Montado is an agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem characteristic of the south of Portugal and called Dehesa in Spain. Its four fundamental components—soil, pasture, trees, and animals—as well as the climate make Montado a highly complex ecosystem. This review article provides an overview of the state of the art of Montado from the point of view of the agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem and the scientific work carried out in this context. Thus, the aim is: (i) to describe and characterize the Montado ecosystem, as an agro-silvo-pastoral system; (ii) to reveal experimental tests carried out, technologies used or with the potential to be used in the monitoring of Montado; (iii) to address other technologies, carried out in similar and different agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems from south Portugal. This review consists of three chapters: (a) components of Montado and their interactions; (b) advanced technologies for monitoring Montado; (c) grazing systems. No review article is known to provide an overview of Montado. Thus, it is essential to carry out research on grazing and its effects on the soil and pasture in the Montado ecosystem.

Regularly weighing calves helps to assess the efficiency of the rearing period and contributes to animal welfare by allowing more precise feeding and medication application in dairy farming, but many farmers do not weigh their calves regularly. Improving the feasibility of this process is, therefore, important. The use of morphometric measurements has been used to estimate the weight of cattle. However, many studies have focused on adult animals or used a wide age range. As calves experience allometric tissue growth, specific models for certain ranges might be more accurate. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop a weight estimation model specific for pre-weaned Holstein–Friesian calves using morphometric measurements and to compare the model with another equation previously validated for the same breed with young and adult animals. From four dairy farms, 237 measurements of body weight, heart girth, abdominal girth, hip height, withers height, and body length were taken from Holstein–Friesian male and female calves. Linear and non-linear regression analysis was used to test the relationship between body weight and morphometric measurements, with age, sex, and farm as possible explanatory variables. Selected models were compared with goodness of fit and agreement tests. The final model was able to accurately predict body weight (R² = 0.96) with a mean difference of −1.4 ± 3.24 kg. Differences in the relationship between body weight and morphometric traits were observed between farms, but not between males and females. The genetics of the animal population at farm level may be responsible for this variability and further studies are needed to understand this variability and improve weight prediction models. The developed model was able to perform better in the agreement tests than the previously validated model for Holstein–Friesian animals, suggesting that different equations should be used depending on the growth phase the animal is in. In addition, a web application has been developed to facilitate the use of the developed model by farmers. This avoids the use of calibrated weight bands, which are usually calibrated for a broader age range or for beef cattle.

Deferred grazing (DG) consists in adapting the number of animals and the number of days grazed to the availability of pasture. Compared to continuous grazing (CG), which is based on a permanent and low stocking rate, DG is a management strategy that aims at optimizing the use of the resources available in the Mediterranean Montado ecosystem. This study with sheep grazing, carried out between 2019 and 2021 on a 4 ha pasture in Alentejo region of the Southern of Portugal, assesses the impact of these two grazing management systems on soil compaction as a result of animal trampling. This area of native natural grassland (a dryland pasture, mixture of grasses, legumes, and composite species) was divided into four grazing parks of 1 ha each, two under DG management and two under CG management. At the end of the study, the cone index (CI, in kPa) was measured in the topsoil layer (0–30 cm) with an electronic cone penetrometer at 48 georeferenced areas (12 in each park). The results of CI measurement showed no significant differences between treatments in all depths measured (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm). These findings are encouraging from the point of view of soil conservation and sustainability, revealing good prospects for the intensification of extensive livestock production. Future work should evaluate the long-term impact and consider, at the same time, other ecosystem services and system productivity indicators.

The objective of this study was to determine how application of dolomitic limestone and stocking methods (continuous stocking or deferred stocking) affect the soil compaction, sheep grazing location, height, and nutritional value of pastures when the pasture growth rate is at its maximum. A 4 ha field at Mitra farm—University of Évora—was divided into four plots: P1 and P2—without application of dolomitic limestone, continuous stocking (CS), and deferred stocking (DS), respectively—and P3 and P4—with application of dolomitic limestone, DS (2.3 AUE), and CS (1 AUE), respectively. In DS, animals were placed and removed from the plots depending on the height of the pasture (entry ≥ 10 cm; removal ≤ 5 cm). Throughout the pasture’s vegetative cycle, several measurements of pasture height and cut were carried out. From the beginning of March to the beginning of June, animal behavior was observed (animals’ activity grazing and location) by trained observers through binoculars on six dates. The results show the following: (i) the application of dolomitic limestone combined with CS provided higher values of pasture height; (ii) there were no significant differences in pasture quality between treatments; (iii) DS led to 50% more sheep grazing days that CS; (iv) there were no significant differences in soil compaction between CS and DS; and (v) the stocking methods and the application of dolomitic limestone did not seem to change the grazing pattern between treatments. This study constitutes a basis to support more informed decisions by agricultural managers and may also contribute to maintaining balance in the Montado ecosystem, as well as increasing the efficiency of livestock production systems based on rainfed pastures.

The application of dolomitic limestone is a recommended practice for improving pastures established on acidic soils. On the other hand, pasture availability should determine the adjustment of the biotic load. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of pasture plant community composition as an indicator to assess the effects of intensification strategies in the Montado ecosystem, specifically soil pH correction and/or increasing animal stocking rate. Forty-eight sampling areas of a biodiverse pasture were monitored on a 4-ha plot located at the Mitra farm (Évora district; southern Portugal). The experimental design included four treatments: with and without limestone application (respectively, DL and WDL) × traditional low stocking rate (LSR, 7 sheep ha⁻¹) and high stocking rate (HSR, 18 sheep ha⁻¹). Floristic composition, structural parameters, and diversity metrics were recorded and analyzed using multivariate statistical tools. Pasture diversity was assessed through the computation of richness indices, with plant species identified as ecological indicators representative of each study area. The results showed Rumex pulcher, Trifolium subterraneum, Plantago lanceolata, and Lolium rigidum as botanical indicators of the four treatments of this study, respectively, LSR in untreated soil, HSR in untreated soil, HSR in treated soil, and LSR in treated soil. The results also show that soil amendment led to a more distinct and stable pasture floristic composition (PFC) compared to untreated areas. Conversely, the stocking rate (SR) played a secondary but still ecologically relevant role. Notably, HSR appears to reduce the need for lime application to achieve a balanced floristic composition and desirable plant community structure, potentially lowering soil amendment costs without compromising pasture quality. In LSR areas, the application of lime was essential to significantly improve the floristic richness, the vegetation cover, and the presence of legumes.

Extensive animal production systems based on dryland pastures in Mediterranean regions have low profit margins. Improvements in soil fertility or grazing management and stocking rates are recognized strategies for reversing this situation and to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability. This article aims to assess whether this strategy of possible intensification of sheep production has a significant impact on soil compaction, which is a manifestation of soil functionality degradation resulting from trampling. An experimental design with four treatments was implemented (with and without dolomitic limestone application; continuous grazing with low stocking rates, CG-LSR, and deferred grazing with high stocking rates, DG-HSR). The study involved cone index (CI, in kPa) measurements (48 sampling areas, 12 in each treatment) on eight dates during two annual pasture/grazing cycles (2023/2024 and 2024/2025). Other soil parameters, the presence of trees and grazing preferences were also monitored and correlated with CI. The main results showed: (i) significantly higher soil compaction under CG-LSR than under DG-HSR; (ii) a negative and significant effect of soil moisture content (SMC) on CI (r = −0.381; p < 0.05); (iii) a significant CI increase in preferential grazing areas, but only in the topsoil layer (0–10 cm) and with a very weak correlation coefficient (r = 0.172; p < 0.05); and (iv) no significant differences in CI under and outside tree canopy areas (UTC and OTC, respectively) for the depth range of 0–30 cm. These results are good indicators of the desired and sustainable intensification of extensive livestock grazing systems.