http://hdl.handle.net/10174/1027 Tue, 10 Nov 2026 17:11:59 GMT 2026-11-10T17:11:59Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42711 Title: An ecological Indicator framework for conservation status assessment: promoting the sustainability of natural remnant habitats in the Montado agroecosystem Authors: Almeida, Erika; Matono, Paula; Pedroso, Nuno M.; Pinto-Cruz, Carla Abstract: Natural Remnant Habitats (NRHs) are native natural landscape elements that persist within agroecosystem landscapes and provide ecosystem goods and services, contributing significantly to landscape heterogeneity and high biodiversity. However, these habitats patches are increasingly threatened by both agricultural intensification and land abandonment, making the characterization and assessment of their Conservation Status (CS) essential to their effective conservation. With this study we aimed to develop a field-based, multi-criteria ecological indicator framework for the practical assessment of the CS of NRHs within the Montado, a High Nature Value agroecosystem. We conducted fieldwork in Alentejo (Portugal) over three spring seasons where we sampled 226 NRHs, representing six NRH types—Forest and Shrub Patches, Rocky Outcrops, Riparian Galleries, Temporary and Permanent Ponds. We recorded several biophysical parameters based on their expected relevance as potential CS indicators. We used two complementary CS assessments approaches — expert-based and field indicator-based—to identify NRH patches with excellent CS and to select indicators that effectively discriminate among groups distributed along a continuum of CS conditions. We then compared these approaches to validate the framework. Our results show that CS assessment varies strongly among NRH types, and that no universal set of indicators is suitable. Although the proposed framework still requires further refinement, it provides a practical tool for translating ecological complexity into an operational CS assessment based on NRH-specific and easily observable field indicators, thus reducing the need for specialized expertise. It enables clear discrimination between the most contrasting CS (excellent vs poor) and supports evidence-based conservation, land management, and policy development in Mediterranean farming landscapes. Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42711 2026-11-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42709 Title: Modelling the Potential Environmental and Operational Effects of Autonomous Ship Just-in-Time Arrivals: A Scenario-Based Analysis Authors: Rosa, Luis; Batista, Teresa; Borges, Francisco; Pinho, Tiago Abstract: his article analyzes the synergy between autonomous shipping and Just-in-Time (JIT) arrival systems to optimize maritime logistics. JIT can reduce fuel consumption and emissions while improving efficiency by optimizing vessel arrivals, with autonomous ships possibly enhancing these benefits through continuous speed control, real-time data exchange, and more accurate ETA prediction. This study analyzed 882 vessel voyages arriving at the Port of Sines, Portugal, between June and December 2023, using Automatic Identification System (AIS) and port call data to compare conventional and a modelled counterfactual autonomous JIT scenario. In this counterfactual scenario, early arrivals benefited most, with mean ETA deviation decreasing from 16.67 h to 12.89 h, while fuel consumption fell by 36.86% and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 3180 tCO2. Late arrivals showed only a marginal punctuality improvement (59.47 to 58.84 h) but increased fuel consumption by 9.29%. Autonomous JIT reduced fuel use by 4.92% and GHG emissions by 4.90%, improving the mean ETA deviation for voyages that were originally early or late by approximately 1.5 h. Economic savings reached €628,028 for early arrivals, while late arrivals incurred potential losses of €351,770. Overall, autonomous JIT could improve punctuality, economic performance, and sustainability, but requires early data, real-time integration, digital port infrastructure, and stakeholder coordination. Wed, 07 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42709 2026-10-07T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42694 Title: Structural heterogeneity shapes economic resilience and ecosystem-service trade-offs in Mediterranean Montado agroecosystems: a farm-level bioeconomic analysis Authors: Fatahi, Nour-Elhouda; Hosseini-Yekani, Seyed-Ali; Pinto-Correia, Teresa; Costa Freitas, Maria de Belém; Marques, J. Tiago; Belhouchette, Hatem Abstract: CONTEXT Mediterranean agro-silvopastoral systems provide both market outputs and ecosystem services, yet their economic capacity to remain viable under climate, market, and policy stress may depend strongly on farm structure. The Portuguese Montado exemplifies this challenge: beneath a shared landscape label lie structurally distinct farm archetypes whose economic responses to external shocks may differ markedly. OBJECTIVE This study examines whether structural heterogeneity, among three purposefully selected Montado farm archetypes, shapes their economic resilience profiles and ecosystem-service trade-offs under common external stressors. METHODS The forestry-oriented case was represented by a deterministic accounting model, whereas the mixed agro-silvopastoral and livestock-specialized cases used calibrated nonlinear optimization models. Economic resilience was evaluated using a Resilience Index, Conditional Value-at-Risk, operating-profit sensitivity, and scenario-specific viability outcomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Economic resilience differed systematically across archetypes (RI: 0.907, 0.839, and 0.752, respectively). Policy exposure explained most of this divergence: the livestock-specialized farm became unprofitable under full Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) withdrawal (operating-profit proxy: -€19,242), indicating that public support is structurally enabling for this archetype. Climate responses were also heterogeneous: diversification did not buffer stress in the mixed system, which faced correlated vulnerabilities across feed supply, water availability, and livestock energy requirements. Ecosystem-service provision involved non-linear, archetype-specific opportunity costs, and marginal results-based payments outperformed flat supplements by inducing land-use adjustments that more than offset compliance costs in the most policy-exposed system (+42.2% operating-profit gain). SIGNIFICANCE Economic resilience in Mediterranean agroecosystems cannot be inferred from average-farm assessments. This study provides a replicable framework for archetype-sensitive agri-environmental policy design in Montado-type and other heterogeneous silvopastoral systems. Mon, 12 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42694 2026-10-12T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42688 Title: Sowing vegetation islets enhance plant diversity and habitat heterogeneity in Mediterranean long-established road verges Authors: Fernandes, Mariana P.; Matono, Paula; Pinto-Cruz, Carla; Nunes, Alice; Moreira, Francisco; Belo, Anabela D.F. Abstract: Halting biodiversity loss requires innovative conservation approaches, and road verges offer opportunities for biodiversity-friendly measures. Although native seed mixes are increasingly used in post-disturbance revegetation, long-established road verges outside urban areas are often overlooked for proactive conservation. To promote species-rich and heterogeneous vegetation, we established vegetation islets by sowing a specifically designed seed mix of native herbaceous species along long-established road verges in a semi-arid Mediterranean agricultural landscape across two experimental blocks with different sowing years. Over four years, we conducted an integrated assessment of seed mix performance and plant diversity, composition, and structure, comparing vegetation islets and control plots and exploring the influence of local edaphoclimatic conditions. The establishment of vegetation islets had the strongest observed effect on plant composition and diversity, locally adding sown and spontaneous species absent from controls, and increasing species richness and compositional heterogeneity. Although seed mix persistence and relative cover declined over time, composition remained distinct from controls, shifting from annual to perennial dominance. Vegetation islets supported denser, shorter vegetation, enhancing local structural heterogeneity without compromising road safety. Higher rainfall, lower temperatures, and lower soil nutrient levels were associated with higher seed mix persistence and species richness. Experimental block affected only species composition and seed mix relative cover. An appropriate bespoke native seed mix, applied to stable long-established plant communities, helped support reliable conservation outcomes under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. Vegetation islets may offer a resource-efficient approach to promote plant diversity and habitat heterogeneity in long-established road verges, highlighting their potential for proactive conservation. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42688 2026-09-30T23:00:00Z