Anastasia Christopoulou

• Biologist, PhD in Forest Ecology
• Researcher at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

(1) Background: The present study examines the effects of fire on the ecosystem services of forest ecosystems in Greece. Being a Mediterranean country, Greece has been affected by fires of increasing intensity and frequency in recent years; (2) Methods: Information was extracted from 56 articles published in the period January 1997–March 2024 that...

At the archaeological site of Oymaa˘gaç H¨oyük, located in the Turkish province of Samsun and home to the ruins of the Hittite cult city of Nerik, an exceptional underground construction complex was excavated between 2009 and 2019. The building complex, dating back to the Late Bronze Age/Hittite period, consists of a long staircase leading into a c...

(1) Background: Forest fires are widespread in Mediterranean-climate regions and are becoming very common in urban and peri-urban areas. (2) Methods: Wildfires in Attica since 1977 are mapped and types of vegetation burned are reported. (3) Results: Fires are becoming larger. During the period of study (1977–2024), 45% of the burned area was covere...

High oro-Mediterranean pine forests represent biodiversity hotspots, characterized by a unique convergence of environmental conditions, harbour distinct and specialized plant communities, with Pinus heldreichii (Bosnian pine) representing the dominant tree species. In Greece, P. heldreichii plays a critical role in ecosystem function within these h...

The present review article provides an overview about the timberlines of the Greek high mountains. It informs about the existing tree species and about the altitude, physiognomy and dynamics of the timber-line ecotones. Subsequently, it gives an interpretation of the human influence and the geo-ecological fac-tors, which may have caused the altitud...

Resin, a forest product with diverse applications, has been utilized for numerous years. Despite its historical utilization in resin collection, the impact of resin tapping on the growth of East Mediterranean Pine (Pinus brutia) remains elusive. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of resin tapping on the growth o...

The current paper presents the first effort to organize a comprehensive review of the Invasive Alien Species (IAS) of Greece. For this purpose, a database was developed with fields of information on the taxonomy, origin, ecology and pathways of introduction of terrestrial, freshwater and marine species. Our database includes a) taxa in the Union’s...

The vegetation developing on the coastal sand dunes and wetland of Schinias National Park, a Natura 2000 Site, was studied following the Braun-Blanquet method. Vegetation units were delimited using cluster analysis and by applying the fidelity measure; the phi-coefficient was used for the definition of diagnostic spe- cies. The vegetation types...

(1) Background: Pinus heldreichii is a long-living tree subalpine species commonly used for climate reconstruction. Nevertheless, its potential for dendroarchaeology and dating of historical timber remains unknown. In Metsovo and in the surrounding area of Pindus National Park (Northern Greece) it is commonly used for the construction of buildings...

Key message Long Bosnian pine chronologies from different mountains are shaped by different climatic parameters and can help identify past drought events and reconstruct landscape histories. Abstract We developed a 735-year-long Pinus heldreichii chronology from the southern distribution limit of the species, expanding the available database of lo...

Chests represented important piece of the household and sacral furniture until the end of 18th century. They were commonly used as containers, both for everyday needs but also for special occasion such as is the case of the marriage chests. Nowadays chests can be found in museums, monasteries, palaces, historic buildings, but also in private collec...

The Eastern Mediterranean Basin is experiencing long-term drought conditions that affect the growth and mortality of many forest tree species. We analysed tree rings from 113 Pinus brutia (living and dead) trees of different age (<50, 50–85, >85 years old) and size to study how climatic variation during the 20th century has shaped their radial-grow...

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 pla...

The current study is a dendroarchaeological/dendroarchitectural investigation of the remains of a historically important multi-phase building, nicknamed ‘Enetiko’, located in Nafplio. Timber was used for the floors, the roof, and timber-framed walls of the building. Timber elements were also embedded in masonry. Particularly important are the archi...

Quantification of forest Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is important for understanding ecosystem function and designing appropriate carbon mitigation strategies. Coupling forest biometric data with canopy photosynthesis models can provide a means to simulate GPP across different stand ages. In this study we developed a simple framework to integra...

In the current study we use methods in dendrochronological dating, radiocarbon dating and wiggle-matching analysis to accurately date charcoal samples collected from the archaeological site of Uşaklı Höyük, Yozgat, Turkey. These data contribute to the understanding of the stratigraphical relationships in three different contexts of this multi-perio...

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) pathways classification framework used in the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (IAS Regulation) has recently been adopted by the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN), the official information system supporting the implementation of t...

This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020» in the context of the project "Carbon fluxes across a post-fire chronosequence in Pinus brutia Ten forests." (MIS 5049513)». At Pinus brutia dominated sta...

The current study presents the results of the first dendrochronological survey performed over the East Aegean island of Symi. Research Highlights: Dendrochronological research of the East Aegean region is of paramount importance since dendrochronological data from the region, and especially the islands, are still limited. Background and Objectives:...

The vegetation of the protected area of Lake Pamvotis (Epirus, NW Greece) was studied and classified into habitat types according to the Council Directive 92/43/EEC. The main vegetation types encountered in the Ioannina Basin and the south-western part of Mt Mitsikeli are: (1) Quercus coccifera shrublands, (2) degraded deciduous oak forests, (3) Me...

The present study illustrates the situation of the genus Abies in the Mediterranean and in Greece, focusing in detail on the oromediterranean forest of the southern Peloponnese, at Mt. Taygetos. The existing pattern of forest dynamics (mosaic cycle) and also the timberline dynamics are presented and explained. Since fir forests are highly susceptib...

Η λεκάνη απορροής του ρ. Πίκας βρίσκεται στη Δυτική Αττική και αποστραγγίζει τα νότια πρανή των Γερανείων, εκβάλοντας στην πεδινή έκταση που αναπτύσσεται ο οικισμός της Κινέτας. Το ρ. Πίκας διοχετεύεται προς τη θάλασσα σε διεύθυνση (ΝΝΑ) κάθετη ή περίπου κάθετη με την κύρια διεύθυνση στην οποία αναπτύσσονται οι ανθρώπινες υποδομές και ο οικισμός. Η...

In the Mediterranean region, stone and clay have long been the basic materials for buildings, crafts, and manufacturing. Wood plays a secondary, frequently hidden, role but is almost always present. Commonly considered a ‘less important’ building component, wood has been one of the first materials replaced and frequently discarded during restoratio...

Fires affecting large areas usually create a mosaic of recovering plant communities reflecting their pre-fire composition and local conditions of burning. However, post-fire recovery patterns may also reveal the effects of landscape heterogeneity on the natural regeneration process of plant communities. This study combines field data and remote sen...

In the present study, the heartwood and the sapwood of a thick wood disc from a dated Cedrus brevifolia trunk, and the resin were analyzed for their volatile components. All samples were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. The main constituents were β-himachalene (22.2 %) in...

Mountain coniferous forests of Southern Europe seem to be increasingly affected by large fires. Endemic Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) forests were among the most affected ecosystems by the 2007 extreme wildfires in Greece. The aim of this study is to investigate the pattern of post-fire regeneration of fir forest plant communities of Mount Parnitha...

The vegetation of the European Natura 2000 protected area of Spercheios river and Maliakos gulf, that includes Mediterranean sclerophyllous shrublands, as well as riverine and coastal habitats, was studied during 2000 and 2014–2015. The vegetation was analysed following the Braun-Blanquet method. Twenty six plant communities were recorded, one of w...

In this study we analysed a novel tree-growth dataset, inferred from annual ring-width measurements, of 7 forest tree species from 12 mountain regions in Greece, in order to identify tree growth – climate relationships. The tree species of interest were: Abies cephalonica, Abies borisii-regis, Picea abies, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris, Fagus sylva...

Science-based strategies to tackle biological invasions depend on recent, accurate, well-documented, standardized and openly accessible information on alien species. Currently and historically, biodiversity data are scattered in numerous disconnected data silos that lack interoperability. The situation is no different for alien species data, and th...

The Mediterranean Basin is expected to face warmer and drier conditions in the future, following projected increases in temperature and declines in precipitation. The aim of this study is to explore how forests dominated by Abies borisii-regis, Abies cephalonica, Fagus sylvatica, Pinus nigra and Quercus frainetto will respond under such conditions....

Fires of 2007 have consumed large areas of Black pine and endemic fir forests in Greece. The current research aims at examining the role of geomorphology and lithology that govern the soil properties upon the post-fire vegetation recovery at the landscape level. A case study from Taygetos Mt, a large part of which was burned in 2007, is presented....

Vegetation of the European-network 'Natura 2000' conservation areas of Naxos island and of nearby islets Mikres Kyklades, including calcareous rocky slope, maquis, phrygana, coastal cliff, dune, marshland, wet meadow, reed bed and aquatic habitats, was studied during 2000. The flora of the investigated regions consists of 365 taxa belonging to 78 f...

of existing alien species information and to assist the implementation of European policies on biological invasions. At the core of EASIN, there is an inventory of all known alien and cryptogenic species in Europe (the EASIN Catalogue, herein published), which includes relevant information, such as taxonomic classification, pathways of introduction...

ABSTRACT The present study forms part of the long-lasting observations of the post-fire regeneration of Abies cephalonica in the National Park of Parnitha after a highly severity fire, which occurred in June 2007 and burned 2/3 of the total fir forest. The aim of the work is to investigate the post-fire regeneration patterns of Abies cephalonica an...

Mountains of the northern Mediterranean basin face two major threats under global change. Aridity and available fuel are both expected to increase because of climatic and land-use changes, increasing fire danger. There may already be signs of such effects in the case of the Pinus nigra and Abies cephalonica forests on Mt. Taygetos (southern Greece)...

Warmer and drier conditions under climatic change are expected to increase the pressure from wildfires in the Mediterranean. At low altitudes deep-rooted plants (phreatophytes) survive the Mediterranean dry season by utilizing rainfall accumulating belowground from past rainfall events. This adaptation potentially influences their moisture content...

Fire used to be a rather rare and localised disturbance for high altitude coniferous forests in Greece. However, during the last decade an increasing number of fire events are recorded across landscapes covered by such forests, a possible result of the global climate change. For Greece, Abies cephalonica Loudon (Greek fir) and Pinus nigra J.F Arnol...