Valuation of hunting and management of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in rangelands
The full understanding of rangelands uses is needed for achieving the integrated management. One of these uses is hare hunting, the most important sedentary quarry species in Greece. Aim of this study was to determine hare hunters opinions and the socio-economic importance of their activity. There were completed 120 questionnaires with personal interviews. The population was hare hunters, which are living at the region of the city of Thessaloniki. Hare hunting takes place mainly in rangelands. Hare hunters characterize their activity as irreplaceable because of the benefits which creates to them, they dedicate a lot of time (69 daily excursions/hunter/year) and spend 1660 €/hunter/year. Hare hunters, as users of rangelands, answer that is required to take measures for the improvement of quality of hare hunting. Priority must be given for the management of hunting grounds around cities. For the fulfilment of these, hare hunters declare “willing to pay” and demonstrate the need of proper existing mechanisms for the investment of these “payments”.
The digital designing for the development of mountainous areas
In the crack of dawn of the new century the development necessity of the pseudoalpine mountainous areas in Greece “push” the scientists to register them and then to elaborate the “raw” material in order to digital design them. The alpine mountain area development in order to gain financial benefits for the citizens and to follow the beginning of the everlasting productivity (Living Development), it is necessary to select, analyze and elaborate complicate and heterogeneous information. The development of today in Geographical Information System (GIS) permit the design of the economic development in the mountainous area with parallel creation of alternative suggestion and solution for the sustainability considering the rational and environmental criteria. This study concerns the pseudoalpine areas (Samarina – Smolikas) with a special ecological, geological and economical interest. The knowledge of the distribute quantity needs and quality information, let the rural elevation and the digital design for the mountainous area’s development based on: the high zone; the vegetation species; the animal species; the rivulet and the tributary river; petrification and the general soil geology; road net joint; the number of the nearest villagers and etc. With the digital design that take place with the help of GIS, fixed alternative proposal and solutions which we believe that they can help in taking decisions for the development types like pseudoalpine rangelands.
The use of shrubland vegetation by birds in Langadas, Greece
The variety and distribution of passerines have been studied in Quercus coccifera shrublands in the area of Lagada, Thessaloniki, during April-June 2002. The shrublands of the study area have been classified into two types, the sparse shrublands (with vegetation cover 10%-40%) and the dense shrublands (with vegetation cover 40%-100%). The objective of the study was to present a comparative evaluation of the two shrubland types as to their appeal to passerines. Censuses of the bird fauna were undertaken using the point count method with duration of 20 minutes per each. During the study, a total of 75 point counts in both habitat types were carried out. During these counts 28 different bird species have been recorded. The habitat type with the highest number of species was the sparse shrubland in which 24 bird species were observed, while dense shrublands hosted 21 bird species. At least 17 bird species were common in both habitat types, varying in their frequency of occurrence. The most common species in sparse shrublands were Corn bunting Miliaria calandra (L.) and Woodchat shrike Lanius senator L. who was present at the 44.4% of the point counts. In dense shrublands the most common species were Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala (G.) (43.6%) and Black-headed bunting Emberiza melanocephala Scop. (28.2%). The shrubland type which is mostly affected by the grazing pressure, influences the composition and distribution of bird fauna, thus sparse shrublands present a higher variety in bird species number and number of individuals as well. Additionally, bird density per ha was higher in sparse shrublands.
Changes in the water resources and the geologicalgeomorphological characteristics of the mountainous areas due to the construction and function of the road works. The case of the Lamia-Karpenisi national road
Within the frame work of this research, the existing conditions of the dynamic characteristics of the surface and ground waters, and the phenomena of soil mass movement while the changes and disfiguration which the natural environment has undergone are also registered (especial reference is made regarding the water resources and the geological and geomorphological structure), due to the construction and the function of Lamia-Karpenisi national road and especially in the mountainous segment of the route which stems from lither side of the Timfristos tunnel. In order to immediately recognized and assess the environmental changes along the national road, a register chart, was used on which the special facts are registered, with minimum resolution of a hundred meters.
Livestock husbandry in mountainous areas: from european directives to local realities
Since the creation of CAP, rural Europe has been submitted to radical changes. The Greek mountain areas are not an exception to the rule. CAP aims to regulate the world market. The directive 75/268 and the regulation 2078/92 established the compensatory payments to European farmers, as a recompense for a possible partial loss of their income. The results of the abovementioned directive and regulation to the Mediterranean mountains areas- most of them are also classified as LFA-, were ambiguous. The characterisation LFA increases the possibilities of EU’s subsidies but the former application of EU’s agricultural and rural policies didn’t presupposed ecological dimensions. From now on, their application takes into account ecological factors. That is why forest policy concerning pasture in Greek mountains areas should be revised, taking into account not only the environmental but the social and cultural utility as well.
