Pluriactivity and professionalism in buffalo farming system of a High Nature Value farming area in northern Greece
The relation of pluriactivity and professionalism with the buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) farming system was investigated based on statistical analysis of standardized questionnaires and in-depth interviews conducted at the Municipalities of Sintiki and Irakleia, Serres in northern Greece during 2011. In this NATURA 2000 area, 2492 buffaloes (80% of the whole country’s buffalo population) are raised. The data was processed by Pearson test (p≤0.05). In this paper, a distinction between complementary and total pluriactivity is proposed. It was found that buffalo breeders who are not oriented to milk production seem to have enough time to invest in agriculture (-0.540). The implementation of other husbandry -namely goat or sheep breeding simultaneous to buffalo- appears to be compatible with any other activity. Commerce (marketing of buffalo products to end users) tends to be encouraged by the use of agricultural land (for the establishment of temporary pastures and fields that are grazed by buffaloes after crop harvesting during summer) for buffalo breeding (0.555). Agriculture strongly appears to be an alternative occupation (0.789), while commerce seems to be incompatible with professionalism (-0.471). Breeders who feel “professionals” are mainly family employees (0.491) with a long family tradition (0.553). Professionalism does not become weaker in case of small buffalo herds or in case of simultaneous sheep breeding, but only in case of simultaneous breeding of goats (-0.540). The ownership status of agricultural land used for buffalo breeding does not seem to influence professionalism.
Rangelands and rural development: The case of Evros prefecture
Rangelands are used in many countries for water supply, cattle – breeding, outdoor recreation and many other purposes related to improvement of life quality. The aim of this paper is the investigation of the attitudes of the local people in a remote rural area concerning the contribution of rangeland resources in the rural development. Our study was conducted with the use of a specially designed questionnaire and it took place in the area of Evros prefecture. The questionnaire included questions concerning items measuring various benefits and contributions in the quality of life by rangelands. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the methodology of confirmatory factor analysis. Our results showed that the latent structure of overall benefits from rangelands is strongly related to three main factors of benefits, with most important being the recreational benefits factor, as viewed by the local people.
The attitudes of stakeholders on the management of protected areas: views of the local people and visitors to the Prespa Lakes National Park, Greece
Protected areas are characterized by great ecological significance, due to the rarity of their fauna and flora, their biodiversity, as well as the geomorphologic formations. The integrated management of such areas requires appropriate planning in order to address any potential problems, which is why the opinions and preferences of visitors have a significant impact on the decisions taken by those responsible for the management of National Parks. The present research was carried out using a structured questionnaire, addressed to the local people and visitors of the Prespa Lakes National Park. Its objective was to examine the attitude of stakeholders regarding the protection – conservation of nature and the development of the region. More specifically, 236 questionnaires were collected from local residents and 400 questionnaires from visitors. The initial results have shown that the locals want the future growth of the region to focus mainly on tourism and agriculture. They believe that the development of the tourism sector will help to improve their financial situation. As regards visitors, they were very satisfied with the natural ecosystems of the area, and the rich fauna and flora; on the other hand, they were totally dissatisfied with the lack of public restrooms.
Land cover temporal evolution in Northeastern Corfu Island
This paper explores the possibility of analyzing the diachronical change of land cover and thus grassland transition in Corfu Island through the usage of 18th century Venetian cadastral maps and modern orthophotomaps. GIS software was used to integrate the historical cadastral and modern maps and analyze the impact of physiographic factors of the landscapes, such as altitude, slope and aspect on land cover change. The cadastral maps that were used determined three study areas: the landscapes of Spartillas, Episkepsi and Socraki areas. In 18th century the land cover in all study areas consisted of grasslands, shrublands, agricultural areas and mixed areas, creating diverse heterogenic landscapes. At that time, the impact of aspect proved fairly important, especially at the northern orientated landscapes of Episkepsi and Sokraki areas. Northern aspects in particular, were more likely to be dominated by natural grasslands and shrublands than agricultural land due to the negative effect of the ‘Boras’ local cold wind on agriculture. Venetians had a significant impact on the landscape by the reinforcement of olive groves, which expanded to their biological height limit. That is clearly illustrated in Spartillas landscape evolution to the 20th century, where the expansion of agricultural land (olive groves) took place over the grasslands. Episkepsi area evolved into a homogeneous agricultural landscape of olive groves, while Socraki area turned out to be more diverse. Overall, the methodology that was used in this paper is suitable for investigating long-term land cover changes with sufficient accuracy.
Inventory and landscape structure analysis of agrosilvopastoral systems in Florina Regional Unit
In northern Greece, traditional agrosilvopastoral systems (AS.S.) are in danger of being abandoned or converted to intensive monocultures. This could lead to their disappearance and subsequently loss of biodiversity, ecosystem stability and accumulated cultural knowledge. The purpose of this research was to carry out an inventory of the traditional AS.S. in Florina Regional Unit and evaluate them using landscape metrics. The AS.S. were identified and mapped using satellite images and orthophotos. Afterwards, two AS.S. were selected in Petres and Variko areas and landscape metrics were calculated using the program Fragstats. The AS.S. of Florina Regional Unit are 76 which cover an area of 5245,3 ha. The dominant tree species are oaks, poplars, walnuts and alders, while the dominant cultivations are alfalfa, corn, rye and barley. The landscape in the AS.S. of Variko appears to be in transitional stage. The geometric structure is evident in some places only, where the trees are still in linear arrangement. The tree coverage (index CA) is quite small and the distances between them very large (indexes PROX, ENN). In the AS.S. of Petres the absence of hedgerows is visible and the landscape appears to be abandoned. The tree coverage is very low (5,9%), they are scattered in the system (indexes ENN, PROX) and isolated (index LPI). From the analysis of landscape metrics it is concluded that they are a useful tool in interpreting agrosilvopastoral landscapes. Depicting landscape pattern may serve as an interpretative tool to monitor AS.S. abandonment.
