As part of the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, work was recently carried out to boost the populations of native and protected species on the island of São Jorge, contributing to the conservation of the Azores’ endemic flora in its natural habitat.
This initiative forms part of Action C3.2 – Implementation of pilot projects for the conservation of endemic flora – In-situ conservation – and involved the planting of 630 individuals of the following species:
- 142 Ammi trifoliatum;
- 443 Azorean Coastal Forget-me-not (Myosotis maritima);
- 40 Scabiosa nitens;
- 2 Sea Fennel (Crithmum maritimum);
- 3 Azorean Bellflower (Azorina vidalii).
Most of the planting took place at Fajã dos Cubres, except for Ammi trifoliatum, which was mainly planted on the Central Plateau of the island of São Jorge, given that the ecological conditions there are more favourable to its growth.
All the plants used were grown at the Faial Botanic Garden, to bolster the natural populations of these species in the wild.
The planting work was carried out by the team from the São Jorge Environment and Climate Action Service, whose collaboration was essential to implementing this conservation initiative.
The areas where work has been carried out and the individual plants will be monitored over time, enabling an assessment of the success of the planting. With the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.
