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Location
The study area is divided into 14 watersheds with an altitude ranging from 40m to 1103m a.s.l. at the Vertiscos mountain (Fig. 2). Dominant elements of the landscape are two lakes, Koronia and Volvi, which play an important role in the economy of the whole region and also protected with the RAMSAR treaty as wetlands of worldwide importance.
The climate of the region is meso - mediterranean with a mean annual precipitation of 552 mm. The mean air temperature of the area is 13.9 C°. The geological structure of the area is dominated by gneiss and granodiorites that cover about 60% of the county and to a lesser extent by alluvial deposits that cover another 28%. The remaining 12% consists of limestones (2%) and other rocks such as shists, greenshists and sediments.
The study area is covered by a great variety of land cover/use types that produce a rich and diverse landscape. According to the Corine Land Cover classification scheme (level 3), there are 32 different land cover types (Fig. 3). These types may be grouped into 6 major land uses, according to the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG):
Table 1: Major land use units in Lagadas County
Socio-economic background / management issues Animal husbandry is an important activity for the economy of the area and has a great impact on the structure and function of the landscape. According to the NSSG, the number of grazing animals is as follows:
Table 2: Grazing animals in the Lagadas County Relating the number of grazing animals to the total area of rangelands results in a stocking density of about 2.42 sheep equivalents / ha. This is one and a half higher that the grazing capacity estimated to 1 sheep equivalent / ha. This overgrazing is expected to have a negative impact in range condition and productivity of rangelands thus making the regulation of grazing as the main management problem for the study area. Other important problems of the area include watershed function and fire management. The lake of Koronia has been experiencing a great reduction of its water level over the last 10 to 15 years, resulting in a complete ecological disaster. Wildfires are also starting to become a problem mainly because of the significant increase of the forest fuel over the last few decades due to great changes in the socioeconomic conditions in the area including rural abandonment and urbanization.
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