very green and sometimes wild, the vegetation has been extremely altered. A great part of it has been wiped out in the past 600 years for its valuable wood (for tools, buildings, boats, fire wood, and so on) and to clear land for agriculture. As a result, it is estimated that more than half of insects on the Graciosa island have disappeared or will become extinct. Many cultivated places (which are traditionally dedicated to pasture or to growing colocasia, potatoes, maize and other crops) have now been abandoned, especially as a result of emigration. Consequently, some invasive plants have filled these deserted and disturbed lands. Hydrangeas are another potential pest, but their threat is less serious. Notwithstanding the fact that hydrangeas were introduced from America or Asia, some locals consider them a symbol of the archipelago and propagate them along roadsides, helping the plants to escape into the wild. Cryptomeria, the Japanese cedar, is a conifer extensively grown for its timber. The two most common of these alien species are Pittosporum undulatum and Acacia melanoxylon. They are usually restricted to ancient agricultural land and only rarely penetrate into undisturbed native vegetation.
  Reforestation efforts with native laurissilva vegetation have been done successfully in many parts of the Azores.
  The Azores has at least two endemic living bird species. The Azores bullfinch, or Priolo, is restricted to remnant laurisilva forest in the mountains at the eastern end of São Miguel and is classified by BirdLife International as endangered. Monteiro's storm-petrel, described to science as recently as 2008, is known to breed in just two locations in the islands, but may occur more widely. An extinct species of owl, the São Miguel scops owl, has also recently been described, which probably became extinct after human settlement due to habitat destruction and the introduction of alien species. Five species of flightless rail also once existed on the islands, as did another species of bullfinch, but these also went extinct after human colonization. 11 subspecies of bird are also endemic to the islands. A flightless extinct quail is also known. The Azores also has an endemic bat, the Azores noctule, which is unusual in regularly feeding during the day.
  The islets of the Formigas (the Portuguese word for "ants"), including the area known as the Dollabarat Reef, have a rich environment of maritime species, such as black coral and manta rays, different species of sharks, whales, and sea turtles. On São Miguel there are notable micro-habitats formed by hot springs that host extremophile microorganisms.
  17 new marine reserves (with special conservation status) were added to the Azorean Marine Park (which covers around 900.000 km² (347.492 sq mi))
caption: Ilhéu da Baleia islet near Graciosa Island.
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