Algarve Plants and Landscapes

Download or read book Algarve Plants and Landscapes written by D. J. Mabberley and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1993 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is written for all who wish to know something of the plants, both wild and cultivated, in Portugal's southernmost province, and how these plants relate to the varied landscape. The authors' approach takes into account the agriculture and other land uses of the area and the system by which so much of the characteristic scenery is maintained, as well as the native plants in both town and country. The text is illustrated with photographs in colour and black and white, with line drawings of plants, almost all drawn from living material, and with reproductions of nineteenth-century aquatints - a novel feature. The physical background to the countryside is discussed in terms of geology and climate as well as hydrology and human geography. The ecology of the province is then considered zone by zone, from the coast to the mountains. The human impact on the landscape is assessed in the context of traditional farming and other rural industries, as well as urban planting. In conclusion an attempt is made to place the Algarve in a historical setting, with some thoughts on its future.