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

The botanical survey documented 155 vascular plant species including 12 taxa recorded for the first time for Pico Island. These newly-recorded species are: Centaurium tenuiflorum (Hoffm. & Link) Fritsch subsp. tenuiflorum (Naturalized), <i>Lolium rigidum</i> Gaudin (Naturalised), <i>Malus domestica</i> Borkh (Casual), <i>Mentha spicata</i> L. (Naturalised), <i>Monstera deliciosa</i> Liebm. (Casual), <i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i> (L.) Mill. (Naturalised), <i>Passiflora edulis</i> Sims (Casual), <i>Poa pratensis</i> L. (Casual), <i>Prunus armeniaca</i> L. (Casual), <i>Scrophularia auriculata</i> L. (Casual), <i>Trifolium pratense</i> L. (Naturalised) and <i>Verbena rigida</i> Spreng. (Naturalised).We recorded 169 arthropod taxa from 18 orders and 84 families, comprising 150 identified taxa (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).In addition, these results highlight 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.