BBC Nature_Cork on the Wild Side
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00:00A magnificent 200-year-old cork oak, able to thrive on the poorest Mediterranean soils.
00:22Thousands of years ago, people learnt to harvest their spongy bark for a uniquely versatile
00:27material, cork. They also began to graze the land between the trees and to grow a few other
00:36crops. Forests of these cork oaks survive to this day in a few parts of Europe, and
00:50give them an astonishing variety of plant and animal life. Cork woodland is especially
01:09rich in bird life, with more than a hundred different species breeding here in southern Portugal.
01:14They include some of Europe's rarest birds, which still find sanctuary amongst these remarkable trees.
01:40The bark of the cork oaks is stripped away every nine years. It's sold for many different uses,
01:50from floor tiles to fishing floats. But the greatest revenue comes from the billions of
01:57stoppers we use each year to close our wine and champagne bottles. It's because of the high value
02:03of cork bark that this ancient landscape, with its rural culture and its wildlife,
02:08have been protected until today. But its future is by no means certain. If metal screw caps and
02:16plastic were to completely replace natural cork to stop our wine bottles, then a drastic change
02:22could be on the way, because landowners would have to replace their oak woodlands with other,
02:27more conventional crops. So what is it about these forests that make them so valuable to
02:38both people and wildlife? The Alentejo region of southern Portugal stretches from Lisbon in the
02:52west to the hills of the Spanish border in the east. It's about 10,000 square miles,
02:57or the size of Wales, and is the world's most important cork-growing area. These woodlands
03:04of evergreen cork oaks and their close relative, the home oak, are known in Portugal as montado.
03:10Although the montado is so good for wildlife, it's by no means a wilderness, but rather a
03:15natural ecosystem of woodland and pasture, which has been sympathetically adapted for farming in
03:21this sustainable way for more than a thousand years. Typically, the pastures under the trees
03:30are grazed, although where there are patches of better quality soil, landowners have traditionally
03:35grown citrus, vines and olives. This has created a rich mosaic of habitats, which is as beneficial
03:43for wildlife as it is for the farmers. Nevertheless, to make a living based mainly on cork,
03:50each family needs well over a thousand acres, where the oaks can thrive despite the dry,
03:58poorer quality soils. Francisco Garrett is a farmer whose family have managed a large
04:04area of forest in a traditional way for many generations.
04:20Apart from an intimate knowledge of his own cork oak woodland, Francisco has a passion for the
04:26future survival of the Portuguese montado, including its spectacular wildlife.
04:34Well, this is a very pleasant thing, just wandering in the montado on a beautiful day,
04:43spring day like this, sunny shine, and hearing the birds and seeing the birds of prey that have
04:52just come in for nesting. I don't think there is anything better that one can enjoy and live
05:00in the country here and see all this growing. And I just hope it can be kept like this.
05:08We have been, for four or five generations, living on cork, and I hope that the future
05:17generations can continue to live on it.
05:28Although the ancient Greeks and Romans knew about the value of cork bark, it only began to be
05:33harvested commercially in Portugal about 300 years ago. It's still done by teams of men using
05:38hand axes, and no viable mechanical method has yet been invented to do the job as effectively.
05:48The important thing is to know the amount of force that you have to input this, so that it doesn't
05:56damage the living part of the bark. These axes are manufactured locally in several towns where
06:05they make it, and you have some bigger ones and some smaller ones. It's a very nice thing and
06:15special for Portugal.
06:25The stripping is only done in mid-summer,
06:27when the bark comes away from the living tissue, the cambium, more easily.
06:34The smell of just peeled cork oak and the colour of it, it's fantastic.
06:41The skills needed for harvesting cork are often handed down from father to son.
06:47You have to be really skilful to go up in the trees and work with an axe up in the air.
06:58Very important on this, it is sustainable, because every nine years you peel it and you don't destroy
07:07the tree. The more you peel it, the better the cork is.
07:15What an extraordinary tree. Cork oaks are the only trees in the world from which you could
07:22strip an entire piece of bark like this without caming it. Every tree this size yields sufficient
07:28bark to produce 4,000 corks, and this harvest provides employment for at least 60,000 Portuguese
07:34workers. Each tree is dored with a number to record the year of the harvest. This will remain
07:49visible as the bark thickens from the inside, reminding owners that these trees can next be
07:54harvested in 2016.
08:12During the hottest part of the day, the cork harvesters are not the only ones to welcome a
08:16break. A pair of booted eagles has nested nearby, and the male has been patiently waiting for the
08:22human activity to quieten down before delivering food to his mate.
08:37If cork and home oaks grow side by side, booted eagles will always choose the cork oak for their
08:42nest site in preference to the home oak. Maybe the gnarly bark holds the sticks better. Who knows?
08:52They're called booted eagles because of their heavily feathered legs,
08:56and both adults build the nest, often lining the shallow cup with oak leaves.
09:01Successful nests are reused in future years, and although two eggs are generally laid,
09:05typically only one chick fledges because siblicide is common.
09:11The attentive male will catch numerous birds and small mammal prey in between the harvesting
09:16activity. During August, the annual cork harvest draws to a close,
09:28and activity in the parchmentado gradually slows down as autumn approaches.
09:35By late October, the stripped cork trees are now deep red as they begin to regrow their bark.
09:47The oaks now provide another abundant harvest,
09:55and the large acorns have their own nutritious value, particularly for pinks.
10:04One of the most important species that goes together with the montado and the cork oak
10:10is the alenjano, black pig, that is used for the ham, the smoked ham.
10:21The acorns give the ham its unique nutty flavour,
10:24and the pigs gorge on them from November until February.
10:30The meat of this pig is very valuable, and it's one of the yearly revenues of the montado,
10:37because the cork only happens every nine years.
10:43In undisturbed areas of rough grassland,
10:45surface runways reveal a smaller, secretive mammal, hunting for acorns.
10:55This is Cabrera's vole, a species unique to Spain and Portugal, which favours the cork
11:00forests. It will return to its usual diet of grass and sedges when the acorns are finished.
11:07Even though winter doesn't get very cold in this part of Portugal,
11:16the cork oaks still shut down their growth from November onwards.
11:23The winter months allow Francisco more time to give his many thousands of cork oaks the attention
11:29that they need to remain healthy, and so continue to produce high-quality bark and acorns.
11:37These trees, they have been pruned several times, so once you do it, you have to continue doing it,
11:54because it's like when man interferes in nature, and once he has, he has to continue doing it,
12:00to balance the tree, that it has the same leaf area as the root area,
12:07and adequate to the age of the tree.
12:15The more important part of pruning is in the end trees, so that you have a straight bark,
12:22at least two, three metres high, without any branches, so you can have a nice piece of cork
12:29for the stoppers.
12:41By the end of the year, cork bark gathered from the surrounding woodlands has virtually
12:45filled the storage yards. This natural, sustainable product
12:49now provides a good living for those working in the factories.
12:59Winter also brings visitors from abroad to the Montado.
13:06Up to 60,000 European cranes migrate each year from Scandinavia to take part in the
13:12acorn bonanza. Their trumpeting calls are one of the most evocative sounds of the Montado winter.
13:29The cranes don't like to swallow the acorns whole, so skillfully dehusk them first.
13:44As a winter destination for nearly 30 other species of migrant birds from northern Europe,
13:49the Portuguese Montado are becoming increasingly significant.
13:53Millions of robins, chaffinches and thrushes from Britain alone spend each winter in the warmer
14:00sanctuary of the cork forest. However, it's only in the last 20 years that the rich diversity
14:05of plant and animal life has been seriously studied here.
14:13Tiago Marques and Ana Reinho are bat specialists.
14:24Caves and old mine workings are traditionally used by Alan Tejo's bats for winter hibernation.
14:30Ana and Tiago are surveying their populations before the bats disperse to breed.
14:40These are greater mouse-eared bats, just one of 26 species found in this region of Portugal.
14:47Even here, some, like Mehele's horseshoe bat, are extremely rare.
14:52But today, the scientists are concentrating on a relatively abundant cork woodland specialist.
15:00This species, or this bat, is called the bent-winged bat, because despite its small body size,
15:05it has these large and very narrow wings. And to keep them folded, they just bend
15:13the tip of the wing. You can see it now open. It bends it. So, that's why it's called like that.
15:23Their long wings are perfect for rapid flight between the oak trees in search of insects.
15:29And, thanks to the minimal use of pesticides, there's no shortage of them in the Montada,
15:34both for bats and for insect-eating birds, like the lesser-spotted woodpecker.
15:40By early March, birds like hoopoe, warblers and nightingale have already begun their spring courtship,
15:47based on the promise of plentiful food supplies to feed their young.
15:55Woodchat shrikes and endangered rollers have returned from Africa to breed.
16:00Petticoat narcissi are the first floral beacons of spring, triggering a rampage of wildflowers,
16:07an increasingly rare sight in the rest of agricultural Europe.
16:31Mediterranean catchfly forms pink saucers around the cork oak trunks.
16:46The evergreen umbrella-like canopy provides welcome shade for these light-sensitive flowers.
16:52Unlike so much of Europe, there's hardly any chemical run-off from the surrounding land.
16:56So, spring rains replenish the streams and ponds with beautifully clean water,
17:01which is good news for the pollution-sensitive animals like amphibians.
17:07These are male marsh frogs, trying to attract females and establish a territory.
17:13In the slower-moving rivers and pools throughout Alentejo, striped-necked terrapins are abundant.
17:22Like all reptiles, terrapins are cold-blooded.
17:25They are the only species that can live in the wild.
17:29They are also the only species that can live in the wild.
17:33They are the only species that can live in the wild.
17:38Like all reptiles, terrapins are cold-blooded
17:41and need to absorb heat by basking on suitable rocks.
17:50Throughout early spring, barn swallows use the mud they collect from the margins of the pond
17:55to construct and repair their nests.
18:00Marsh frogs are not the only noisy amphibian here.
18:03Striped-necked tree frogs are also common.
18:05Striped-necked tree frogs are also common.
18:09They reserve their mating chorus until nightfall.
18:12During the night, a male Iberian midwife toad has kept a chain of eggs moist in the pool.
18:40Wrapped around his hind legs, they shackle the toad for six weeks until hatching.
18:46Before dawn, he'll find a damp, cool shelter to prevent the eggs from drying out.
18:56Fire salamanders hunt for invertebrate prey throughout the night.
19:01With its striking yellow and red markings, this is a rare subspecies found only here.
19:08It will also hide up during the day, as too will the spadefoot toad.
19:17Using its shovel-like rear feet and corkscrew body movement,
19:21the toad buries itself in the soft soil of the cork forest before the end of the night.
19:38In Britain, you seldom hear nightingales singing after dawn.
19:46But in this very undisturbed area,
19:48these normally secretive birds will often continue throughout the day.
19:53The relative peace and quiet also encourages many of Europe's rarest birds to breed here,
19:59such as the black-shouldered kite.
20:05This male is quartering one of the Montado's more open grassy areas for small rodent prey.
20:10It's now mid-March, and a female, ready for breeding,
20:14watches the performance with a critical eye.
20:18These beautiful birds can hover over their prey in a similar way to a kestrel.
20:22It's an ability that differentiates them from their more common relatives,
20:25the red and the black kite.
20:28The black kite is a bird of prey,
20:30but it's also a bird of prey that can be found in the wild.
20:33The female sees that her prospective partner
20:36is at last returning with a courtship gift.
20:41The female sees that her prospective partner is at last returning with a courtship gift.
21:05She will join him on his post for a handover ceremony, and then fly off with her engagement
21:15present to the chosen nest site in an old olive tree.
21:27She's unlikely to be disturbed here.
21:29The farmer who would have harvested the olives is long gone.
21:33So too the cork oak woodland that once surrounded the abandoned farmstead, probably cleared
21:38during the 1980s, when EU subsidies encouraged a switch to more intensive crops, like maize.
21:44At the same time, wine drinking was becoming more and more popular, with a corresponding
21:49increase in demand for cork bark.
21:54The producers of cork stoppers could hardly keep pace, and in some factories standards
21:58of quality and cleanliness fell.
22:04As a result, complaints of tainted or corked wine rose, and opened the way for new plastic
22:10or metal alternatives, marketed as cleaner and more modern than cork stoppers like these.
22:16By early 2000, the cork industry had lost almost a quarter of its market to this new
22:21competition, and some landowners, fearing the worst, continued to replace their cork
22:27oaks with cereal crops.
22:30But on these dry, impoverished soils, many such projects were doomed to failure.
22:39Once felled, cork woodland is very difficult to restore.
22:43A complex ecosystem such as the Montado takes time, knowledge and patience to recreate,
22:50as Francisco knows well.
22:55There's a Portuguese proverb that says,
22:58Vinhas das minhas, olivais dos meus pais, e montados dos meus antepassados.
23:03In English this means, that is, vineyards of mine, olive groves of my parents, and montados
23:11of my ancestors.
23:12That shows the time it takes to have a montado established.
23:18Carefully controlled plantations like this are how modern farmers try to recreate their
23:23cork woodlands.
23:25There was a simpler way in the past.
23:28One of the good memories I have from my childhood is that walking in the montado, with my grandfather
23:37he would just look for an acorn, he would pick it up, and with the heel of his boot
23:44just do like this, put it back like this, and after pick up a piece of, with thorns
23:54like this, and just put it on top of the acorn, just to protect it.
24:00It would choose a place where there were no cork trees, and hopefully next year we will
24:06have a nice sprouting young cork tree in that place.
24:13Look here is a beautiful acorn that has germinated.
24:18You see, hopefully this acorn in 20, 30 years time will be giving some cork.
24:28I won't be here to harvest it, but I hope my sons or my grandsons will be here for it.
24:38Let's hope it's here.
24:41Francisco's long-term view of the montado includes a passion for its wildlife, so he
24:45leaves about 10% of his woodland ungrazed.
24:49Natural regeneration encourages a mixed understory of flowers and shrubs, including the evergreen
24:55arbutus or strawberry tree.
24:58A special thing about the arbusto zunedo is that its leaves are the food for a very specific
25:08caterpillar of the pasha butterfly.
25:11They only feed on these leaves, so by keeping these, we help nature.
25:18By understanding wildlife, and sympathetically managing his montado, Francisco helps secure
25:24the increasingly rare pasha butterfly.
25:30Walking through here, that I do it on weekends, one of the things I found is a nest of a night
25:37yowl.
25:38They are quite frequent here, and they are very difficult to find, because they mix with
25:45nature so well.
25:50Red-necked night yowls are masters of camouflage.
25:54Only a glinting eye reveals her sitting on her nest in the leaf litter.
26:02She'll sit out the daylight hours on her clutch of eggs with hardly a movement, trying to
26:07avoid the attention of the many species of snakes found here.
26:12Being good climbers, ladder snakes can also be a threat to tree-nesting birds.
26:18Growing up to a meter in length, they're one of the largest species in Europe.
26:26Grass snakes are common in the montado, and when basking in the open, need to stay alert
26:31to danger themselves, particularly when it's most likely to come from above.
26:41This is a female short-toed or serpent eagle, and she's expecting some food from her mate.
26:48It's characteristic for him to arrive with a half-swallowed ladder snake, which he is
26:52then obliged to pull from his throat.
27:02The male provides all the food for both his mate and the chick during its first two weeks
27:07of life.
27:14It's April, and the cork oaks are flowering once again.
27:18There can't be many places where the continued survival of one species of tree helps to feed
27:24so many mouths.
27:25This attentive mother is a woodchap shrike, who, with that hooked bill, can dispatch anything
27:31from beetles and grasshoppers to small lizards and the young of other birds to feed her own
27:38brood.
27:40That variety of prey is largely thanks to the patchwork of habitats in the montado,
27:45and it's the mixture of woodland and pasture which also enables the iconic azure-winged
27:50magpie to raise its offspring in such healthy numbers.
27:56Gaggles of these handsome birds are often seen diligently searching for insects.
28:02It would be easy to assume that this pair are the nestling's parents, however they're
28:07just as likely to be siblings from one of last year's broods, who instead of breeding
28:11themselves have forfeited their first year to help attend to their new relatives.
28:30Minimal use of insecticides and herbicides, together with a habitat-friendly traditional
28:36management means that countless insects are always available on the menu.
28:47Another vital part of this management system is water conservation.
28:55Farmers will often channel their precious spring water into traditional stone troughs,
29:00and surrounding damp vegetation of such places is favoured by Europe's largest amphibian,
29:05the sharp-ribbed salamander.
29:12The temporary supply of water in the troughs coincides perfectly with a salamander's spawning
29:17season.
29:18They'll often clamber in to lay their eggs amongst the algae on the bottom.
29:30Local farmers have an ancient superstition that a salamander in a water trough will soon
29:35drink it dry.
29:37Of course, this is only a myth, or is it?
29:49It's easy to dismiss an old legend.
29:51Much harder, though, to replace an ancient system that gives haven to even the rarest
29:57of Alentejo's breeding birds, such as the black stork.
30:04The more remote areas of cork-producing woodland near the Spanish border provide a vital European
30:09sanctuary for these impressive, enigmatic birds.
30:15It's now May, and this male, having just returned from Africa, is looking for a female to pair
30:20with.
30:22She's below, checking out the oak trees for a potential nest site, so he must attract
30:27her attention.
30:31He does this by circling overhead with his long red legs dangling towards her, but the
30:36climax occurs when he throws his head back to utter a special call.
30:52If suitably impressed, the female joins him in a graceful aerial ballet, which, if you're
30:58lucky enough to witness it, is one of the loveliest sights on the Montado.
31:29Black storks are extremely rare, and now highly protected in Portugal.
31:37Because they prefer to nest in mature cork oaks, they're symbolic of the intimate link
31:41between conserving wildlife and a healthy, successful cork industry.
31:48The future of the Montado and its wildlife is largely determined by economics.
31:53Cork growers must be able to sell their crop to the factories for a worthwhile price.
31:58Faced with intense competition from alternative closures, the manufacturers have modernised
32:03and cleaned up their production methods, to rid cork of any charge that it may sometimes
32:07spoil a bottle of wine.
32:10Nowadays, the sheets of raw cork are immersed twice in sealed vats of boiling water, killing
32:15off any moulds or bacteria and making it more flexible to work with.
32:23In today's spotlessly clean, state-of-the-art factories, the stoppers are individually scanned
32:32for imperfections.
32:35They're sterilised, polished and graded, and samples from every batch are scrupulously
32:44checked in the company's labs for the chemical trichloro-anisole, or TCA, which can cause
32:51an off-taste in a bottle of wine.
32:53TCA is produced by microorganisms in the soil, on trees and even on a brand new wine bottle,
33:00but rarely now in cork factories.
33:03Since 2006, the Portuguese cork industry seemed to have conquered TCA contamination.
33:11For the moment, with the cork industry fighting back in this way, the Montado and its wildlife
33:16have gained some respite.
33:21Even very shy animals are able to live successfully here, particularly in the more remote, thinly
33:27populated areas.
33:35This shepherd might walk 20 kilometres in a day without meeting another soul, or seeing
33:40any other grazers, except perhaps for some quite special local deer.
33:47These might look like ordinary red deer, but they're a distinct subspecies found only in
33:51Portugal and Spain.
33:54While they're grazing, the scene looks tranquil, idyllic even.
33:58However, when the deer feels the urge to drink, their behaviour changes dramatically.
34:10Now they're tense and nervous, more reminiscent of African antelope in a waterhole on the
34:14lookout for lions.
34:18A local red fox is obviously no danger to them, but they are still instinctively alert.
34:28Is there a predator still existing in Portugal which could invoke such extreme caution?
34:41The answer is yes.
34:44The most endangered big cat in the world, the Iberian lynx, certainly capable of killing
34:50a deer calf or even an injured or weak adult.
34:53Having been persecuted for years, a pair of these mesmerising cats has recently been spotted
35:00in the Alentejo region, and conservation biologists are desperately hoping that they'll breed
35:05successfully.
35:07There's certainly enough prey here for lynx to kill or scavenge, although any dead animal
35:14such as a deer will soon be spotted by other sharp-eyed scavengers on patrol.
35:24Always the opportunist, a red fox is first to the carcass, but it won't have long to
35:28feed at leisure.
35:30A black vulture has already seen the meal.
35:35And a griffon vulture is also swooping in.
35:49This might be the last chance for the vixen to get at her meal, although she's been of
35:53service to the vultures by opening up the tough skin.
36:05As vultures cruise the skies, they're always on the lookout for feeding activity, so it's
36:10not long before they start arriving in greater numbers.
36:21There's a loose feeding hierarchy around a carcass, but as more vultures arrive, the
36:26situation becomes noisy and chaotic, perhaps more typical of the African savannah than
36:31rural Portugal.
36:39After a feeding frenzy lasting several hours, almost a hundred vultures have stripped the
36:44carcass bare, and many are so satiated that, for the moment, only sleep and digestion seem
36:53an option.
37:05It's early June, and around some old abandoned buildings on their land, Francisco and his
37:10wife Teresa have come to check on the current residents.
37:19The barn swallows have been here since March, but there's a much larger bird that comes
37:23to nest in the church almost every year.
37:32In a small window hole, barn owl chicks about seven weeks old are close to fledging.
37:51Barn owls, along with five other owl species, breed very successfully in the Montado.
37:56It's a sure indication of the plentiful rodent prey, including Cabrera's vole, that can be
38:01found here.
38:10A declining population in the countryside does at least have a bonus for the local swallows.
38:17The abandoned priest's house has provided some perfect nest sites.
38:23Each young swallow eats about 150,000 insects before leaving the nest.
38:29Insects are so abundant in the Montado that a pair of Portuguese swallows regularly rears
38:33three broods each season, rather than the two more typical in Britain.
38:48The spring flowers have long withered, but throughout May until mid-June, the summer
38:56flowers provide a new tapestry of colour.
39:26Stunning though they are, it's not this astonishing display of wild flowers which will save the
39:39Montado.
39:41It's more to do with visionary farmers like Francisco, who are prepared to experiment
39:45with new ways of improving the production and the quality of cork bark for the factories.
39:52The main reason why I plant lupins in the Montado is because I am of the opinion that
40:05we can't have bare soil in the Montado.
40:08Lupins is a legume, it fixes nitrogen in the soil and it also covers the soil in winter,
40:17avoiding erosion.
40:20You can graze them when it's dried with sheep or cattle.
40:26It's very good for the soil below the cork oak.
40:32Ground cover like this also helps retain moisture and keep the shallow tree roots cooler during
40:37the height of summer, when temperatures can often reach 40 degrees centigrade or more.
40:44Lupins are imported flowers, and don't attract bees in the same way as native flowers like
40:49lavender.
40:58With wild flowers so plentiful, most cork farmers allow beekeepers to manage hives on
41:03their land.
41:08For this, they get a small rent and a share, perhaps, of the plentiful crop of delicious
41:19aromatic honey.
41:25But the beekeepers here do have an enemy, albeit one of the most attractive ones imaginable.
41:32Bee eaters, who, as their name implies, feed on bees.
41:40The light, sandy soil might not be ideal for growing crops, but exposed banks are perfect
41:46for excavating nest burrows.
41:50Throughout Alentejo, colonies of bee eaters provide an iridescent spectacle of energy
41:55and colour.
42:17Bee eaters are not the only creatures here with an appetite for the bees.
42:21The eyed or oscillated lizard catches them too, although on this occasion he's got a
42:26wasp.
42:32These handsome but declining lizards thrive in the Portuguese Montado.
42:36They're Europe's largest species, growing up to a metre long, and capable of eating
42:41small rodents.
42:44However, despite their size, they're certainly not immune from danger themselves.
42:54Throughout June, a black stork with young to feed would have no hesitation in trying
42:58to grab one.
43:03Hunting over a large area, the diet of black storks is varied, including other lizards,
43:08many amphibians, and even small fish when available.
43:21With a nest full of very hungry four-week-old chicks, the adult storks will have to maintain
43:26a steady supply of food if the chicks are to fledge in July.
43:47These birds are very sensitive, but if undisturbed, most black stork pairs successfully rear three
43:53to four chicks every year.
44:07Our black-shouldered kite parents, however, with their nest in the old olive tree, have
44:12chicks which are already close to flying, if their vigorous wing exercises are anything
44:17to go by.
44:27Although the parents are still catching and bringing in rodents for their young, they'll
44:31There's such a lot of clambering about going on that by the time the mother kite returns
44:56again with food, she could easily assume her chicks have already flown.
45:06At least until one of them drops abruptly in for lunch.
45:24By July, right across this vast, parched, shimmering area of Portugal, hundreds of plant
45:31species have already flowered and set seed.
45:35Thousands of birds and other animals have successfully reared their young.
45:45It's a success that depends on farmers managing their montado in the time-honoured traditional
45:51way, but also with an eye to the future.
45:55When the cork harvest comes around once more, it becomes a crucial test of the farmer's
46:00skills and their continuing livelihood, as Francisco knows well.
46:06We live on cork, so when we've got to the time of harvesting it and sending it to the
46:12factory, we've been able to raise it.
46:16There were no shortcomings during those nine years and all the 40 years before it, and
46:22this is an achievement.
46:24It's a reward and what keeps you living.
46:28Most of this load of high-quality cork will be turned into wine stoppers, essential for
46:32the economy of the montado.
46:34As a bonus, the cork oaks themselves will absorb millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide
46:40from the atmosphere each year.
46:47Billions of high-quality corks are still used by wine bottlers all over the world.
46:51They're a low-energy, biodegradable product that ticks every green credential, yet are
46:56still under threat of replacement by synthetic plastic stoppers and metal screw caps.
47:03So might the future of the cork forest and our wildlife be up to us consumers?
47:09And if so, what can we do about it?
47:12One thing that we should do is when we go to the supermarket and choose a wine, I would
47:19try and know if the bottle is using a cork stopper, and of real cork, because if it is,
47:27I know for sure that it will be contributing for the sustainability of a vast Mediterranean
47:33area where you have a large number of species.
47:39The future of so much wildlife seems dependent on such seemingly trivial choices.
47:44Of course we can make choices, and you can make a choice of preserving a habitat that's
47:51unique in the Mediterranean area, or not.
47:56Choose something that's nature-friendly, or not.
48:03And Monty Don returns with Gardener's World at 6.30 tonight, and later discover stunning
48:20wildlife and rugged mountains on a grand tour of Scotland at 8.
48:26Just on BBC Two relive the 1990 FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Man United.