**5. Reforestation / afforestation in Greece**

As mentioned previously, after the fire, the Forest Department (or the Management Authority in the case of Protected Areas) is responsible for further protecting and restoring the area burned.

law) and 2000. According to table 5, the year 2007 was particularly devastating for Greece with regard to fires. Extensive fires in many parts of the country (mainly in August), burned more than 200,000 Ha of land. At least 63 people died, 1,500 houses got burned leaving 6,000 homeless. Also, 4.5 million trees, 60,000 sheep and thousands of swarms of bees got burned. Seven " Natura 2000" areas, burned down by 16.3% to 50.4%. The areas affected were in the Peloponnese, the island of Euboea and Central Greece (Attica and Fthiotida counties). The

> **BURNT WOODED LAND (Ηa)**

1990 1,322 38,593 21,088 17,505 48.60 3,32 48.08 1991 941 23,574 8,000 15,574 57.27 1.91 40.81 1992 2,042 66,347 23,194 43,153 42.51 2.98 54.50 1993 2,406 54,049 24,200 29,849 42.50 2.53 54.96 1994 1,954 52,603 23,392 29,211 39.15 4.91 55.93 1995 1,493 19,177 9,035 10,142 36.10 3.95 59.94 1996 1,527 22,990 8,111 14,879 29.60 3.27 67.12 1997 2,273 34,781 16,119 18,662 35.41 2.37 62.22 1998 1,842 92,901 46,077 46,824 11.45 2.50 86.05 1999 1,486 8,289 4,773 3,516 8.54 8.71 91.46 **Μean 1,728.6 41,330.4 18,398 22,931.5** 33.60 3.21 63.19 2000 2,581 145,034 69,579 75,455 13.01 4.99 81.99 2001 2,658 18,342 8,423 9,929 15.24 6.66 78.10 2002 1,400 4,337 887 3,450 10.00 11.0 79.00 2003 1,425 3,263 960 2,303 11.01 16.21 72.77

**Mean 1,806.4 50,318.1 21,166.2 29,153 14.36 9.70 75.93** 

After the fire, recording of burnt areas of forest character of the Greek Territory takes place using high resolution satellite images with the cooperation of ESA (European Space Company) and the National Observatory of Athens. The mapping provides information about the overall expanse and magnitude of the damages of burnt areas and supports

As mentioned previously, after the fire, the Forest Department (or the Management Authority in the case of Protected Areas) is responsible for further protecting and restoring

Table 5. Number of fires and burned area in Ha during the period 1990-2008

**HUMAN CAUSES** **NATURAL CAUSES** 

**UNKNOWN CAUSES** 

cost of the disaster reached 5 billion euros.

**TOTAL BURNT LAND (Ηa)** 

2004 1,755 10,722.1 2,586 8,136.1 2005 1,544 6,437.4 2,180 4,257.2 2006 1,417 12,661.4 6,513 6,148.3 2007 1,992 222,894 85,970.6 136,923.4 2008 1,486 29,172 13,397 15,775

procedures for the recovery of the burned areas.

**5. Reforestation / afforestation in Greece** 

the area burned.

**TOTAL BURNT FORESTS (Ηa)** 

**TOTAL NUMBER OF FIRES**

**YEAR** 

Rehabilitation / protection actions begin immediately and generally (differ according to case) may include: a) Anti-erosion works: avoiding tillage, prohibition of any kind of grazing in order to facilitate the development and regeneration of vegetation burned, antierosive construction projects in streams and gorges to slow down the flow of flood waters, placing branch-meshes, trunk-meshes, construction of small dams on streams, b) Projects for slope formation and protection, c) Reforestations: When the burnt area includes maquis forests or Mediterranean conifer forests (e.g. Pinus *halepensis* and Pinus *pinea*), they can be recreated in a few years. The Forest Service takes into account the type of vegetation that has been burned, the success potential of natural regeneration of trees and the general conditions (e.g. slope), and, accordingly, shall proceed, or not, to artificial reforestation of burnt areas using native species.

Reforestations, being a duty of the Forest Service of Greece, are not limited to the post-fire period.

The purpose of reforestation is the creation of new forests, the renewal of mature forests and the recovery of degraded forest ecosystems while ensuring natural regeneration or artificial intervention (seeding or planting) for production purposes and the protection of soils. There are also hydrologic purposes, as well as environmental and aesthetic purposes.

On average, over the past 5 years, approximately 1.000 Ha of land have been reforested. Last year (2010), a very ambitious program has started that predicts only for the Attica Prefecture (the county in which the country's capital is located), reforestations of 10,000 Ha by 2014. This program concerns areas that have been burnt 2 or 3 times and, therefore, can not be naturally regenerated. Especially in the Attica region, according to data from the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (2010) (see Table 7), the cost of reforestation in the last 8 years was enormous. However, it should be noted that the costs of Reforestation projects in Attica, also included, maintaining and improving existing roads and the creation and maintenance of fencing.


Table 6. Realized reforestation projects and incurred expenditure from the start of the action until 2007

Deforestation / Reforestation in Mediterranean Europe: The Case of Greece 55

prepared for 107 regions corresponding to 190,000 Ha), in order to resolve the complex ownership regime regarding forestlands in Greece and lead us to efficient spatial

Regarding policies to increase forest area, they focus on reforestations materiazed by the Forest Service, and the implementation of the EU Regulation on afforestation of marginal

Finally, for the protection of forest ecosystems in general as well as, specifically, in order to protect them from their main enemies (grazing, fire and subsequent change of use), the

 Application of contemporary standards regarding the compilation of management plans on forests, which should take into account, the productive functions of forests (sustainability of yields) the protective, ecological and social functions (multifunctional forest management, sustainable management of forest ecosystems), as well as new data on climate change. The state should strengthen the forest sector, both materially and with the necessary personnel, given that, according to science experts, public forests managed for a long time with high quality management plans, are currently being

 Conversion of all managed coppice forests in the country, especially oak forests, not only to achieve higher timber stock, but also for ecological / environmental reasons (more effective soil protection, increase of biodiversity, landscape aesthetics, the

Greater emphasis on the prevention of forest fires, through managing tree clusters and

 Emphasis on public information – awareness regarding the multidimensional functions of forests, as well as the impacts of fires in nature, climate and public health. Awareness of local authorities and organizing locals into voluntary groups aiming for fire

 Rigidity regarding compliance with the ban on grazing in burnt forest areas, in accordance with legislation, while ensuring alternative sources of food for animals, the composition and implementation of management plans for pasturelands and

Rigidity regarding the observance of the legislation concerning the protection of burnt

Strict compliance with the use of native species, well adapted to the particularities of

Logging and wood transport should take place in a manner that causes no damage to

 Taking into account that Forest Service officials have scientific knowledge on the physiology of forests and wild areas and are well aware of the area for which they are responsible, it would be advisable that the responsibility of suppressing forest fires

Particular attention, sparingness and skepticism regarding the opening up of a dense road

prevention, suppression and reforestation, coordinated by the Forest Service.

planning and effective environmental and forest policy.

Rapid composition of forest maps for the entire country

managed with logging plans due to lack of funds and personnel.

Creation of management plans by the Management Bodies of Protected Areas.

implementation of the following is necessary:

hydrological role of forests etc.).

Integrated management of burned areas.

each region, during reforestation.

the ecosystem and its regeneration.

should be assigned to the Forest Service.

compliance with the carrying capacity of rangelands.

areas and specifically the issue of land use change.

dead biomass.

network in forests.

agricultural land.


Table 7. Reforestation projects in Attica

Apart from reforestations, under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the measure of afforestation of agricultural land is being implemented since 1992 (Reg. 2080/1992 and Reg. 1257/99). According to this measure, owners of marginal productivity agricultural land are encouraged to transform it into forest land by planting forest tree species. This way, the afforested area in the EU (and Greece) increases with favorable consequences on global warming and on increasing biodiversity, slopes become effectively protected and nonproductive lands get withdrawn from production. Beneficiaries of this measure, receive subsidizes to cover planting and maintenance costs for up to 5 years after planting tree species, support for the construction of windbreaks, fire lanes and an annual support payment per hectare afforested (up to 20 years) to cover income losses resulting from land use change (Christopoulou, 2001).

In Greece, the implementation of Regulation EEC/2080/92 from 1993 to 2001 resulted in the establishment of 35,840 Ha of forest plantations mainly of *Robinia pseudoacacia* L (black locust*), Populus sp* (poplar) and *Juglans regia* (walnut) (Arabatzis *et al*., 2006, Chalikias and Christopoulou., 2010 ).
