Landscape composition of rangelands within the “Natura 2000” habitat network in Greece

Rangelands constitute an important part of the habitat type ecological network “Natura 2000” of protected areas in Greece. In this paper, the five rangeland types present in this network, namely grasslands, phrygana, shrublands, forest ranges and wet grasslands, were identified and analysed some aspects of their landscape composition along four altitudinal zones. According to these results, 57 rangeland habitat types can be found in Greece, covering an area of 1,169,403 ha or 47% of the total mapped area. The most common rangeland types are those where woody plants are dominant, covering about 65% of rangelands. Diverse mosaic pattern is evident in all altitudinal zones but it prevails in the middle altitudes, while rangelands above 1200 m seem to be more homogenous composed of extensive shrublands. Forest ranges make the most fragmented landscapes in all altitudinal zones except above 1200 m where their presence is relatively limited.