| This region is of great importance, due to the following features: 1) Mt. Oligyrtos is in the central part between the Feneos, Stymfalia and Kantila mountain plains, which are the most important hydrological basins of N Peloponnisos; 2) It is an area of high altitudes and important forests in the northern part, with habitats suitable for plants and animals, and the rocky steep slopes of the crest areas (and not only them) also include habitats which are suitable for rare and endemic plants; 3) Many interesting plant taxa are found in the examined area. From the plants listed in section 3.3, the following taxa - Erysimum pectinatum, Aurinia moreana, Thlaspi graecum, Sideritis clandestina, Scrophularia heterophylla var. taygetea, Valeriana olenaea, Anthemis laconica, Adonis cyllenea - are endemic to Peloponnisos and 10 taxa - Abies cephalonica, Silene auriculata, Cerastium candidissimum, Crataegus pycnoloba, Draba lacaitae, Rhamnus sibthorpianus, Asperula taygetea, Galium peloponnesiacum, Achillea umbellata, Fritillaria graeca- are Greek endemics. Abies cephalonica, Asperula taygeta, Scrophularia taygetes, Valeriana olenaea are classified as "Rare" in the WCMC Plants Database, as well as the IUCN R.D.B. Valeriana olenaea is protected by Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981). Centaurea raphanina ssp. mixta, Cerastium candidissimum, Crataegus pycnoloba, Draba lacaitae, Erysimum pectinatum, Galium peloponnesiacum, Rhamnus sibthorpianus, Satureja parnassica, Sideritis clandestina, Thlaspi graecum are listed as "Not Threatened" in the WCMC Plants Database, as well as in the IUCN Red Data Book, but they may well be in danger. Achillea umbellata is characterized with "" in the WCMC Plants Database. Adonis cyllenea, characterized as "E" in the WCMC Plants Database, and as "V" in the IUCN RDB, is protected by Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981). It was known only from Mt. Killini and was thought to be an extinct species, when it was rediscovered on Mt. Oligyrtos (Parnias) a few years ago. It is elsewhere known only fron one collection from Pontus in NE Turkey but this record requires verification. The protection of this species is of great importance. The plants marked with the letter D in section 3.3 have interesting geographical distribution, such as: a) Arenaria filicaulis subsp. graeca, Minuartia stellata, Scrophularia laciniata, Pedicularis graeca, Campanula spatulata, Lilium chalcedonicum and Poa thessala, which are Balkan endemics, the last two being protected by Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981), while Peucedanum longifolium is distributed in the Balkan peninsula and C Romania; b) Thymus leucotrichus, Tulipa orphanidea are distributed in Greece and Turkey, while Thymus leucotrichus is also distributed in Lebanon -Syria. Tulipa orphanidea and Gallium incanum subsp. incanum are protected by the Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981); If the continuity of the forest is ensured and extended to the southern part of the mountain, as it was in the past, Mt. Oligyrtos may act as the "connecting member" to the extended and important mountainous ecosystems of Mts Kyllini and Chelmos, as well as to that of Mt. Artemisio and Farmakas in the southeast. Thus the living conditions of the forest mammals could be substantially improved, since their very existence depends on the presence of the extended forest ecosystems. 5) The occurrence of many endemic taxa and the diversity of the local fauna are also good indicators of this site's quality. The evaluated vertebrate fauna of this site (excluding birds) consists of several recorded taxa. Some of the reptilian species are mentioned in Annex II of the Directive 92/43/EEC (see section 3.2). As regards the Other Important taxa tabulated in section 3.3, the occurrence of some Greek endemics should be emphasized (motivation B). Áll the animal taxa of sections 3.2, 3.3 are protected by the Bern Convention. For the taxa of the latter two sections, this is indicated by the C motivation. Besides the Bern Convention, the wildcat Felis silvestris is also mentioned by the CITES Convention. Some of the reported animals are also protected by Greek Legislation (Presidential Decree 67/1981); these have been allocated the motivation D. Likewise, the same motivation has been allocated to Bufo viridis, Hyla arborea, Podarcis muralis and Felis silvestris since they are also evaluated by the CORINE-Biotopes Project. The hare Lepus europaeus is marked with motivation D because of its general rarity in Greece due to intensive hunting. |