The cereal steppe (or pseudo-steppe) is the result of the extensive cereal farming (mainly, wheat, oats and barley) managed in rotation, and the existence of fallow lands (every three years or more) which are used as pasture by sheep and cows. The result of this rotation system is an agricultural temporal and spatial mosaic of cereal fields, fallow lands and stover providing unique beauty and diversity to the landscape.

Since they are the result of human activity throughout time, these man-made steppe areas are considered secondary steppes.

Olive groves are rare and are mainly the remainder of the association of vineyards and olive trees (an autochthonous species typical of the Mediterranean region) which once took place in the so-called “enclosures” (land surrounded by a wall made of rocks).

Kept in a rainfed regimen and with an understorey often used as natural pasture (particularly by ovine cattle), these old olive groves show an herbaceous structure which is similar to the herbaceous structure of the steppe and are used as nursery by many insects as butterflies and as food by rabbits.

During the winter, olive groves are important feeding sites to many birds, mainly those using olives as food as is the case with the thrushes, starlings and blackbirds. In this period it is also possible to watch flocks of great bustards feeding in the edges of traditional olive groves.

Other species take advantage of the holes in older olive trees to shelter or even to nest, as the little owl or the hoopoe. These cavities can also be used by some bats. The superficial roots on the bases of trees are put to use by weasels, genets and garden dormice, as well as small lizards and ocellated lizards. Among the invertebrates, spiders strategically place their webs by the entry of small holes.

The existing montado is mostly comprised of holm oak and its understorey is used as extensive pasture or to sow rainfed cereal according to a scheme of long rotations.

Stretching to an area of about 13000 ha in the Castro Verde SPA, the scarce, well-located patches of scattered holm oak montado show a flora which is similar to the one found at the steppe and a fauna that is dependent on tree density and the presence or absence of herbaceous and brush strata.

The acorn - the fruit of the holm oak – can be sweet or bitter and are used to feed the cattle, particularly the Iberian or Alentejo pig, as well as many birds as the Crane. Sweet acorns are often eaten raw or roasted on coal and were used, in bygone times, to make bread in periods of food shortages. They can also be used to make excellent liquor.

Associated with the later years of fallow lands and with unfarmed land (abandoned land and areas of rocky outcrops), shrubs arise in quite homogenous patches dominated by gum rockrose. Easily identified by the white of their flowers and strong scent, these gum rockrose shrubs are often accompanied by other Cistaceae (as the Cistus crispus and the Lisbon false sun-rose) and aromatic plants (as the Lavender). These “clusters” of vegetation prevent the erosion of the soil and may evolve to more complex structures which are even better in preventing soil degradation.

In formations resembling the Mediterranean brush, more complex and diversified than shrubs and limited to certain steep areas next to water courses, it is possible to find species of trees as the Wild Olive tree, the Narrow-leaved Mock Privet and the Mastic which are typical of the Mediterranean.

The few existing brooks and weirs are typical Mediterranean intermittent water courses. With heavy rain their beds are rapidly filled up, but they dry up or are reduced to very small streams of water during the summer (deeper areas of the bed capable of keeping water during all summer). In response to these variations in water flow, the vegetation cover of the banks shows brush formations comprised of oleander, Flueggea tinctoria – tamujo – and tamarisk. In areas where the bed is wider, the vegetation changes forming riparian walls where trees as Willows and Ashes.

As a whole, this vegetation has an important role in reinforcing the banks and decreasing the erosion of the soil by water runoff, also being used as shelter by many animals, particularly by birds as the Kingfisher or the rarer Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin.

Part of the matrix of cereal fields and fallow lands, the Mediterranean temporary ponds (priority Habitat 3170* of the EU Habitats Directive) is one of the most outstanding and unique freshwater wetland in Europe. These bodies of still or slow water current which are similar to simple puddles of water, harbor many species of algae, bryophytes, vascular plants and microorganisms as freshwater crustaceans (large branchiopods) whose area of occurrence in the world is very limited.

Scattered throughout the territory, reservoirs, ponds and small dams are artificial wetlands which are mostly capable to withstand the dryness of the summer and retain their water. These bodies of water are, therefore, excellent drinking sites for the wild fauna during the driest period of the year. Embankment vegetation is usually formed by the typical plants of slopes (as Southern cattails, lakeshore bulrushes and rushes) which provide the necessary conditions to the life and breeding of many riparian birds.