For Special Protection Areas (SPA),
Proposed Sites for Community Importance (pSCI),
Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and
for Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. SITE IDENTIFICATION
• 2. SITE LOCATION
• 3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION
• 4. SITE DESCRIPTION
• 5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS
• 6. SITE MANAGEMENT
• 7. MAP OF THE SITE

1. SITE IDENTIFICATION

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1.1 Type

B

1.2 Site code

GR4210009

1.3 Site name

ASTYPALAIA: ANATOLIKO TMIMA, GYRO NISIDES KAI OFIDOUSSA KAI THALASSIA ZONI (AKR. LANTRA - AKR. VRYSI)

1.4 First Compilation date

1995-03

1.5 Update date

2020-07

1.6 Respondent:

Name/Organisation:	Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας
Address:
Email:

1.7 Site indication and designation / classification dates

Date site proposed as SCI:	1996-08
Date site confirmed as SCI:	2006-09
Date site designated as SAC:	2011-03
National legal reference of SAC designation:	Law 3937/29-3-11 (OJ 60 A)

2. SITE LOCATION

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2.1 Site-centre location [decimal degrees]:

Longitude:	26.431041
Latitude:	36.588020

2.2 Area [ha]

7032.0400

2.3 Marine area [%]

48.8500

2.4 Sitelength [km] (optional):

No information provided

2.5 Administrative region code and name

NUTS level 2 code	Region Name
GR42	Notio Aigaio

2.6 Biogeographical Region(s)

Mediterranean

(0.00 %)

Marine Mediterranean

(0.00 %)

3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION

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3.1 Habitat types present on the site and assessment for them

Annex I Habitat types						Site assessment
Code	PF	NP	Cover [ha]	Cave [number]	Data quality	A|B|C|D	A|B|C
						Representativity	Relative Surface	Conservation	Global
1120	X		75.8939	0.00	P	B	C	B	B
1160			59.0286	0.00	P	A	C	B	B
1170			109.625	0.00	P	B	C	A	B
1240			185.93	0.00	G	B	B	A	B
1410			0.640961	0.00	G	A	C	B	B
1430			1.38793	0.00	G	A	C	A	A
3290		X	0	0.00	G
5210			2323.09	0.00	G	A	B	A	A
5330			39.5854	0.00	G	B	C	B	B
5420			675.196	0.00	G	A	C	A	B
6220	X		0.304976	0.00	G	B	C	B	B
8140			0.229157	0.00	G	B	C	A	B
8210			54.3438	0.00	G	B	C	A	B
92D0			0.678806	0.00	G	B	C	B	B
9320			114.41	0.00	G	A	C	A	B

• PF: for the habitat types that can have a non-priority as well as a priority form (6210, 7130, 9430) enter "X" in the column PF to indicate the priority form.
• NP: in case that a habitat type no longer exists in the site enter: x (optional)
• Cover: decimal values can be entered
• Caves: for habitat types 8310, 8330 (caves) enter the number of caves if estimated surface is not available.
• Data quality: G = 'Good' (e.g. based on surveys); M = 'Moderate' (e.g. based on partial data with some extrapolation); P = 'Poor' (e.g. rough estimation)

3.2 Species referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC and listed in Annex II of Directive 92/43/EEC and site evaluation for them

Species					Population in the site						Site assessment
G	Code	Scientific Name	S	NP	T	Size		Unit	Cat.	D.qual.	A|B|C|D	A|B|C
						Min	Max				Pop.	Con.	Iso.	Glo.
R	1227	Chelonia mydas			p				P	DD
M	1349	Tursiops truncatus			p				P	DD	D

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, I = Invertebrates, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Type: p = permanent, r = reproducing, c = concentration, w = wintering (for plant and non-migratory species use permanent)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the Standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting (see reference portal)
• Abundance categories (Cat.): C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present - to fill if data are deficient (DD) or in addition to population size information
• Data quality: G = 'Good' (e.g. based on surveys); M = 'Moderate' (e.g. based on partial data with some extrapolation); P = 'Poor' (e.g. rough estimation); VP = 'Very poor' (use this category only, if not even a rough estimation of the population size can be made, in this case the fields for population size can remain empty, but the field "Abundance categories" has to be filled in)

3.3 Other important species of flora and fauna (optional)

Species					Population in the site				Motivation
Group	CODE	Scientific Name	S	NP	Size		Unit	Cat.	Species Annex		Other categories
					Min	Max		C|R|V|P	IV	V	A	B	C	D
P		Achillea cretica						P						X
P		Allium longanum						R						X
P		Alyssoides cretica						P				X
P		Campanula laciniata						R				X
P		Convolvulus scammonia						P						X
P		Cynara cornigera						P						X
P		Dianthus fruticosus ssp. amorginus						P				X
P		Elymus farctus ssp. rechingeri						P				X
P		Eryngium amorginum						R				X
P		Fibigia lunarioides						P				X
P		Lactuca acanthifolia						P						X
P		Limonium frederici						R				X
P		Origanum tournefortii						R				X
P		Pimpinella pretenderis						R				X
I	1028	Pinna nobilis						P					X
I	1028	Pinna nobilis						P	X
I	1028	Pinna nobilis						P			X
P		Scorzonera eximia						P				X
P		Silene fabaria						P						X
P		Staehelina fruticosa						P				X

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, Fu = Fungi, I = Invertebrates, L = Lichens, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• CODE: for Birds, Annex IV and V species the code as provided in the reference portal should be used in addition to the scientific name
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting, (see reference portal)
• Cat.: Abundance categories: C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present
• Motivation categories: IV, V: Annex Species (Habitats Directive), A: National Red List data; B: Endemics; C: International Conventions; D: other reasons

4. SITE DESCRIPTION

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4.1 General site character

Habitat class	% Cover
N01	48.11
N03	0.01
N05	3.04
N06	0.94
N08	41.85
N09	0.11
N15	2.27
N16	0.16
N18	1.55
N22	1.96
Total Habitat Cover	100

Other Site Characteristics

The site includes a part of the island Astypalaia and a complex of twelve islets, Kounoupoi (140 ha), Ofidoussa (65 ha), Koutsomytis (40 ha),Tigani (4 ha), Moni (3 ha), Fteno (2 ha), Chondropoulo (1.5 ha), Fokionisia (60 ha), Ligno (18 ha), Chondri (30 ha), Agia Kyriaki (23 ha), and Pontikoussa (90 ha) with impressive sea cliffts. The island of Astypalaia belongs to the unit of Tripolis. The substratum of the site consists of Cretaceous limenstone in its major part. The north portion of the site consists of marine Pliocene sediments. All these islets, except Ophidousa, are surrounded by the depth curve of 100 m and consist of Cretaceous limestone. Ophidousa, lying 3 km west of Astypalaia, is joined with the main island with the depth curve of 200 m. The axis of the site has a NE-SW direction with a maximum length of about 11 Km and a maximum width of 9 Km. The maximum altitude of Astipalaia reaches at 366 m. The islets Pontikousa and Ophidousa are characterized by a central hill, reaching at an altitude of 250 m and 130 m, respectively, high for their small surface, with very steep slopes. The vegetation is mainly phryganic but also includes Juniperus phoenicea arborescent matorral. At places, where the matorral is grazed and degraded, Pistacia shrubs have been appeared tending to dominate the vegetation. There are also intermittent streams with characteristic vegetation. The marine part occupies 53% of the site, with reefs and a large cover of posidonia beds. The coastline of has a total length of about 130 Km, 66 km on Astypalaia and 44 Km on the islets. It is indended, with numerous small bays and typical sea-cliff vegetation. There are also five (5) well protected bays (Vathi, Vlychada, Ag. Phokas, Agriolithi, Maltezana). All along the coastline there are a lot of sea caves that are used as refuges by the Monk Seal Monachus monachus. Limestones are susceptible to erosion; this has led to the formation of several caves, the most intresting of which is Dracospilia.

4.2 Quality and importance

The most important element of the quality and importance of the site is the existence of nine habitat types, in a total of ten, with excellent representativity. Among them, the marine habitats, Posidonia seabeds, the sublittoral rocky seabeds, and the sea inlets, could be considered as the most representative ones in the Aegean Sea and probably even in the whole South East Mediterranean Sea. At the typical Aegean cliffs there are rare and endemic plants. The partly submerged sea caves are the ideal refugia for the Monk Seals as the mammals are not disturbed from human activities. The caves of the site are likely to be very interesting, regarding their fauna and their investigation should be worthwhile. In conclusion, the site has an exceptional biogeographic value as its fauna is characterized by cycladic and eastern faunistic elements. The complex of island, also hosting rare and endemic plants, constitutes an interesting biogeographic region, at the easternmost part of Europe.OTHER IMPORTANT SPECIES WITH MOTIVATION D Bongardia chrysogonum: It is a species with distribution in S.W. Asia; in the IUCN Red Data List (1993) it is cited as extinct/endangered in Greece (it has only been found at N. Peloponnesos and Astipalaia), while it is not threatened in the World (Stearn & Webb, 1993). It is also included as an endangered species in the National Red Data Book (unpublished). The following species are included in the IUCN Red Data List in the category of threatened species: Allium longanum [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988)]; Vulnerable in World (1993)], Campanula laciniata [Indeterminate, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)], Eryngium amorginum [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)], Limonium frederici [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)], Origanum tournefortii (=O. calcaratum) [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)], Pimpinella pretenderis [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)], Staehelina fruticosa [Rare, in Greece (1993), Europe (1988), World (1993)]. Of these P. pretenteris are also protected by the Greek Law (Presidential Decree 67/1981). A. longanum is also cited in the Corine checklist of threatened plants. Fibigia lunarioides, Convolvulus scammonia are protected by the Presidential Decree 67/1981. Cynara cornigera is an east-mediterranean species, with interesting distribution in the Aegean area, occurring in Southern Greece, Crete and in the Aegean and out of Greece only in Cyprus. Lactuca acanthifolia (= Scariola acanthifolia) has a similar distribution occurring though only in Hydra in Peloponnisos and only in SW Turkey out of Greece. Silene fabaria and Achillea cretica are Aegean region endemics (only in SW Turkey out of Greece). Alyssoides cretica = Lutzia cretica; Elymus farctus ssp. Rechingeri = Elymus rechingeri; 2) The IUCN characterizations given concern the plant’s status in Greece unless otherwise stated.

4.3 Threats, pressures and activities with impacts on the site

The most important impacts and activities with high effect on the site

4.4 Ownership (optional)

No information provided

4.5 Documentation (optional)

No information provided

5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS

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5.1 Designation types at national and regional level (optional):

Code	Cover [%]
GR95	51.88

5.2 Relation of the described site with other sites (optional):

Designated at national or regional level:

Type code	Site name	Type	Cover [%]
GR95	Anatoliko Tmima nisou Astypalaias kai gyrothen nisides	*	51.88

5.3 Site designation (optional)

No information provided

6. SITE MANAGEMENT

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6.1 Body(ies) responsible for the site management:

No information provided

6.2 Management Plan(s):

An actual management plan does exist:

	Yes
	No, but in preparation
X	No

6.3 Conservation measures (optional)

No information provided

 

7. MAP OF THE SITE

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