How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece
Invasive alien plant species represent an important threat to various protected areas of the world, and this threat expected to be further enhanced due to climate change. This is also the case for the most important network of protected areas in Europe, the Natura 2000 network. In the current study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2113 |
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| author | Aikaterini Christopoulou Anastasia Christopoulou Nikolaos M. Fyllas Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos Margarita Arianoutsou |
| author_facet | Aikaterini Christopoulou Anastasia Christopoulou Nikolaos M. Fyllas Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos Margarita Arianoutsou |
| author_sort | Aikaterini Christopoulou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Invasive alien plant species represent an important threat to various protected areas of the world, and this threat expected to be further enhanced due to climate change. This is also the case for the most important network of protected areas in Europe, the Natura 2000 network. In the current study we evaluated the distribution pattern of alien plant taxa across selected continental and insular Natura 2000 sites in Greece and their potential spread 15 years since first being recorded in the field. A total of seventy-three naturalized plant taxa were recorded in the 159 sites under study. At the site level and regardless of the habitat group, the ratio of invaded areas increased between the two monitoring campaigns. An increase in the ratio of invaded plots was also detected for all habitat groups, except for grassland and riparian—wetland habitats. Precipitation during the dry quarter of the year was the factor that mainly controlled the occurrence and spread of alien plant taxa regardless of the site and habitat group. It is reasonable to say that the characterization of an area as protected may not be sufficient without having implemented the proper practices for halting biological invasions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ccea490aac3438d92200260a6ed7cfb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ccea490aac3438d92200260a6ed7cfb2023-11-22T19:43:59ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-10-011010211310.3390/plants10102113How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in GreeceAikaterini Christopoulou0Anastasia Christopoulou1Nikolaos M. Fyllas2Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos3Margarita Arianoutsou4Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceBiodiversity Conservation Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Lesbos, GreeceBiodiversity Conservation Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Lesbos, GreeceDepartment of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceInvasive alien plant species represent an important threat to various protected areas of the world, and this threat expected to be further enhanced due to climate change. This is also the case for the most important network of protected areas in Europe, the Natura 2000 network. In the current study we evaluated the distribution pattern of alien plant taxa across selected continental and insular Natura 2000 sites in Greece and their potential spread 15 years since first being recorded in the field. A total of seventy-three naturalized plant taxa were recorded in the 159 sites under study. At the site level and regardless of the habitat group, the ratio of invaded areas increased between the two monitoring campaigns. An increase in the ratio of invaded plots was also detected for all habitat groups, except for grassland and riparian—wetland habitats. Precipitation during the dry quarter of the year was the factor that mainly controlled the occurrence and spread of alien plant taxa regardless of the site and habitat group. It is reasonable to say that the characterization of an area as protected may not be sufficient without having implemented the proper practices for halting biological invasions.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2113alien speciesclimateEuropean network of protected areasplant invasionstemporal scalehabitat group |
| spellingShingle | Aikaterini Christopoulou Anastasia Christopoulou Nikolaos M. Fyllas Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos Margarita Arianoutsou How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece Plants alien species climate European network of protected areas plant invasions temporal scale habitat group |
| title | How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece |
| title_full | How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece |
| title_fullStr | How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece |
| title_short | How Effective Are the Protected Areas of the Natura 2000 Network in Halting Biological Invasions? A Case Study in Greece |
| title_sort | how effective are the protected areas of the natura 2000 network in halting biological invasions a case study in greece |
| topic | alien species climate European network of protected areas plant invasions temporal scale habitat group |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2113 |
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