=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper82
|storemode=property
|title=Vascular Plants of Oiti and Parnassos National Parks of Greece, as Important Components of Biodiversity and Touring Experiences
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper82.pdf
|volume=Vol-2761
|authors=Alexandra Solomou,George Karetsos,Panayiotis Trigas,Nikolaos Proutsos,Evangelia Avramidou,Evangelia Korakaki,Konstantinos Kougioumoutzis,George Pavlidis,Spyridoula Stamouli,Konstantinia Tsagkari
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/SolomouKTPAKKPS20
}}
==Vascular Plants of Oiti and Parnassos National Parks of Greece, as Important Components of Biodiversity and Touring Experiences==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper82.pdf
Vascular Plants of Oiti and Parnassos National Parks
of Greece, as Important Components of Biodiversity and
Touring Experiences
Alexandra D. Solomou1, George Karetsos1, Panayiotis Trigas1, Nikolaos
Proutsos1, Evangelia V. Avramidou1, Evangelia Korakaki1, Konstantinos
Kougioumoutzis1, Aikaterini Goula1, George Pavlidis2, Spyridoula Stamouli2,
Konstantinia Tsagkari1
1
Institute of Mediterranean & Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization
DEMETER, Athens, Greece; e-mail: alexansolomou@gmail.com
2
Athena-Research and Innovation Center in Information, Communication and Knowledge
Technologies, Greece
Abstract. National Parks represent natural ecosystems whose biodiversity
endows them not only with spectacular ecological and scientific value but also
with a rich aesthetic and cultural value. Other apparent benefits of National
Parks are in their potential for biodiversity conservation and in their appeal to
visitors and tourism, and particularly the kind that is concerned with learning
about nature and the environment. In this paper, we present the work being done
for the AdVENt project, which focuses on researching a particular region of the
Parnassos and Oiti National Parks in Greece, with a remarkably diverse endemic
flora, and in developing innovative applications in order to enhance the tourism
experience in protected areas of particular environmental interest. AdVENt aims
to provide technologically advanced multimedia solutions and high-quality
content, highlighting the natural beauty of the region.
Keywords: Vascular plants; National Parks; Natura 2000; Augmented Reality;
Mobile Apps.
1 Introduction
Mediterranean Basin is one of the 18 biodiversity hotspots worldwide and presents
a high geomorphological and climatic heterogeneity (Blondel and Aronson, 1999). Its
flora includes approx. 25000 plant species or nearly 30000 species and subspecies
(Medail, 2008), a fact that renders it the richest among the regions hosting
Mediterranean ecosystems. Mediterranean mountains are specifically known for their
vast plant diversity and endemism, ideal for biogeographical and biodiversity studies.
Greece is an important region of the Mediterranean Basin, being the actual meeting
point of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa (Sainz Ollero, Moreno Saiz 2002;
Martin-Brano et al., 2010). It is characterized by a typical Mediterranean climate with
mild, humid winters and hot, dry summers. However, differences in natural
environment and climate can be found regionally or locally, due to the diverse
542
topography of the country (Hobbs et al., 1995). A large variety of Mediterranean
habitats included in the reference list of the Natura 2000 initiative exist in Greece.
They host a spectacular biodiversity, fortunately well protected, within a large network
of protected areas that includes, among others, the Greek National Parks. The latter are
natural areas that usually present a vast amount of ecological, aesthetic, cultural,
educational and scientific values. Their potential for conservation is significant and
they attract a large number of visitors who want to experience nature.
The vascular flora of Greece includes 5758 species and 1970 subspecies (native and
naturalized), representing 6620 taxa, belonging to 1073 genera and 185 families
(Dimopoulos et al., 2013, 2016). The endemic vascular flora of Greece includes 1459
taxa (22% of the total number of taxa in Greece), which correspond to 1274 endemic
species (22,1% of the total number of Greek species) and 450 endemic subspecies
(22,8 % of the total number of Greek subspecies) (Dimopoulos et al., 2013, 2016).
A project titled “Augmented Visitor Experience in National Parks” (AdVENt), co-
funded by the European Union and the Greek National Funds, begun in 2018 for a 3-
year period, involving partners from the academia and SMEs, aiming at creating a
more direct and representative experience of nature for visitors of the Oiti (or Oeta or
Oite) and Parnassos (or Parnassus) National Parks. The AdVENt project focuses only
in the vascular plants of Oiti and Parnassos National Parks for touristic, educational
and scientific purposes. In the following sections, AdVENt is being briefly described,
with a focus mainly on the research work of collecting the data and creating the
database for the vascular plants of the region.
2 Study area of AdVENt
The AdVENt project covers certain mountainous areas of the geographic region of
central Stereá Elláda (or Continental/Central Greece), i.e., the National Parks of Oiti
and Parnassos (Figs. 1, 2). In these National Parks, visitors can find ample natural and
cultural treasures and options for various outdoors activities: hiking trails, dense fir
forests, endemic and rare plant species, landscapes of special natural beauty and of
course, historical and archaeological sites (Delphi) and popular winter sport
destinations (Parnassos ski resort).
More specifically, Mt Oiti known as the mountain of flowers and of the legendary
hero Hercules, is a mountain of unique beauty, with vast fir forests, rare, as well as
impressive, plant species and rich fauna, with waters being abundant and flowing
ceaselessly throughout the seasons, through steep and beautiful gorges. It is the fifth
highest mountain in Central Greece and its highest peak is Pyrgos (2152 m)
(Management Body of Oiti National Park, Sperchios Valley and Maliakos Gulf, 2019).
543
Also, Mt. Parnassos presents spectacular geomorphological structures, steep cliffs,
rocky areas and caves. Its main element, limestone (76.6%), aided in creating
particularly impressive formations, such as the sinkhole of Lilaia and the Corycian
Cave, renowned for their beauty. Parnassos National Park together with the National
Park of Olympus are the two oldest National Parks in Greece. Parnassos is
characterized by the great wealth of flora, i.e. rare black pines and cedars, wild peonies
and mountain tea, and fauna, such as grey wolves, wild boars, ferrets, foxes, vultures,
hawks and reptiles. Special mention should be made to the enormous cultural-
historical value of the place, where the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi
are situated, unique ancient archaeological sites (Management Body of Parnassos
National Park 2019).
Fig. 1. Map of Oiti (Oeta) National Park.
Fig. 2. Map of Parnassos (Parnassus) National Park.
544
Furthermore, the two sites, i.e. Mt Oiti and Mt Parnassos belong to the Sub-Humid
(SH) and Humid (H) climatic zones, respectively, according to Climatic Zone
Classification of UNEP (1992), which is based on the Thornthwaite’s Aridity Index,
AI (Thornthwaite, 1948, Thornthwaite and Mather, 1955). More specifically, in Mt
Oiti the available data from Agathonos Monastery meteorological station (38o 52’ 2’’
N, 22o 12’ 16’’ E, alt. 533 m), established by the Institute of Mediterranean & Forest
Ecosystems, covering the time period 1994-2004 indicate that the annual average air
temperature is 13.7oC, with seasonally variation between 5.5oC in winter and 23.5oC
in summer, presenting intermediate values during the transitional seasons of spring and
autumn (11.4 and 14.3oC, respectively). The annual precipitation is 790.2mm,
occurring mainly in winter (336.1mm) and spring (201.9mm) and presenting
diminished values in summer (59.0mm). From the long term available data of the
nearby, though altitudinal lower meteorological station of Lamia (38.9o N, 22.4o E, alt.
144 m), established by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS), Tsiros
et al. (2020) estimated the values of the AI since the beginning of the century and found
a value of 0.64 (SH climate zone) for the latest climatic period (1960-1997), while the
previous periods the AI values were increased, i.e. 0.75 for the climatic period 1930-
1960 (H climate) and 0.69 for the climatic period 1900-1930 (H climate), indicating
that the climate in the region became drier during the last decades. In Mt. Parnassos,
the nearest meteorological station was installed in Arachova (38.47o N, 22.57o E, alt.
950 m) by the HNMS. From the available data of the period 1976-1997, the annual
average temperature in the region is 13.2oC, seasonally ranging from 5.0oC in winter
to 22.3oC in summer. The annual precipitation is 501mm, unevenly distributed among
seasons, occurring mainly in winter (191mm) and autumn (150mm) and less in spring
(114mm) and summer (45mm). The AI values is 0.66 (Tsiros et al., 2020),
corresponding to the H climate zone (UNEP, 1992).
3 Objectives of AdVENt
As stated in the previous sections, the National Parks of Oiti and Parnassos are the
regions of interest in project AdVENt, since they host a remarkably diverse flora, fauna
and landscapes.
The main objectives of AdVENt are: (a) the research on the flora of the region and
the creation of a vascular plant database of the Oiti and Parnassos National Parks,
available to the scientific community and the general public, which is expected to
promote research in the relevant fields of botany, ecology etc.; (b) the digitization in
2D, 3D and 360o of selected natural and cultural treasures of the region to create
stunning new digital content for the presentation and promotion of the region; (c) the
development of an integrated Augmented Reality (AR) mobile application to enrich
the tourist experience, particularly customized for the accommodation of
mountaineering & hiking; (d) the research and development of a sophisticated
technology and mobile application for the visual recognition/identification of plant
species of the region of interest. Overall, AdVENt aims at promoting enriching and
545
generally enhancing the visibility and competitiveness of the local tourism product
(Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Visual identification of vascular plant species.
4 Database of vascular plant of the Oiti and Parnassos National
Parks
The vascular plant database of the Oiti and Parnassos National Parks was mainly
created for touristic purposes, but its educational and scientific use has also been taken
into consideration. Plants growing along the main pathways of the two National Parks
have been mainly targeted, supplemented by the vast majority of plant species
distributed above 1000 m. Species distribution data in the study areas were extracted
from Strid, (1986), Strid & Tan (1991, 1997, 2003), and Karetsos (2002). Plant
nomenclature follows Dimopoulos et al. (2016).
The database includes 819 plant taxa (species and subspecies); 673 taxa are
distributed in Parnassos National Park and 586 in Oiti. The most diverse plant families
are Asteraceae (85 taxa) and Fabaceae (74). The endemic floristic element is
represented by 109 taxa, among them several rare and threatened species, as well as
seven local endemics. The flora of the area also includes numerous socio-economically
important plants, like medicinal plants and crop wild relatives, introducing the visitors
to the high value of the native flora as highly significant phytogenetic resources.
In more detail, the plant database contains the following information of plants
species:
546
Field name Field description
Group Group name of plant
Genus Genus name of plant
Family Family name of plant
Taxon Species/subspecies name of plant
Author’s name Authors referencing the plant
Scientific name Scientific name of the plant
Common name Common name of the plant
National extinction risk National extinction risk for the plant
Global extinction risk Global extinction risk for the plant
Status Status of the plant (range-restricted/alien)
Endemic Range-restricted characterization of plant
Crop wild relative Crop wild relative of plant
Medicinal Medicinal use of the plant
Floristic regions of Greece Floristic regions of Greece where the plant can be
found
Life-form categories Life-form categories of plant
Habitat categories Habitat categories of plant
Range-restricted taxa and Range-restricted taxa and native and non-native
native and non-native (alien) (alien) taxa of plant
taxa
Blossom Blossom period starting and ending
Description of ecology General description of plant
Folklore-historical Folklore-historical information-uses of plant
information-uses
References Bibliography for plant
5 Conclusion
The AdVENt project will be enhancing the knowledge about the flora of the
National Parks of Oiti and Parnassos in Central Greece and to build upon this
knowledge and the relevant rich cultural identity of the region in order to provide
innovative tools for scientific community and mountain tourism.
Acknowledgments. This work is co-financed by the European Regional Development
Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational
Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call
RESEARCH – CREATE - INNOVATE (project code: Τ1EDK-03844).
547
References
1. Blondel, J. and Aronson, J. (1999) Biology and Wildlife in the Mediterranean
Region. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
2. Dimopoulos, P., Raus, T., Bergmeier, E., Constantinidis, T., Iatrou, G., Kokkini
,S., Strid, A. and Tzanoudakis, D. (2013) Vascular Plants of Greece: An Annotated
Checklist. Vol. 31. Berlin, Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem,
Athens, Hellenic Botanical Society, p. 372.
3. Dimopoulos, P., Raus, T., Bergmeier, E., Constantinidis, T., Iatrou, G., Kokkini,
S., Strid, A. and Tzanoudakis, D. (2016) Vascular plants of Greece: An annotated
checklist. Supplement. Willdenowia, 46, p. 301–347.
4. Hobbs, R.J., Richardson, D.M. and Davis, G.W. (1995) Mediterranean-type
ecosystems: opportunities and constraints for studying the function of biodiversity.
In Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
5. Management Body of Mt Oiti National Park, Sperchios Valley and Maliakos Gulf,
2019. https://oiti.gr/en/home/ (accessed 28/6/20190).
6. Martín-Bravo, S., Valcárcel, V., Vargas P. and Luceño, M. (2010) Geographical
speciation related to Pleistocene range shifts in the western Mediterranean
mountains (Reseda sect. Glaucoreseda, Resedaceae). Taxon, 59, p. 466–482.
7. Médail, F. (2008) Mediterranean. ed. S. E. Jørgensen, Encyclopedia of Ecology.
Elsevier, Amsterdam.
8. Sainz Ollero, H. and Moreno Saiz J.C. (2002) Flora vascular endémica española.
In: Pineda F.D., de Miguel J.M., Casado M.A., Montalvo J. ed. La diversidad
biológica de España. Madrid, Pearson, p. 175–195.
9. Strid, A. (1986) The mountain flora of Greece with special reference to the
Anatolian element. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B:
Biological Sciences, 89, p. 59-68.
10. Strid, A. and Tan, K. (1997) Flora Hellenica, vol. 1. Gymnospermae to
Caryophyllaceae. Koenigstein: Koeltz Sientific Books.
11. Strid, A. and Tan, K. (2003) Flora Hellenica, vol. 2. Nymphaeaceae to Platanaceae.
Ruggell: A.R.G. Ganter Verlag.
12. Strid, A., and Tan, K. (1991) Mountain Flora of Greece, Vol. 2. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.
13. Thornthwaite, C.W. (1948) An approach toward a rational classification of climate.
Geographical Rev. (American Geographical Society), 38, p. 55–94.
doi:10.2307/210739.http://jstor.org/stable/210739.
14. Thornthwaite, C.W. and Mather, J. R. (1955) The water balance. Publications in
Climatology, 8, p. 1–104.
15. Tsiros, I.X., Nastos, P., Proutsos, N.D. and Tsaousidis, A. (2020) Variability of the
aridity index and related drought parameters in Greece using climatological data
over the last century (1900–1997). Atmospheric Research, 241, p. 104-914.
16. UNEP. (1992) World Atlas of Desertification. Edward Arnold, London.
548