National Park of Sounio: assessment of rangeland and forest landscapes
The National Park of Sounio is an important place with obvious the effects of human culture. It has a total area of 3500 ha, from which 750 ha is the core and constitutes a NATURA 2000 site (GR 300005). Vegetation of the Park is typical Mediterranean with dominant evergreen broadleaf shrubs and coastal conifers. The proximity with a major urban center (capital city of Athens) could be a threat to the landscape of the region and the existing ecosystems. In the present research the contribution of tourism and recreation aiming at sustainable development was studied. For this purpose, a landscape analysis based on the visual management system of the Ministry of Agriculture of U.S.A. and the visual quality objectives was conducted in three rangeland and two forest areas. Five landscape systems where identified that were judged important with regard to various landscape characteristics. In most landscape systems the visual quality aim is preservation-partial preservation, which indicates that potential interventions should be compatible with the landscape character.
Animal husbandry and desertification in the mountain of Psilorites in Crete
Degradation of rangelands in the Psilorites mountain of Crete is the result of various parameters, both natural-environmental and anthropogenic. Wildfires set by shepherds to control the undesirable to animals vegetation, illegal forest cuttings and irrational grazing by domestic animals are the primary causes for this degradation. These practises result in the reduction of the productive potential of rangelands and accelerated soil erosion. Due to the long-lasting action of these factors, the environment has been degraded and become incapable of supporting several organisms, and the ecosystems have suffered long-term changes in their structure, composition of vegetation, and plant and animal diversity. This paper is a review of the existing literature on the relations between animal husbandry and desertification at the Psilorites mountain of Crete. It comes out that desertification leads to the gradual homogenisation of the landscape, the reduction of biodiversity of ecosystems and quite frequently in the gradual replacement of natural forest and evergreen vegetation by phrygana, which are undesirable to animals. Based on this information, management actions are suggested for the rational application of livestock husbandry in Psilorites, with emphasis on the protection of rangelands as well as the development of animal husbandry.
Evaluation of desertification risk in rangelands with the ESAI index
The aim of this study was to evaluate the desertification risk of rangelands in seven village communities of Lagadas county, northern Greece, with the use of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Geoinformation data were used in order to combine several layers of information involved in desertification for the formation of a GIS model. The latter is a modified approach of the methodology used for mapping Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs). It was found that the majority of the study area is in a critical stage in terms of desertification. The majority of rangelands are under intensive grazing activities. Overgrazing however contributes to the desertification risk in combination with physical parameters such as soil, vegetation and climate.
Livestock husbandry and desertification in the Mediterranean region
Land degradation in Greece and in Mediterranean basin, in general, is mainly a result of human activities and a large percentage of rangelands is moderately to highly desertified. The lack of rational range management is responsible for their degradation. An increase in the number of grazing animals, along with gaps in the relevant legislation have brought up overgrazing as one of the major causes of vegetation cover reduction and soil erosion. The negative impacts of overgrazing are further aggrevated by wildfires set by shepherds in order to control the unpalatable woody vegetation. This paper is a brief review of the literature on the relationship between livestock husbandry and desertification in the Mediterranean region and suggests measures for applying a sustainable range management so that the negative effects of livestock husbandry to rangelands are avoided.
Problem of uncontrolled grazing in the prefecture of Dodecanese
In the province of Dodecanese there has been a major problem concerning forest ecosystems, due to the intense and uncontrolled grazing of goats and sheep. The degradation of forest ecosystems and the natural environment in general, has now become noticeable. The destruction of herbaceous and shrubby vegetation is followed by soil destruction. This problem was aggravated during 1982-1992 due to heavy wildfires and the commitment of the state to declare the burned areas for reforestation and to ban grazing in them. In this way, available areas for grazing were reduced. But, instead of reducing the number of goats, their number was markedly increased as a result of state and EC subsidies. The goal of this paper is to outline this problem and propose solutions in order to assist civil and political services to take all necessary measures to reverse the current situation and to help natural ecosystems recover and regain their proper form. This paper concluded that the number of grazing animals is much larger than the grazing capacity in each island. In order to solve the problem, in terms of sustainable development, urgent and effective measures have to be taken, such as the reduction of the number of grazing animals, stable animal production, rangeland improvement and grazing management.
