Resource information
In the Trás-os-Montes Region (Northeastern Portugal), olive tree plantations cover an area of more than 70 thousand ha (near the 6 % of the regional territory), mostly planted and cultivated under traditional non-mechanised cultural systems. It is fully recognised that the olive sector contributes significantly to the regional agro-economy, as well as to the conservation of certain typical landscapes. The purposes of this study were (i) to draw a general picture of the olive-tree plantations spatial distribution in the Trás-os-Montes Region and (ii) to identify the main soil characteristics and land qualities of areas where olive-trees are the dominant land use. Information provided by regional soil, land use and land suitability maps (1:100 000) was selected, interpreted and treated in order to achieve those objectives. Due to the small scale of maps, results have only a reconnaissance level of detail. However, they allow conclusions on the main soil/land constraints of olive-tree cultivation in the region. Development of olive-tree plantations and improvement of actual management techniques have to cope with the identified constraints. For that, research contributions are of primary importance, mainly on the fields of mechanisation, soil and water conservation and soil fertility.
