Analysis and evaluation of a traditional cultural landscape as a basis for its conservation management : a case study in Vikos-Aoos National Park - Greece

Traditional cultural landscapes represent the long interaction of man with nature and are often characterised with high nature conservation value as habitats of rare and endangered species, or for their high diversity in plants and animals species. Such areas are also associated with specific traditional, cultural, aesthetic and economic values. <br>The study investigated the traditional cultural landscape in the area of Vikos-Aoos National Park, NW Greece. The landscape at the hilly and mountainous zone of the National Park has been influenced for centuries by traditional agro-silvo-pastoral land uses. The cultural landscape is a mosaic of small terraced fields with tree hedges, fallow grasslands and rocky sites, grazed open shrublands and woodlands, and various forests and forests fragments. <br>The area is nowadays depopulated. The traditional rural economy and land use system have been gradually abandoned. This situation is related with changes to the mosaic structure of the cultural landscape because of the accelerated forest succession and the invasion of woody species. <br>The study aimed to assess the ecological value of the traditional cultural landscape in Vikos-Aoos National Park and to set a basis for its conservation management. For this reason the main components and elements of the cultural landscape were identified and described along with the traditional land use system. <br>The ecological evaluation was based on the vegetation and vascular flora of the landscape. The vegetation inventory of the landscape elements preceded and led to the identification of more than 700 plant taxa. The vegetation data were numerically analysed and 24 vegetation types (plant communities and subunits) were identified, phytosociologically described and incorporated to the syntaxonomical system of the Greek vegetation. <br>Based on standard nature conservation criteria, i.e. plant species diversity, rarity, naturalness and restorability all plant communities were further evaluated for their contribution in nature conservation. The phytodiversity and the presence of rare plant species were quantified, while their naturalness and restorability were qualitatively assessed on the basis of specific ecosystem characteristics. For each criterion the communities were classified in classes of low, middle and high value. Each class aggregated the communities exhibiting similar pattern for the respective criterion. Furthermore, the communities were classified on the basis of the four criteria simultaneously and provided thus the ecological basis for the management. <br>Concerning the criteria of diversity and rarity it was concluded, that a) the conservation of the open (non forest) landscape elements is necessary for maintaining the high diversity and rarity of the cultural landscape; b) an active management scheme is needed for conserving these landscape elements and their associated biodiversity; and c) the management should be based on the continuation of the traditional land use regime and the development of alternative practices that imitate the traditional ones. <br>The high vascular plant species diversity and rarity of the open landscape elements represent only one part of the ecological value of the cultural landscape. There is another part of the landscape, i.e. specific landscape elements that are characterized with high naturalness and restorability value. These are the less human influenced and thus more natural landscape elements, such as the various forests and the rockcliffs with the chasmophytic vegetation. The ecological value of these ecosystems is related not only to the conservation of their biodiversity, but also in the case of the forests to the high structural complexity and the enhanced ecosystem functions. These characteristics, along with the long restoration time that these ecosystems require in case of destruction, made obvious the need to protect these landscape elements from any use that can harm their high naturalness and restorability value. <br>The ecological evaluation indicated a management scheme for the conservation of the traditional cultural landscape in the study area that combines both strict protection and active management spatially differentiated however, along with specific management recommendations for the various landscape elements.

Author dc:creator

• Amanatidou, Despoina

Contributors dc:contributor

• Reif, Albert

• Vikos-Aoos Nationalpark
• Traditionelle Landnutzungssysteme
• Landschaftsanalyse
• Kulturlandschaftselement
• Ökologische Bewertung
• Vikos-Aoos National Park
• Greece
• Traditional cultural landscape
• Phytodiversity
• Protected areas management

Repository record source_url

https://freidok.uni-freiburg.de/data/2378

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:freidok.uni-freiburg.de:2378