ARCFUEL Laymans Report FINAL

8/12/2019 ARCFUEL Laymans Report FINAL

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Life07 NAT/GR/000286 Pinus nigra (GR2520006)

(www.parnonaslife.gr)

Project LIFE07 NAT/GR/000286 Restoration of Pinus nigra forests on Mount Parnonas

(GR2520006) through a structured approach

LIFE PINUS

Laymans report for the project LIFE PINUS


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: ., -. 2013. LIFEPINUS Pinus nigra (GR2520006) -. . . 12 .

:

Life www.parnonas-life.gr.

This document may be cited as follow:Kakouros P., Argyrios Boglis and Aikaterini Pantazi.2013. Laymans report for the project LIFE PINUSRestoration of Pinus nigra forests on MountParnonas (GR2520006) through a structured ap-proach. Management Body of Mount Parnon andMoustos Wetland. Astros. 12 p.

Graphic design: Stavros Yfantis

This report is available on the projects websitewww.parnonaslife.gr.


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The forests of black pine, although common inGreece, are relatively rare and with limited distribu-tion in Europe. For this reason and for their great ge-netic diversity, they have a special protection regimein the European Union. The black pine forests are the

habitat of many important species of plants andanimals, they play an important role in protectingupland soils from erosion and have economic im-portance because of their high wood productivity.Black pine forests constitute the priority habitat type"Mediterranean pine forests with endemic black pine(*9530).

Main objective of the project

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H (Pinus nigra Arnold) 3,5 . ha - , - . , 500 1500 ( ) , , . 1992 280.000 ha.

Black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) is a species extendingover more than 3.5 million ha from North Africathrough southern Europe to Asia Minor. In Greece,it is a rather common species and it occurs at alti-tudes from 500 to 1500 m depending on latitude,from Peloponnese (South Greece) to Rhodope mas-sif in the north of the country, including the islandsof Thasos, Lesvos and Samos. In 1992 it covered anarea of more than 280.000 ha.

, -, , . - -

. , , - . () - 9530.


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() GR2520006" ( )" - Natura 2000 , 2007 19.210 - .

The Special Area of Conservation (SAC) GR2520006"Mount Parnonas (kai periohi Malevis)" and particu-larly the forests of black pine within the SAC, havebeen severely damaged in August 2007 by a vast fo-rest fire that spread to 1,921 ha of black pine forest.

- , 2008 2009-2013 LIFE PINUS (LIFE07 NAT/GR/000286 - Pinus nigra (GR2520006) ). :

- - () -

9530. 2.900 -

() - - GR2520006 " ( )".

To address the effects of this fire and to improve theplanning of post fire restoration of black pineforests, the project LIFE PINUS (LIFE07 NAT/GR/000286 Restoration of Pinus nigra forests inParnonas (GR2520006) through a structured ap-proach ") was proposed in 2008 and implementedfrom 2009 to 2013. The main objectives of the pro-

ject were:

the demonstration of the application of a struc-tured approach to restore burnt areas of the pri-ority habitat type "Mediterranean pine forests

with endemic black pine (*9530) the restoration of 290 ha of the priority habitat

type "Mediterranean pine forests with endemicblack pine" in the SCI GR2520006 "OrosParnonas (kai periochi Malevis)"

2


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( ), ( -

). . -, , - . - - .

Black pine is highly resistant toground fires, but not to crown fires.Unlike aleppo and calabrian pine, the

black pine does not maintain dor-mant cones which open after the fireto sow new trees through natural re-generation. For this reason, after anextensive crown fire such as that ofParnonas, natural regeneration is ex-pected in only a small part of theburnt area. In these cases, forestmanagers are called to consider theoption to artificially accelerate therestoration of the forest in order toassist the work of nature.

. , - .

The main defense of black pineagainst ground fires is its thick barkthat protects the cambium, the livingthin layer of cells which keeps thetree alive and healthy.

Black pine forests

and forest fires

3

Bark /

Wood /

Cambium /

/ Black pine forest after crown fire.

.Black pine forest after ground fire.

- .Aged black pine with burnt bark protecting the alivecambium.

, .Trunk intersectin showing wood, cambium and bark.


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The increasing number of fires in black pineforests during the recent years, the slow natural

regeneration of the forest, the provisions for ad-verse climatic conditions and the need to im-prove the efficiency of resources used for artifi-cial restoration, were the motivation for devel-oping a structured approach to the design of theartificial restoration. The core of the structuredapproach are five sequential steps that lead fromthe valuation of the impact of fire to the selec-tion of the areas where Man will try to comple-ment nature and to the determination of theway the human intervention will be performed.

The five steps are:1. Specification of exclusion and ranking crite-ria of areas prospective for restoration (e.g.aspect, soil depth, position in mountainside,slope, geology, altitude, ecological impor-tance, habitat type).

2. Ranking of areas prospective for restorationaccording to the specified criteria.

3. Preliminary selection of the top ranked areasfor artificial restoration.

4. Verification of the preliminary selection within situ evaluation.

5. Specification of restoration techniques.

In its full development, the structured approachincludes two sets of actions:A. The assessment of short-term risks of erosion,

flood, etc. that should be immediately ad-dressed with fast deployed measures.

B. The comprehensive restoration planning byapplying the five steps.

A structured approach

for the restoration of

burnt black pine forests

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. - , - -, - .

, LIFE PINUS . , - , . - ,

, .

A number of additional measures are also in-cuded. These are measures that ensure its im-mediate implementation, such as maintenanceof seed stocks, detailed mapping of flora andfauna and measures which contribute to thelong term success of the restoration such asmonitoring of restoration measures efficiency.

In the case of Parnonas, the project LIFE PINUSfocused on integrated design and to the appli-cation of the five steps. Basis of this applicationwas the assessment of the impacts of the forestfire. This assessment goes beyond the mappingof the burnt area, to the determination of theseverity of fire impact on vegetation, flora andfauna. The most important outcome of the as-sessment is the identification and mapping ofany islands or scattered healthy trees withinthe burnt area, as these act as dispersal sources

of seeds for natural regeneration, which is theoptimal way of restoring the forest.

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6

/ Different burn severities.

/ Totally burnt. / Half burnt.

/ Scortched.

/ Unburnt island

/ Unburnt.


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- . - )

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1.

In this step the criteria for the ranking of the areasthat should be prioritized for restoration were spe-

cified. Exclusion criteria are also included in order toexclude areas a) where restoration is possible withnatural regeneration or b) are found in altitude wheremoisture and temperature conditions are not favo-rable for black pine to flourish.

Then, for each of the remaining areas, the followingdata are recorded: a) whether the vegetation beforethe fire resembled the typical vegetation of blackpine forests (representativity of the typical floristiccomposition of the habitat type), b) whether theyare included within a site of Natura 2000 or a pro-

tected area, c) whether they host threatened or pro-tected species d) whether their restoration will en-hance forest connectivity and e) the type of soil,slope and aspect (north, south, etc.).

Step 1.

Specification of exclusion

and ranking criteria

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- . - .Estimation of natural re-estabishment of forest around an unburnt island in years. Ar-

tificial restoration significantly reduce the time of re-establishment.


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, - -

.

2.

While ranking the areas with a potential for restora-tion in Parnonas, it was found that the main factorswhich differentiated their ranking order were their

contribution to the restoration of the connectivityof the forest and their abiotic conditions.

Step 2.

Ranking of areas

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o -

(, , -, ..) . LIFE PINUS 2.900 . - . , - , LIFE PINUS - 185.000 .

-. , - ) - , ) ) - -.

3.

Ranking being completed, the maximum of the burntarea that can be restored with the available re-

sources (seeds, seedlings, funds, personnel, etc.) isdetermined and the selection of the specific areasamong the top ranked takes place. In the case of LIFEPINUS a total of 290 ha had to be restored withplanting of seedlings, as this method has proved tobe the most appropriate for the area. The remainingareas would be restored at a later stage. In the caseof Parnonas, the remaining areas were indeed re-stored through the project "Restoration of theforests on Mount Parnonas and conservation guide-lines for Mount Taygetos in Lakonia", to which LIFEPINUS granted 185,000 seedlings.

It should be noted that during the selection of theareas to be restored, three other factors were alsoconsidered in order to further improve the imple-mentation of the restoration. In particular, effortwas put so as the selected areas a) were as compactand as large as possible, b) were located close to exi-ting roads and c) did not present natural regenera-tion of evergreen broadleaved vegetation.

Step 3.

Preliminary selection of the

areas for artificial restoration

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10

- .

- .. - .

4.

The selected areas were verified as suitable with insitu measurements. This is a necessary process as

some areas may present difficulties due to e.g.falling rocks or other materials that often appearafter a fire or other unforeseen causes.

Step 4.

Verification of suitability

of the areas

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5.

Two main restoration techniques are available:seeding and planting. In this step the restorationfor each particular area is determined, despite thatin Step 3 a preliminary selection has been made, aseach technique has different resource requirements.Seeding is the most natural method and has lowimplementation costs, but requires large quantitiesof seed and its success largely depends on theweather. On the other hand, planting has highercosts and require the production and transport ofseedlings, but is less influenced by the weather.

Additionally to the selection of the technique foreach particular area, in this step all necessary de-tails for the implementation of each technique arespecified, such as the type and age of the seedlings(if planting was to be used), if other works are ne-cessary such as weeding of planting sites, etc.

Step 5.

Specification

of restoration measures


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11

-, -

33 .

To monitor both the natural regeneration and arti-ficial restoration a network of 33 permanent moni-

toring sites was installed.

2.900 -

, 3.000 - . 2010 2011, - 450.000 . . - -, - - , . 2011 , 2012.

The implementation of the structured approach ledto the artificial restoration of 290 ha of burnt black

pine forest while approximately 300 ha were re-generated naturally with black pine or evergreenbroadleaved vegetation. The restoration began inDecember 2010 and concluded in March 2011, aperiod in which 450,000 seedlings were planted.The restored areas are located in the wider area ofAgrianoi and Polydroso, belonging to the Munici-pality of Sparti. The seedlings were produced by theForest Nursery of Organi near Komotini, operatedby the Directorate of Reforestation of the Decen-tralized Administration of Macedonia - Thrace,from seed collected from the Forest Service ofSparti. From the end of October 2011 replenish-ment of dried out plants started, an action com-pleted at the end of 2012.

Restoration

of burnt black pine forest

of Parnonas


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, , , -

. - - , LIFE PINUS . (www.parnonaslife.gr) .

The artificial restoration of burnt forests as those ofblack pine of Parnonas, evolves into a journey ofseeds, which are travelling within their cones, theyare cleaned and stored or they return to their placeof origin for sowing or planting. This journey, along

with other information on the black pine forests, thestructured approach and the dissemination activitiesof LIFE PINUS are presented in a film called "Thetravelling seed." The film is posted on the projectwebsite (www.parnonaslife.gr) and is also availablefrom the Management Body of Mount Parnon andMoustos Wetland.

The travelling seed

, - - ( 15 16 2009), , -, , (www.parnonaslife.gr). - -

, .

Dissemination actions for the goals, the actions andthe results of the project include an international sci-entific conference (Sparti, 15 to 16 of October2009), several presentations at conferences, publi-cations, a three-fold brochure, press releases and thewebsite of the project (www.parnonaslife.gr). All in-formation concerning the project, its publications,the press releases of the project and photographs areposted on the website.

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: Coordinating beneficiary:

: Partners:

: Co-funding:

/ Partnership: / Partnership:

To -

, -

,

.

The project is funded by the Directorate General Environ-

ment of the European Commission, the General Directorate

for the Development and Protection of Forests and the Na-

tural Environment and the project beneficiaries.

DIRECTORATE OF REFORESTATIONS

DECENTRALIZED ADMINISTRATION OF

Macedonia andThrace

- . &

FORESTRY INSPECTORATE OF SPARTI

DECENTRALIZEDADMINISTRATION OF

PELOPONNISOS - WESTERN GREECE & IONIAN SEA

MANAGEMENT BODY MOUNT PARNON

MOUSTOS WETLAND

&

SPECIAL SECRETARIAT FOR FORESTS

GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION

OF FORESTS AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

MINISTRY OF

ENVIRONMENT

ENERGY &

CLIMATE

CHANGE

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