Characteristics of grazed and restored Mediterranean landscapes of Northern Greece

Rangelands are a dominant land use type in the Mediterranean basin countries occupying more than 50% of the Mediterranean zone and forming pastoral landscapes of various types. These landscapes usually include severely degraded lands due to overgrazing. The most common restoration actions for such lands are grazing management regulation and pine reforestation. In the Lagadas county of northern Greece five (5) different grazed and restored landscapes were identified: a moderately grazed shrubland, an overgrazed shrubland, an abandoned shrubland, a rangeland partially reforested with pines and a rangeland fully reforested with pines. All these landscapes were evaluated for two main characteristics, namely the landscape structure and value. Landscape structure was evaluated with the use of landscape metrics (size, edge and shape metrics), while landscape value was based on analysis of specific qualitative criteria. Results showed that the moderately grazed shrubland and the overgrazed shrubland sustained the most fragmented – heterogenic and geometric structure compared with the other landscapes. For the landscape value, the moderately grazed and the abandoned rangeland sustained high-valued landscapes that require retension while the partially and fully reforested rangelands as well as the overgrazed ones sustained low-valued landscapes that need modification. It was concluded that moderate grazing had the best influence on the structure and value of Mediterranean pastoral landscapes.