Monitoring agroforest plots under the scope of the COMCHA project. 1. Baseline data for the "Vale da Fonte Plot" in Pico Island (Azores)

Agroforestry is increasingly promoted as a nature-based solution capable of reconciling production with biodiversity conservation, particularly in island landscapes where endemism and fragmentation heighten conservation stakes. We established a permanent agroforest monitoring plot at Vale da Fonte (Pico Island, Azores) to generate baseline data on vascular plants and terrestrial arthropods and to evaluate whether a structurally complex orchard embedded in native coastal forest can support native and endemic biotas and key ecosystem functions. Using a modified COBRA framework integrating complementary active protocols (nocturnal aerial searching, day/night beating, day sweeping), plus pollinators timed transects and pan traps, targeted pest traps, we collected 69 standardized samples (5 plant, 64 arthropod) and made the data publicly available in Darwin Core format (GBIF IPT) for its long-term use.

We recorded 169 arthropod taxa from 18 orders and 84 families, comprising 150 identified species or subspecies being 56 native non-endemic, 14 endemic, 74 introduced and six of indeterminate status. We also documented a total of 18 first records to Pico Island one of which is also a new record for the Azores Archipelago, the European paper wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

The botanical survey documented 155 vascular plant species being twelve taxa recorded for the first time for Pico Island: Centaurium tenuiflorum (Hoffm. & Link) Fritsch ssp. tenuiflorum (Naturalized), Lolium rigidum Gaudin (Naturalized), Malus domestica Borkh (Casual), Mentha spicata L. (Naturalized), Monstera deliciosa Liebm (Casual), Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Naturalized), Passiflora edulis Sims (Casual), Poa pratensis L. (Casual), Prunus armeniaca L. (Casual), Scrophularia auriculata L. (Casual), Trifolium pratense L. (Naturalized) and Verbena rigida Spreng. (Naturalized).

Together, these results highligt the mixed native–exotic character of lowland agroforestry mosaics on oceanic islands and provide a baseline for future monitoring of biosecurity risks, restoration efficacy and ecosystem-service provisioning in insular production landscapes.