Abstracts

Forest Ecosystems

Pinus nigra which is believed to be one of the most important forest species found in the mountainous part of mainland Greece, is also located in areas of high elevation on the Mediterranean island of Thasos. Nevertheless, Pinus nigra is not considered to be a typical Mediterranean forest ecosystem.

On the other hand, Pinus brutia is a typical Mediterranean forest ecosystem and can be found in areas of low elevation on the Mediterranean island of Thasos. It is known to be highly flammable and when a forest is affected by fire, no intervention except the exclusion of grazing and of other human activities is required because regeneration is expected to be self-ensured by the ecosystem.

In the 1980s both the Pinus nigra and the Pinus brutia forest in Thasos were seriously affected by large wildfires. Since Pinus nigra forest is not usually subject to forest fire, the aim of this research was to examine the succession of the fire-altered Pinus nigra forest ecosystem in Thasos by employing geographical information systems (GIS) and the global positioning system (GPS).

More specifically, our objectives were: to assess ecosystem recovery, to estimate the success of Pinus nigra regeneretation, and to determine whether there was any Pinus brutia invasion of an area which, prior to the fires, was covered by Pinus nigra forest.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

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