| It is one of the best conserved ecosystems with high ecological value at both national and international level. In it we can find at least all elements of a typical natural Mediterranean delta. The habitat types that are in a very good ecological condition and cover large areas are the wet meadows of Juncus and the halophytic communities of the class Arthrocnemetalia. The halophilous vegetation covers an area of 43km2 and apart from Acheloos delta and the delta complex near Thessaloniki, this is the largest delta complex throughout Greece.The Tsoukalio lagoon is one of the largest of its kind not only in Greece but in the entire Mediterranean region. The major reed-bed area on the Louros can be considered as one of the largest coherent reed-beds in Greece, and the deciduous woodland on the Mavrovouni hill represents a system comparatively rare in Greece.In addition to the endemic plant species cited in section 3.3 some interesting plant taxa listed in section 3.3 with motivation D, occur in the site area. These are: a) Spirodela polyrhiza species apparently not common in Greece. It is well known that the Greek delta areas are very rich ecosystems. This is particularly evident from the fauna of this site which is very diverse and abundant. Several vertebrate taxa (other than birds) have been recorded from this site. Some of them are listed in Annex II of the Direcetive 92/43/EEC (section 3.2) and some remaining taxa are considered Other Important Species (section 3.3).The site is a foraging area of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta.The site is one of the best conserved ecosystems with high ecological value at both national and international level. In it we can find at least all elements of a typical natural Mediterranean delta. The habitat types that are in a very good ecological condition and cover large areas are the wet meadows of Juncus and the halophytic communities of the class Arthrocnemetalia. The halophilous vegetation covers an area of 43km2 and apart from Acheloos delta and the delta complex near Thessaloniki, this is the largest delta complex throughout Greece.The Tsoukalio lagoon is one of the largest of its kind not only in Greece but in the entire Mediterranean region. The major reed-bed area on the Louros can be considered as one of the largest coherent reed-beds in Greece, and the deciduous woodland on the Mavrovouni hill represents a system comparatively rare in Greece. In addition to the endemic plant species cited in section 3.3 some interesting plant taxa listed in section 3.3 with motivation D, occur in the site area. These are: a) Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus angustifolia, the populations in Greece of which are very degraded and must be protected, b) Spirodela polyrhiza species apparently not common in Greece, and c) Salvinia natans and Cotula coronopifolia, which are scattered in Greece. Salvia natans additionally recieves motivation D since it is protected by the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981, and is also listed in the WCMC Plants Database as "Endangered". It is well known that the Greek delta areas are very rich ecosystems. This is particularly evident from the fauna of this site which is very diverse and abundant. Several vertebrate taxa (other than birds) have been recorded from this site. Some of them are listed in Annex II of the Direcetive 92/43/EEC (section 3.2) and some remaining taxa are considered Other Important Important Species (section 3.3). It should be noted here that taking the opinion of Economidis (pers. comm.) into consideration, we include under the fish names of Phoxinellus spp., Cobitis taenia the following valid Greek taxa respectively (Economidis, 1991) Psuedophoxinus stymphalicus and C. hellenica. Among the taxa of sections 3.3, four are threatened in Greece indicated by motivation A (the water shrew Neomys anomalus, the dormouse Dryomys nitedula wingei, the jackal Canis aureus, and the dolphin Delphinus delphis). Most of the taxa from these two sections are protected by the Bern Convention therefore receiving the C motivation (the only exceptions are the hedgehog Erinaceus concolor, the harvest mouse Micromys minutus, the rock mouse Apodemus mystacimus epimelas, the vole Microtus thomasi and the jackal Canis aureus). The dolphin Delphinus delphis is given the C motivation for the additional reason that it is included in the lists of the CITES Convention. Moreover, most of the 37 taxa are protected by the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981 thus being eligible for motivation D (in this case the exceptions are the frogs Rana epeirotica, R. ridibunda, the lizards Ophisaurus apodus, Ablepharus kitaibelii, the snake Vipera ammodytes, the small mammals Neomys anomalus, Micromys minutus, Apodemus mystacinus epimelas, Microtus thomasi, the jackal Canis aureus, the marten Martes foina and the badger Meles meles). The D motivation is also allocated to: a) the anurans Bufo viridis, Hyla arborea, Rana dalmatina, the lizard Ablepharus kitaibelii, the snake Natrix tessellata and the dolphin Delphinus delphis, since these taxa are mentioned in the handbook of the CORINE-Biotopes Project, and b) the newt Triturus vulgaris graecus, the frog Rana epeirotica, the lizards Algyroides nigropunctatus, Podarcis erhardii, P. taurica ionica, and the small mammals Micromys minutus, Apodemus mystacinus epimelas, Microtus thomasi, since they are all Balkan endemics. The invertebrate species listed in section 3.3 with motivation D are protected by the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981, except Everes argiades which is included in the list of "Threatened Rhopalocera (butterflies) of Europe. Pieris krueperi is also included in this list. The marine area of the site is considered of great importance for the resident population of the vulnerable, coastal, common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. The bottlenose dolphin is the only cetacean species living in the murky and eutrophic waters of the Gulf of Ambracia, constituting a geographically and otherwise distinct group with little (if any) demographic exchange. The species is listed in Annex II of the Directive 92/43/EEC and is also included in the Bern, Bonn and CITES conventions, in the Greek Red Data Book and is also protected by the Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981). By applying standard criteria provided by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species this ‘subpopulation’ qualifies as Endangered. While the local density of dolphins is the highest recorded anywhere in the Mediterranean Sea, this is not indicative of favourable conservation status or pristine habitat: the bottlenose dolphins face a risk of extinction due to their isolation, small population size and small extent of occurrence, as well as to acute and growing anthropogenic impacts in this semi-closed shallow habitat. The gulf is considered as a key area for the species and the population is probably one of the most important isolated population units for bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean.Κάτω ρους π. Αράχθου: Η προτεινόμενη περιοχή επέκτασης περιλαμβάνει τον υγρό δίαυλο του π. Αράχθου από τις εκβολές μέχρι και το χωριό Ανθότοπος καθώς και τα κανάλια των πηγών Αγ. Γεωργίου. Περιοχή με σημαντικό πληθυσμό του ενδημικού είδους Cobitis arachthosensis. Μικρά κανάλια στην περιοχή των πηγών Περάνθης (πηγές Αγ. Γεωργίου) έχουν ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον λόγο της ύπαρξης των επίσης ενδημικών Pelasgus thesproticus, Economidichthys pygmaeus, Telestes pleurobipunctatus καθώς και του απομονωμένου πληθυσμού του επίσης σπάνιου και ενδημικού είδους Valencia letourneuxi (Kalogianni et al. 2006).Η παρόχθια περιοχή και οι παρόχθιοι και υγροτοπικοί και γεωργικοί χώροι δίπλα στο ποτάμι, έχουν πολύ μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον για την βιοποικιλότητα (Zogaris et al. 2003).Πεδιάδα Λούρου: Η προτεινόμενη περιοχή επέκτασης περιλαμβάνει τα μικρά ρέματα και αντίσοιχους υγρότοπους στην περιοχή του χωριού Λούρος, δηλαδή της δυτική παρόχθια ζώνη του ποταμού Λούρου. Μία από τις σημαντικότερες περιοχές για το είδος Valencia letourneuxi. Η πυκνότητα του πληθυσμού και το ενδιαίτημα στην περιοχή είναι εξαιρετικά υψηλή σε σχέση με άλλες (Kalogianni et al. 2006). Η περιοχή έχει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον για πολλά άλλα ενδημικά και σπάνια ψάρια των γλυκών υδάτων. Στα ψυχρά πηγαία νερά διαβιούν μεγάλοι πληθυσμοί Telestes pleurobipunctatus. Η περιοχή έχει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον και για άλλα είδη που προστατευόνται από την Οδηγία 92/43 όπως Cobitis hellenica, Pelasgus thesproticus, Luciobarbus albanicus κ.α. Παράλληλα, η περιοχή χαρακτηρίζεται από εκτεταμένα παρόχθια δάση, μικρούς χείμαρρους, υγρά λιβάδια κ.α. (βλ. Zogaris 2003, 2008), ιδιαίτερης σημασίας για μια σειρά υγροτοπικών και παρόχθιων οικοσυστημάτων.Καμπή Φιλιππιάδας: Η προτεινόμενη περιοχή επέκτασης περιλαμβάνει τον υγρό δίαυλο του π. Λούρου, στο ύψος της Φιλιππιάδας και κατάντη αυτής καθώς και τον υγρό δίαυλο των πηγών στο χωριό Καμπή, μέχρι τη συμβολή τους με τον π. Λούρο. Εξαιρετικά σημαντική περιοχή εξάπλωσης για το είδος Caspiomyzon graecus (Eudontomyzon sp.). Το είδος αναπαράγεται σε πηγαία ψυχρά νερά, κατάντη του χωριού Καμπη. Είναι από τις ελάχιστες περιοχές όπου απαντά αυτό το στενά τοπικό ενδημικό είδος (Renaud and Economidis, 2010). Στην περιοχή απαντούν και άλλα ενδημικά είδη όπως Pelasgus thesproticus, Telestes pleurobipunctatus και Lucioarbus albanicus. |