Xiongxin Xiao

Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.

But from 2007 to 2018, the remnant laurisilva has been slowly swallowed up by the invasive forest which has dominated the land now. The government established the Pico da Vara Nature Reserve to protect the habitat of laurel forest.

Laurisilva & Invasive Forest & Groundwater

Laurisilva is an important landscape identity of the Azores located in the Macanonisian ecoregion. This project is to create places that magnify the immediate experience and perception of regional landscape identity by restoring Laurisilva, and to link systems at multiple scales to regenerate native forest ecosystem structure and function.

After the 1800s, much of the original native vegetation has been displaced because of human activity, including felling forests for timber and firewood, clearing vegetation for grazing and agriculture, and introducing foreign plants and animals. The endemic laurisilva habitat, made up of a wealth of species and provides habitat for a variety of animals, has been reduced to small, disconnected pockets, even endangered on some islands.

Not only do Laurisilva help increase biodiversity, but they also contribute to replenishing the aquifers. In the future, due to climate change and booming tourism of the Azores, sea levels rising will increase the intrusion of seawater into the groundwater to salinize the drinking water, and more groundwater will be overdrawn to meet development needs. Compared with monoculture invasive forests, the complex vertical plant structure of laurel forest can trap more precipitation, moderate surface runoff, inhibit evaporation, improve water quality and replenish groundwater. Experiments have shown that the increase in groundwater content will significantly reduce the adverse effects of seawater intrusion in coastal areas.

Sub-area 1 is located at the junction between the edge of the invasive forest and laurel forest, once the invasive species get in touch with the native species, they will create a deep shadow and release inhibitors to make the native species die.

Sub-area 2 is located at a converging runoff site, where the runoff flow is converging with high speed. At present, this area is covered by invasive forest, this condition is bad for replenishing aquifers because of bad ability to capture run-off. 

Sub-area 3 is located aside of village, the lifestyle of local people is very simple and a little boring, just grazing, farming, and the locals have long been accustomed to invading forests, and the invisible effects of invading forests have not been discovered by most people.

Sub-area 4 is located at a waterfront in the coastal area, which directly faces the challenge of seawater intrusion. In the future, as sea levels rise, seawater intrusion will become more serious, thus salinizing the underground drinking water of waterfront residents