Azores temperate mixed forests
The Azores temperate mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of southwestern Europe. It encompasses the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. These volcanic islands are an autonomous region of Portugal, and lie 1500 km west of the Portuguese mainland.
Geography
The Azores archipelago consists of nine main islands. The islands extend for more than 600 km in a northwest–southeast direction. The islands form three clusters. Flores and Corvo are to west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial are in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets are to the east. São Miguel is the largest of the islands, and most populous.The islands arise steeply from the sea. Mount Pico on Pico is the highest peak in the Azores.
Climate
The islands have a temperate maritime climate, moderated by the Gulf Stream. Frosts don't occur below 500 meters elevation. The average temperature is 21 °C in the summer months, and 14.5 °C in the winter.Flora
Little natural vegetation remains in the lowlands. The evergreen fire tree regrows on old lowland lava flows.Above 500 meters elevation there are enclaves of evergreen shrub forest, characterized by the trees Laurus azorica, Juniperus brevifolia, Picconia azorica, and Erica azorica. Shrubs include Azorean holly, Viburnum treleasei, and Azores blueberry, a tall shrub with showy dark-pink flowers. Clethra arborea, a Madeiran native introduced to the islands by humans, has become common in the evergreen forests.
Diverse highland peat bogs are found on the islands of Flores and Terceira.
Fauna
There are 36 species of birds that breed on the islands. The Azores bullfinch or Priolo is endemic.The Azores have three native mammals, all bats – the greater mouse-eared bat, the Madeira pipistrelle and the endemic Azores noctule. The islands have no native land mammals.
Conservation and threats
The Azores were discovered and settled by Portuguese mariners in the 15th century. Prior to settlement the islands were mostly covered in forest. The settlers cleared most of the islands' forests for agriculture and pasture. Domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced to the islands, along with the brown rat, black rat, Western European house mouse, European hedgehog, European rabbit, least weasel, and ferret. The introduced herbivores altered the island's ecology through grazing, and the introduced predators preyed on native species, particularly birds and their eggs, which were unadapted to predation.Exotic plants originally introduced for timber, windbreaks, and garden plants, including Japanese red cedar, Australian cheesewood, kahili ginger, ice plant, Gunnera tinctoria, bigleaf hydrangea and the Madeiran native Clethra arborea, have spread into wild areas where they displace native plants and alter habitat for native animals. The Azores bullfinch relies on a few native plants for food – Azores blueberry and Azorean hawkbit in August and September, and Azorean holly in March and April. Loss of these food plants contributed to the species' declining population. Between 2003 and 2008 an EU-funded project removed exotic species and replanted native food plants in the Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme Special Protection Area on São Miguel, and the local Azores bullfinch population subsequently rebounded.