The Ecological Status of Juniperus foetidissima Forest Stands in the Mt. Oiti-Natura 2000 Site in Greece

Junipers face multiple threats induced both by climate and land use changes, impacting their expansion and reproductive dynamics. The aim of this work is to evaluate the ecological status of Juniperus foetidissima Willd. forest stands in the protected Natura 2000 site of Mt. Oiti in Greece. The study of the ecological status is important for designing and implementing active management and conservation actions for the species’ protection. Tree size characteristics (height, breast height diameter), age, reproductive dynamics, seed production and viability, tree density, sex, and habitat expansion were examined. The data analysis revealed a generally good ecological status of the habitat with high plant diversity. However, at the different juniper stands, subpopulations present high variability and face different problems, such as poor tree density, reduced numbers of juvenile trees or poor seed production, inadequate male:female ratios, a small number of female trees, reduced numbers of seeds with viable embryos, competition with other woody species, grazing, and illegal logging. From the results, the need for site-specific active management and interventions is demonstrated in order to preserve or achieve the good status of the habitat at all stands in the region.

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Mapping and interpreting historical land cover/land use changes in a Natura 2000 site using earth observational data: The case of Nestos delta, Greece

Applied Geography ◽

10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.07.002 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 312-320 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Georgios Mallinis ◽

Dimitrios Emmanoloudis ◽

Vasileios Giannakopoulos ◽

Fotis Maris ◽

Nikos Koutsias

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Observational Data ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Natura 2000 Site

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Preserving Colias myrmidone in European cultural landscapes: requirements for the successful development from egg to higher larval stages at a Natura 2000 site in Romania

Journal of Insect Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10841-021-00332-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pauline Nippen ◽

Matthias Dolek ◽

Jacqueline Loos

Keyword(s):

Larval Development ◽

Host Plants ◽

Cultural Landscapes ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Butterfly Species ◽

Successful Development ◽

Great Opportunity ◽

Larval Stages ◽

Natura 2000 Site

Abstract The endangered and declining butterfly species Colias myrmidone is sensitive to land-use changes and vulnerable in its immature stages. The requirements for its larval habitats are still largely unknown, which hinders appropriate management in protected areas. We examined the relation between the larval development of C. myrmidone and environmental variables at a Natura 2000 site in Romania. Individuals that reached higher larval stages had a higher cover of litter as well as a lower cover of forbs around their host plants than individuals that died in early larval stages or as eggs. Surviving individuals had less other host plants in their surrounding and were found on larger host plants. Surviving individuals were found further away from the tip of their hosts than individuals that were lost due to grazing. The grazing regime is of particular importance to ensure the successful development of C. myrmidone from egg to higher larval stages. There seems to be a trade-off between positions at the tip of the shoot with palatable leaves and positions further down that protect against grazing. Especially sheep grazing may cause high direct mortality. The higher amount of litter around surviving larvae indicates a better survival when the grazing pressure is very low, but still present to keep the habitat open. However, occasional heavy grazing events may reduce the cover of forbs. Implications for insect conservation The designation of the investigated Natura 2000 site offers a great opportunity to implement the insights on larval development of C. myrmidone into a management plan, which can support low-intensity grazing regimes preferably with cattle.

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Water quality of springs alongside Srebarna lake: preliminary chemical analysis / Jakość wody źródlanej wzdłuż jeziora Srebarna: wstępna analiza chemiczna

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S ◽

10.2478/v10216-011-0046-3 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 639-647

Author(s):

Elka Kraleva ◽

Milena Pavlova ◽

Elisa Mazo Bedia ◽

Petya Borisova ◽

Luchezar Pehlivanov

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Intensive Agriculture ◽

Natural State ◽

Lake Ecosystem ◽

Lake Area ◽

Natura 2000 Site ◽

The Impact

Abstract The Srebarna Lake Biosphere Reserve is a protected natural site of national and international significance. It characterizes with extremely high biodiversity, being one of the last wetlands along the Lower Danube preserved in relatively natural state; the lake area is NATURA 2000 site. This study was designed to further research on the impact of intensive agriculture on the lake’s ecological status. First task was to find an evidence for link between intensive agriculture and the loading of the lake with nutrients. The second was a study on the PAH’s penetration into the lake ecosystem. An overview was made on drinking water data for 2 underground (drinking water springs). Dyakova spring’s water displayed good ecological state after measured parameters PO3-4 , NO2-3, NO- 2 and pH. Todorankina spring did not fell within the boundaries of good and very good conditions. Increased nitrate levels in water samples leads us to conclude that agriculture in this part of the surrounding area affect groundwater quality in the biosphere reserve. Results from GC-MS analysis proved, that there is no groundwater contamination, responsible for the existing (although low) concentrations of PAH found in the lake.

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Occurrence of the Green Shield-Moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. in the Bieszczady Mountains of Poland

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 374

Author(s):

Piotr Brewczyński ◽

Kamil Grałek ◽

Piotr Bilański

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Large Scale ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Field Work ◽

Managed Forests ◽

Moss Species ◽

Microhabitat Preferences ◽

Natura 2000 Site ◽

Forest District

The small-sized gametophytes and sporophytes of the green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. make it difficult to study. However, in Europe, there has been increasing interest in this species in the past few years, mostly as a result of the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. In Poland, B. viridis has only been reported in isolated studies that have been limited in terms of area and the number of participating workers. One of the Polish regions where B. viridis was recently recorded is the Bieszczady Mountains, but there have been no large-scale surveys of that region to date. The objective of the current work was to describe the B. viridis population in the Bieszczady Mountains in terms of its spatial distribution and abundance, investigate its selected microhabitat preferences, and evaluate the conservation status of this moss species within the Natura 2000 site Bieszczady PLC180001. The studied region encompassed 93,490.44 ha, including 69,056.23 ha of managed forests and 24,434.21 ha of forests belonging to the Bieszczady National Park. A preliminary survey was conducted in the Cisna Forest District (forest area of 19,555.82 ha) on 15–17 November 2017, while the main survey was performed in selected forest subcompartments of four forest districts—Baligród, Komańcza, Lutowiska, and Stuposiany—as well as the Bieszczady National Park from 5 to 16 November 2018. The field work consisted of searching for B. viridis sporophytes and setae and recording selected population and locality characteristics. The study led to the discovery of 353 new B. viridis localities in 202 study areas, with 9197 diploid individuals (sporophytes or setae only) growing in 545 microhabitats. The number of B. viridis localities discovered in the Bieszczady Mountains during 17 days of survey in 2017 and 2018 was two times higher than the combined number of localities previously found in Poland over more than 150 years (159 localities). Additionally, the number of sporophytes and setae identified was two times greater than their overall number in previous records. In addition, this study provides information about selected microhabitat preferences and the conservation status of this moss in the Bieszczady Natura 2000 site.

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Twenty-Three Years of Land-Use Changes Induced Considerable Threats to the Main Wetlands of Sardinia and Sicily (Italy) along the Mediterranean Bird Flyways

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13060240 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 240

Author(s):

Alessandro Ferrarini ◽

Marco Gustin ◽

Claudio Celada

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Global Level ◽

Natura 2000 Network ◽

Stopover Sites ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Agricultural Areas

Biodiversity loss has multiple causes, but habitat degradation through land-use change is the predominant driver. We investigated the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in preserving the main wetlands of the two largest islands of the Mediterranean region, whose conservation is critical for many avian species at European and global level, in a 23-year period (1990–2012). In Sardinia, the surroundings of 22 wetlands were affected by an increase in artificial areas (+64 ha/year) and decrease in agricultural (−54 ha/year) and natural (−17 ha/year) ones. In Sicily, the surroundings of 16 wetlands were impacted by an increase in agricultural areas (+50 ha/year) and decrease in natural and semi-natural ones (−62 ha/year). Results show that the Natura 2000 policies were effective in preserving wetlands (no shrinkages detected in both regions), but their surroundings experienced intense processes of degradation and artificialization in all the sub-periods considered (1990–2000, 2000–2006, 2006–2012), whose effects are now threatening waterbirds and wetland integrity. The enlargement of the existing Natura 2000 sites, the creation of new ones and the speedup of the application of the rules of the Habitats and Birds Directives seem necessary to counteract the rapid land-use changes around these important stopover sites.

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Influence of Anthropogenic Loads on Surface Water Status: A Case Study in Lithuania

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084341 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4341

Author(s):

Laima Česonienė ◽

Daiva Šileikienė ◽

Vitas Marozas ◽

Laura Čiteikė

Keyword(s):

Total Nitrogen ◽

Water Status ◽

Arable Land ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Water Bodies ◽

Agricultural Pollution ◽

Good Ecological Status ◽

Water Catchment ◽

Lake Basins

Twenty-six water bodies and 10 ponds were selected for this research. Anthropogenic loads were assessed according to pollution sources in individual water catchment basins. It was determined that 50% of the tested water bodies had Ntotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes, and 20% of the tested water bodies had Ptotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes. The lake basins and ponds received the largest amounts of pollution from agricultural sources with total nitrogen at 1554.13 t/year and phosphorus at 1.94 t/year, and from meadows and pastures with total nitrogen at 9.50 t/year and phosphorus at 0.20 t/year. The highest annual load of total nitrogen for lake basins on average per year was from agricultural pollution from arable land (98.85%), and the highest total phosphorus load was also from agricultural pollution from arable land (60%).

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Natura 2000 sites and fisheries in German offshore waters

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsn193 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 155-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Søren Anker Pedersen ◽

Heino Fock ◽

Jochen Krause ◽

Christian Pusch ◽

Anne L. Sell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Marine Mammals ◽

Fishery Management ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Management Measures ◽

Favourable Conservation Status ◽

Management Plans ◽

Natura 2000 Site ◽

Environmentally Sound ◽

Fishing Impacts

Abstract Pedersen, S. A., Fock, H., Krause, J., Pusch, C., Sell, A. L., Böttcher, U., Rogers, S. I., Sköld, M., Skov, H., Podolska, M., Piet, G. J., and Rice, J. C. 2009. Natura 2000 sites and fisheries in German offshore waters.–ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 155–169. The principal objective of sites selected as part of Natura 2000 is to achieve or maintain a favourable conservation status of habitats and species named in the EU Birds and Habitats directives. In the German exclusive economic zone, the habitat types protected by this legislation are sandbanks and reefs; protected species include marine mammals, seabirds, and specific migratory fish species. The ICES project Environmentally Sound Fishery Management in Protected Areas (EMPAS) aims to answer two questions: (i) To what extent do specific fishing activities significantly threaten attainment of the conservation objectives of the Natura 2000 sites? (ii) What management measures would reduce these conflicts and how effective would they be at helping to ensure the favourable condition of these sites? Assessments of fishing impacts on Natura 2000 sites require basic data on the conservation status of individual habitats and species, as well as data for fine-scale distributions of ongoing fishing activities. This paper describes and discusses the process used by the EMPAS project in developing fishery-management plans for each Natura 2000 site in German offshore waters.

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The contribution of agent-based simulations to conservation management on a Natura 2000 site

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.056 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 168 ◽

pp. 27-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Hélène Dupont ◽

Françoise Gourmelon ◽

Mathias Rouan ◽

Isabelle Le Viol ◽

Christian Kerbiriou

Keyword(s):

Conservation Management ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Agent Based ◽

Agent Based Simulations ◽

Natura 2000 Site

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Changes in the woody component of an East African savanna during 25 years

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467499001017 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 15 (5) ◽

pp. 545-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Claudius A. D. M. Van De Vijver ◽

Charles A. Foley ◽

Han Olff

Keyword(s):

Woody Species ◽

Original Data ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Tree Density ◽

Severe Drought ◽

East African ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Northern Tanzania ◽

Total Tree ◽

Large Decline

Changes in density, structure and species composition of the woody component of the two predominant savanna types in Tarangire National Park, northern Tanzania, during a period of 25 y were investigated. The park is known for its large, increasing elephant numbers and high frequency of fires. In 1996 a study on woody species density, composition and age structure, which was first performed in 1971, was repeated, using the same transects and method. Access to the original data of 1971 allowed for a full comparison of the changes and an investigation whether these could be related to changes in elephant numbers and fire frequency. The total tree density declined during the 25 y, but the decline was not evenly distributed over the different height classes. Although the density of trees taller than 5 m declined significantly, the greatest decline occurred in the density of trees shorter than 1 m. The density of trees in the intermediate height class of 1–5 m did not decline. Although damage to trees by elephants increased during the 25-y period, c. 25% showed no browse damage and, except for some severely damaged trees, elephant damage was not found to reduce tree vigour. Elephants affected the size distribution of the savanna woody component much more than the density, while the data suggest no significant effect of fire on changes in tree density. The large decline in density of small trees was attributed to a severe drought in 1993. Based on large numbers of elephants during the past decades and on relatively low elephant impact on the total tree density, the present study suggests that the current elephant number of 2300 can be sustained in the park without causing detrimental effects, provided that their current range is maintained.

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