Contribution to the phytosociological knowledge of the subalpine grasslands: the examples of Pieria and Βeles mountains
This paper studies the phytosociological units of the subalpine area of mountains Pieria and Beles (North Greece). The study area is mainly occupied by grasslands although the presence of the dwarf shrub Juniperus communis ssp. nana is also important. Wet grasslands also occur sporadically. Four vegetation units have been identified: 1) Juniperus communis ssp. nana–community, which occurs at both mountains and can be separated into two variances: with Vaccinium myrtillus and without Vaccinium myrtillus, 2) Nardus stricta–community, which occurs only to the Pieria mountains and occupies better sites compared to Juniperus communis ssp. nana–community, 3) Juncus effusus- Cardamine acris–community, and, 4) Geum coccineum-Deschampsia cespitosa–community. Juncus effusus-Cardamine acris and Geum coccineum-Deschampsia cespitosa communities are present at both mountains and occupy sites with permanent or seasonal flooding. The first two vegetation units are classified into Festuco-Brometea class and the last two into Molinio-Arrhenatheretea class. In terms of range management, Juniperus communis ssp. nana and Nardus stricta communities are of limited grazing value due to the dominance of unpalatable species, while Juncus effusus-Cardamine acris and Geum coccineum-Deschampsia cespitosa communities constitute valuable range resources during the summer dry period.
Bucolic art
Bucolic art is directly interwoven with pastoral life. It occurs in all aspects, such as the vesture and textiles of the shepherds, their music – the traditional art in general. The origin of bucolic art is considered to be ancient Arcadia, where the inhabitants used to live in a simple, peaceful way, secluded from the outer world. While watching their flocks, Arcades got accustomed of playing the flute, which is an instrument that, according to mythology, was invented from the native god Pan, son of Hermes and the nymph Driopi. “Arcadia” became the symbol of the place of imagination and paradise, and bucolic music started to inspire important poets of the ancient world. Their lyrics referred to shepherds that interchanged chants in an original natural landscape. In the 3rd century B.C., the Greek poet Theocritus initiateda new literary movement, the bucolic poetry that adverts to the shepherd’s erotic adventures. Three centuries later, Virgil, the most important Roman poet, wrote the “Bucolics”. Theocritus’ and Virgil’s bucolic art supported a new art stream with exceptional masterpieces such as the famous painting “Et in Arcadia Ego” by Nicolas Poussin.
Analysis and evaluation of landscape health in the N.W. part of the Mygdonia Basin
The concept of landscape health can be applied in the Mediterranean natural ecosystems which obtained their structure after the longterm effect of human and physical factors. The main characteristic of these ecosystems is the Mediterranean climate, which have relatively long dry seasons due to unequal distribution in time and space of the precipitation. For the observation and evaluation of landscape health it is essential to estimate the values of a number of landscape indicators which are sensitive to the environmental changes, focus in the risk of diminution and relate to the function of the ecosystems. As a study area it was selected the northwest part of the basin of Mygdonia. The land use types and their distribution have derived from a Landsat 7 image of 2001 and the landscape indicators derived from the ArcView 3.2a software The analysis of the landscape indicators was made both in physiographic (three basins) and management level (five communities). The research focused in three subasins. The classification of the three subasins based on the Shannon’s diversity index and Shannon’s evenness index resulted that subasin in which the land types are normally distributed has good landscape health, the subasin which is dominated by shrublands has bad to fair landscape health and the subasin with the intermediate condition has fair landscape health.
Classification and monitoring of the ecotope types and rangeland ecosystems on Akarnanika Mountains
Remote Sensing Technology and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were used for monitoring, classification and mapping of changes in the vegetation of Akarnanika Mountains, an area with important types of natural ecotopes. Recognition and delineation of the ecotopes found on Akarnanika Mountains was performed by use of analysis of satellite pictures and photomaps, and changes were located. From low to high elevations, the area is covered by: phrygana of Phlomis fruticosa and Sarcopoterium spinosum, evergreen species of Quercus coccifera, Juniperus phoenicea, Arbutus unedo and Erica arborea, oak forests of Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (dehesas), broadleaved oak and Q. ilex, fir forest of Abies cephalonica, alpine grasslands with Astragalus angustifolius, and bare rocky places. This study provides evidence that certain threatened ecotope types and grasslands ecosystems were reduced in the last decade. Moreover, changes in species composition, and lack of natural regeneration of forest species were observed, as a result of forest fires, uncontrolled grazing and deforestation for agricultural use.
Grazing effects on regeneration and vegetation of a fir forest
This work refers to the grazing effects on regeneration and vegetation of a mixed fir-oak forest close to Karpenissi, Evritania. Two similar plots were established; the one was grazed and the other one was protected from grazing. Regeneration, biomass production, and species richness were recorded for a year. The grazed plot had erosion signs. From the results, it is suggested that grazing enhanced species richness and reduced biomass production. The high dry biomass of the protected plot seems to have negatively affected the presence of vegetation and fir regeneration.
