All three sites are located in the prefecture of Thesprotia in the
administrative region of Epirus (NW Greece) (Figs. 1a, b).
Fig. 1a.
Location of Greek test sites. Fig. 1b. Location of Greek test sites (close-up).
Kalamas River delta
Site GR2120001 is the
Kalamas River delta covering an area of 8481 ha. The riparian forest
stands play an important ecological role and are characterized by high
historic and aesthetic value. The surrounding hills affect the structure
and function of the Kalamas wetland, while the reed and tamarisk
thickets and halophytic plant communities are typical of river estuaries
with high phytodiversity.
The aquatic vegetation
of the site is composed of plant communities assigned to the classes:
Lemnetea minoris, Ceratophylletea demersi and
Potamogetonetea pectinati. The reed thickets present high diversity
and belong to the class Phragmitetea with dominant species
Phragmites australis. The zonal development of halophytic
communities and wet meadows with Juncus sp. is very characteristic (Fig.
2).
Fig. 3. Total
surface area of the habitat types present in Kalamas Delta.
Kalodiki Fen
The location of
Kalodiki Fen (Site GR2120002) is shown in Figs. 1a and 1b. The site has
coordinates of 20o26'46''E to 20o28'14''E and 39o19'20''N to
39o17'53''N. Kalodiki wetland consists of two lakes (one large and one
small) embedded in a topogenous mire or fen, located in a small basin
created by a tectonic depression. The fen consists of two proximate
peatlands which occupy an area of 195 ha, surrounded by hills of 550 m
altitude. The whole Kalodiki wetland, as an SCI (Site of Community
Importance), covers an area of 845 ha. Kalodiki Fen is an inland,
freshwater wetland belonging to the western chain of Greek wetlands.
Eighteen vegetation
types, of which nine are ranked as associations and nine as frame
communities, have been recorded here. They belong to the Phragmition
communis, Magnocaricion elatae, Nymphaeion albae, arvopotamion,
Ranunculion aquatilis, Lolio-Potentillion anserinae, Nerion oleandri,
and Bidention tripartitae. Kalodiki is a relatively
heterogeneous wetland with small-scale variation. Its vegetation is
characterised by a mosaic of well-developed swamp, mesotrophic and
eutrophic freshwater, aquatic plant communities, in various combinations
of spatial arrangement. The diversity of the wetland vegetation habitats,
based on the number of syntaxonomic units recognized within the major
vegetation types, decreases in the following order: swamp and fen
vegetation dominated by graminoids, sedges and forbs (8) communities of
rooted, floating or submerged macrophytes in mesotrophic and eutrophic
fresh waters (6) low herb communities of various habitats with wet-dry,
or brackish-fresh conditions (2) communities of enriched margins of
still or sluggish waters and damp disturbed places (1) tamarisk
woodlands on soils inundated with fresh water (1).
Fig. 6. Total
surface area of the habitat types present in Kalodiki Fen
The ecological state of
the whole ecosystem is strongly dependant on a small dam. Farmers
frequently damage the dam in order to irrigate their crops. The dam is
badly maintained and often leaks. Eutrophication observed in the site is
caused by erosion, agricultural activities and pollution. The wetland
ecosystem is often disturbed by illegal activities such as hunting,
rubbish dumping, and illegal cultivations within the wetland.
Fig. 7. Total
surface area of the habitat types present in Kalamas Gorge.
Kalamas Gorge
Site GR2120004 Stena
Kalama (Kalamas Gorge) has a surface area of 1867 ha (Figs. 1a, b). The
vegetation of the slopes of Kalamas Gorge has good conservation status.
The deciduous woodland found in this site consists of various tree
species and the composition of the maquis vegetation is representative
of this habitat type at these altitudes (c. 450m a.s.l.). The gorge’s
slopes are densely covered with mixed broadleaved deciduous and
sclerophyllous vegetation with Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus,
Ulmus campestris Pistatus lentiscus, Quercus pubescens, Q. coccifera,
Q. ilex, Phillyrea latifolia. The riparian forest with Platanus
orientalis, Salix alba, S. cinerea & Alnus glutinosa occupies a
zone of 10-30 m width. Finally, stands of Scirpus holoschoenus
and Carex sp. grow along the river near the water.
Picture: Section of the Kalamas Delta – old
river bed (Figure2)
Fig. 4. View of Kalodiki Fen
Fig. 5. View of Kalodiki Fen
Habitat types and distribution in the
test sites
Table 1 summarizes the habitat types
present in each test site.
Habitat type
Habitat code
GR2120001
GR2120004
GR2120002
Estuaries
1130
*
Coastal lagoons
1150
*
Annual vegetation of drift lines
1210
*
Salicornia and other annuals
colonizing mud and sand
1310
*
Mediterranean salt meadows (Juncetalia
maritimi)
1410
*
Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic
halophilous scrubs (Arthrocnemetalia fruticosae)
1420
*
Embryonic shifting dunes
2110
*
Natural eutrophic lakes with
Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition - type vegetation
3150
*
Constantly flowing Mediterranean
rivers with Paspalo - Agrostidion species and hanging curtains
of Salix and Populus alba
3280
*
*
Thermo-Mediterranean and
pre-desert scrub Euphorbia dendroides
5330
*
Sarcopoterium spinosum phryganas
5420
*
*
Mediterranean tall humid
grasslands of the Molinio-Holoschoenion
6420
Calcareous fens with Cladium
mariscus and Carex davalliana
7210*
*
Calcareous rocky slopes with
chasmophytic vegetation Campanulion versicoloris
8210
*
Quercus trojana woods
9250
*
Salix alba and Populus alba
galleries
92AO
*
*
Platanus orientalis and
Liquidambar orientalis woods (Platanion orientalis)
92CO
*
Southern riparian galleries and
thickets (Nerio-Tamaricetea and Securinegion tinctoriae)
92DO
*
*
Quercus macrolepis forests
9350
*
Hellenic habitat types – non Annex
I (Dir. 92/43/EC)
