Forest fires have been a drama in Portugal in recent decades, made worse by the Summer increase in temperatures and dryness.

The Marão Sierra, an orographic barrier that separates two quite different regions of mainland Portugal—the Douro Litoral from Trás-os-Montes—and reaches an altitude of 1,400 meters, has been wooded with native and exotic tree species since the 19th century.

Pines of the Portuguese flora—the maritime pine and the Scots pine—have been two of the most used species. However, they are resinous trees easily ignited and burned in a forest fire. In recent decades, large fires have occurred in Marão Sierra.

New trees have been planted to combat dryness in burnt areas. While walking through Marão Sierra in November 2023, I visited some of the burnt areas that had been planted with maritime pine. Not all plants survived, and some grew faster than others.

I was delighted to see this small pine tree, isolated (the rest were very small) but already with a size that inspires confidence that it will survive and grow and, let's hope, not be consumed by the terrible flames of forest fires.

Two images taken side-by-side were assembled to obtain this small panoramic. To emphasize and highlight this little hero of the Marão Sierra's reforestation, I deliberately placed the small tree in the centre of the image.