Incorporating landscape character in cork oak forest expansion in Sardinia: constraint or opportunity?

Cork oak (Quercus suber) is a declining woodland species across the island of Sardinia, despite its former economic importance for wine production and its significance for biodiversity. In particular, cork oak forests (COFs) on the island have seen a 29% decrease in the past 45 years. A spatial GIS model was developed to determine suitability for the expansion of cork oak forests on the island. The model uses a set of simple spatial decision rules based on principles of landscape ecology and expert opinion to assign a suitability score for pure cork oak forests to every land use parcel in Sardinia. These rules include the type of existing land parcel, its size, distance to existing cork oak forest, and the area of seminatural habitats in its neighborhood. This was coupled with a map of landscape types to assist with the development of policy for the protection of cork oak forests across Sardinia. The results show that there is an area of 116,785 ha potentially suitable for cork oak forest expansion in Sardinia, with the largest area of potential habitat on granitic mountains. There is a substantial overall agreement (Cohen’s kappa = 0.61) between the suitability map produced and the historical reference map. The model is flexible and can be rerun to reflect changes in policy relating to agri-environmental targets for habitats and species

Human activities, land use changes and their effects on landscapes and priority species

The present dissertation studies the role of human activities and land-use changes and their effects on the landscape in general and upon priority species in specific. For the purpose, the research took place on mountainous rural areas in Greece (Epirus), due to their long history of human influence and their high protection and conservation value. […]Η παρούσα εργασία μελετά την επίδραση της ανθρώπινης δραστηριότητας και των αλλαγών στις χρήσεις γης στο τοπίο γενικά και στα είδη προτεραιότητας ειδικά. Για το σκοπό αυτό η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε σε ορεινές αγροτικές περιοχές της Ελλάδας (Ήπειρος) που εδώ και αιώνες επηρεάζονται από τη δράση του ανθρώπου, ενώ παράλληλα χαρακτηρίζονται από μεγάλη αξία προστασία και διατήρησης. […

Roads and Roadless Areas in Cyprus: Implications For The Natura 2000 Network

The road network in Cyprus has seen an 88% increase in the last 20 years. This expansion has not been followed by any kind of assessment on the effects of the network on nature conservation. This is the first island-wide quantitative assessment of the size, character (surface types), pervasiveness and distribution of the road system with particular reference to Natura 2000 network on the island. We mapped roadless areas (i.e. areas at least one km away from nearest road) for the whole island and examined the spatial distribution with respect to Natura 2000. We tested the relationship between overall road density and road density of different road categories within terrestrial Natura 2000 sites to four zones which were defined on the basis of landform, principal land use and ownership. We employed three indices i.e. effective mesh size, splitting and division to measure fragmentation caused by the road network within Natura 2000 and investigated the relationship between road density and the above fragmentation metrics. Mean road density in Cyprus is 2.3 km/km2 which is comparable to road density values recorded in other Mediterranean countries such as France, Spain and Italy, which have much larger area and population. Roadless areas cover 4.5% of the island, and despite being scattered 80% is found within Natura 2000, which demonstrates the added value of the network for nature conservation. Road expansion has taken place throughout the island with the same intensity irrespectively of the zones examined. Fragmentation has been lower in sites on mountainous areas where sites are larger and under state ownership. Road density is negatively correlated (r = - 0.383, p = 0.05) with effective mesh size and positively correlated with both landscape division (r = 0.376, p = 0.05) and splitting index (r = 0.376, p = 0.05). Results corroborate that spatial configuration is an important property of the road network in addition to traffic load, length and density.With the shift from site based conservation to landscape level there is a challenge for integrating technical, human and ecological requirements into infrastructure planning

Historical analysis of landscape change using remote sensing techniques: An explanatory tool for agricultural transformation in Greek rural areas

The role of agricultural change in transforming Greek rural landscapes is analysed within the broader context and theory of agricultural transition from traditional to productivist and post-productivist regimes. The analysis is based on remote sensing data following a case study approach in two study sites - Tymfi and Konitsa - located in the Epirus mountain area. Vegetation maps were created for 1945, 1969 and 1995 via 'object oriented image analysis' of a series of air-photographs. A number of landscape metrics was then calculated for each map and the interpreted spatial analysis illustrates that the observed landscape changes are linked to agricultural restructure. During the post war period when agriculture in Western Europe had entered a productivist phase, agricultural change was marked by trends of agricultural abandonment predominantly evident in the upland areas. In contrast, farming persisted at the lowlands and the gradual aggregation of crop fields in few large patches, indicates the existence of productivist agriculture. This landscape transformation suggests that productivist agriculture and land abandonment can coexist in a spatially differentiated pattern. Although since the mid-1980s, the rationale of agricultural policy priorities shifted towards post-productivism, the findings of this study do not support the existence of such a transition. The results are further discussed within the broader context of agricultural change in Europe providing an additional dimension to the discussions regarding the spatio-temporal properties of agricultural transition. Understanding the process of agricultural change could enhance the role of agricultural policy as a tool for landscape management and regional planning. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Characterizing Islandscapes: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges Exemplified in the Mediterranean

Islands across the world have evolved at the interface between land and sea, thus comprising landscapes and seascapes. Many islands have also been influenced by anthropogenic factors, which have given rise to mosaics of anthromes (sensu Ellis and Ramankutty). These elements of landscapes, seascapes, and cultural impacts in varied proportions, generate unique environments which merit a unique term: islandscapes. The use of the term islandscape is advocated as the only term which encompasses all of the constituent components of an island, in a holistic manner. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the applicability of existing landscape and seascape character assessment methodologies in an island context, and to propose a methodological framework for mapping the space which defines the term ‘islandscape’. The challenges and opportunities stemming from the use of the term are exemplified with reference to the Mediterranean islands

High nature value farmlands: challenges in identification and interpretation using Cyprus as a case study

High Nature Value Farmland systems (HNVf) in Europe are recognised for their importance for biodiversity conservation and their extent is one of the impact indicators in the CAP monitoring and evaluation framework for the 2014–2020 cycle. Due to differences in farming typologies and data availability between nations, a common methodology for identifying HNVf does not exist, nor is considered appropriate. In the current study we use the Mediterranean island of Cyprus as a case study to highlight EU-wide issues for the identification and mapping of HNVf. We brought together under a common spatial framework datasets on farming typology, agro-chemical inputs, water use intensity and biodiversity data collected from public authorities and nature/biodiversity conservation organisations. Using an expert driven approach informed by a range of stakeholders, we identified and mapped potential HNVf areas employing a 1 km2 mapping grid as the reporting spatial framework under two storylines for defining farmland area within every grid cell: a liberal with 10% threshold and a conservative with 25% threshold. Areas containing potentially HNVf may extend from 22.5–34.5% of the island, depending on the storyline employed. HNVf Type I is the more restricted type for both storylines, while Type II is the most extensive. The highest overlap was between Type II and Type III for the liberal storyline and between Type I and II for the conservative storyline. HNVfs cover an area between 30 to 57% of the Natura2000 network on the island depending on the storyline. With the liberal storyline for farmland definition, the spatial extent of HNVfs together with the existing Natura2000 sites cover 90% of the study area, while with the conservative storyline this figure drops to ca.75%. The results confirm the role of HNVfs within and around Natura2000 sites in Cyprus and their potential for providing connection and site buffering opportunities, particularly in the lowlands, while they can provide information about policy-making for agri-environmental payments targeting

Road effects on habitat richness of the Greek Natura 2000 network

The road network has both positive and negative ecological effects, and understanding these helps identify environmentally preferable solutions for transportation policy and planning. We investigated the relationship between road density and habitat type richness of Greek protected areas. We used digital vector maps of 214 sites included in the Greek Natura 2000 network. We calculated road density for the terrestrial part of each site and correlated it with habitat type richness. Average road density of protected areas (0.377 km/km2) was significantly lower than the national road density of Greece (0.446 km/km2). We identified 32 sites that were not intersected by roads. These roadless sites were located at mountain tops, at islets, or in remote coastal zones. Overall we found no significant correlation between road density and habitat type richness. We suggest that the effect of road networks on habitat type richness is less apparent at landscapes with long history of human presence, because the landscape (and its habitat diversity) has coevolved with human activities over the past millennia. Our analysis provides a step towards quantifying the effect of road density on the diversity of habitats and consequently on species of conservation interest in international networks of protected areas such as the European Natura 2000 network

A contribution to the study of copper production in the Iron Age polity of Paphos in Cyprus

This paper presents the results of the chemical, microscopic and isotopic analysis of an archaeometallurgical assemblage consisting of slag and metal samples from two Cypro-Classical monuments recently located within the urban landscape of the polity of Paphos, and from two slag heaps in the metalliferous region of the Paphos hinterland. The project identified technological changes and innovations, such as the introduction of new types of fluxes and the optimization of the smelting technology. Furthermore, the analysis of slag samples from one of the two monuments, identified as workshop complex on the plateau of the Paphian citadel, revealed the presence of an iron smithy. This pioneering interdisciplinary study paves the way for the development of a comparative archaeo-metallurgical project that will define the fingerprint of the Paphos copper deposits. The study was carried out in the context of the University of Cyprus-Leventis Foundation Project, “From the metalliferous sources to the citadel complex of ancient Paphos: Archaeo-environmental analysis of the mining and the built environment” (acronym MEANING 2017–2019)