The Strofades Islands form part of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. Juniperus turbinata Gussone (syn. Juniperus phoenicea Linnaeus) forests are one of the few remaining high forest forms in Mediterranean. Here, the ecological status and the state of forest regeneration on the Strofades were evaluated to contribute information to their preservation. Seventeen sampling sites were established in the most representative locations. Fourteen sites were dominated by J. turbinata, while the predominant species was Quercus coccifera Linnaeus, accompanied by Phillyrea latifolia Linnaeus and Pistacia lentiscus Linnaeus, in the remaining three sites. Our results showed the presence of poorly formed juniper populations dominated by individuals with multiple trunks and rotting heartwood. Various factors contributed to the absence of regeneration, including poor soil, rocky substrate and grazing activity by a large number of free ranging goats. The broadleaf evergreen species dominated over J. turbinata along the juniper forest boundaries. Our results demonstrate that broadleaved shrubs are favoured, limiting the regeneration of juniper, stressing the importance for implementing forest conservation measures and expanding our knowledge about juniper regeneration processes.
The current study aims to analyze the ecological niche and mapping the distribution of species belonging to Orchidaceae family, in Zante Island and to determine hotspots at sites of high species richness. 967 observations were recorded into 110 tracks in 2015 and 120 tracks in 2016, where 47 orchid species were identified belonging to 9 genera. Using Maxent, the ecological niche of each species was analyzed and habitat suitability map was created using 12 environmental parameters. The suitability maps were transformed into a binary format according to the threshold “10th percentile training presence” and the transformed maps used to compute hot-spot regions by applying the SMD toolbox using the software ArcGIS. Zante Island is characterized by remarkably high orchid species richness since the synthetic model indicates presence of at least 10 species for the 53.2% of the island area. Topography, geology and landscape openness are determining factors for orchids’ diversity conservation. Altitude is the determining factor of differentiation in species distribution. Hydro-lithology was the following most significant interpreting parameter. The mapping analysis of species abundance units revealed that 12.5% of the island surface could be characterized as hotspots of high value for the conservation of orchid diversity.
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