Destruction of Trees Population in Sever do Vouga

1. Catarina Hipólito
Tavares de Carvalho
Destruction of
trees
population in
Sever do
Vouga

2. Main Species of Trees in Sever
Until some years ago, Sever was known by
its diversity of tree species. We had oaks,
pines, orange trees, chestnut trees, olive
trees and a lot more.

3. Portuguese Pine
Oak

4. Orange Tree
Chestnut tree

5. olive tree

6. Nowadays, this diversity of tree species has beginning to
get lost. There are many reasons why these trees started
disappearing, but I will only name and talk about two:
Invasive species and forest fires.

7. Invasive Species
There are two main invasive species in Sever
do Vouga, the eucalyptus and the acacia
tree.

8. Eucalyptus
The eucalyptus was introduced in Sever do
Vouga around 500 years ago. Its mainly
used as wood for making paper and as
wood for fireplaces. Since they don’t need
to be planted again once they’re cut (they
grow again) they turned into very popular
trees to be planted in Sever as they are very
lucrative.

9. They are considered invasive species
because they absorb most of the soil water
leading to the other trees’ death and
desertification.
eucalyptus

10. Acacia Tree
No one really knows how the Acacia tree
ended up in Sever do Vouga.
It is probably the most invasive species in
Portugal, and Sever is not safe from this
plague.
They need a lot of water, so they absorb all
the water they are able to, causing the
other trees’ death.

11. Some studies are being conducted by
Portuguese and German scientists in order
to prevent this plague from spreading more.
yellow acacia

12. The Forest Fires
In Sever do Vouga, fires are mainly caused
by the high temperatures in the summer
and the by the people’s carelessness.
They are, alongside with the invasive tree
species, the main cause for the decay of
Sever’s flora.

13. The population’s role in the
preservation of this trees
species
Since Sever has always been known by its
fauna and flora, the population started to
be conscious about the problem of the
decay of trees in our county.

14. Alongside the county hall, Severenses have
started to plant trees, make other people
aware of the problem and help to preserve
our autochthonous tree species as the
pines, the oats, the olive trees, the chestnut
trees, among others…

15. The End