Katerina Koutsovoulou

• PhD
• Nature/Biodiversity Officer at Green Fund

Riparian ecosystems are essential for ensuring linear habitat connectivity and providing thermal refugia for wildlife. However, they are increasingly vulnerable to global change, resulting in widespread degradation. Four riparian trees, specifically Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Platanus orientalis, and Liquidambar orientalis, have been designated...

The pollination biology of the genus Ophrys has been extensively explored, primarily due to their utilisation of sexual deception to attract pollinators. Typically, members of this genus produce a low number of fruits per individual and are considered obligate crossers. However, instances of self-pollination in Ophrys are not uncommon, although the...

Complex nutrient media are used for the germination of orchids in the laboratory. These substrates are also suitable for the growth of microbes and thus the sterilization of both the medium and the seeds prior to sowing is mandatory. The surface disinfection of orchid seeds with chemical substances eliminates possible infections and enhances germin...

Odissea Seminum 7, 4-7, 2022

Seed germination traits were assessed on Pinus heldreichii H. Christ, a Tertiary relict, high-elevation Mediterranean pine, endemic in the western Balkan Peninsula and southern Italy; it is naturally grown at the northern Greece mountains, but also found in shrubby form above the timberline. Closed and mature cones were collected (October) for thre...

The present study aims to provide a method for extending the scope of empirical landscape studies into the more distant past and to use it to contribute to the discourse on land degradation in the Mediterranean area. In many areas of the world, the lack of spatially explicit sources, such as historical land cover maps and cadasters, is an obstacle...

Mt. Oeta, the Hercules Mountain, with a highest summit of 2152 m, is located in Central Greece about 200 km to the north of Athens and has been designated a National Park and a SAC (GR2440004) of the European Natura 2000 Network. Four ‘small alpine lakes’ are found in the high-altitude alpine meadows; three out of these mountain Mediterranean tempo...

Greece, one of the richest countries in orchid taxa in the Mediterranean, hosts c. 135 orchid taxa (100 species, 35 subspecies, 18% endemics), according to a rather conservative approach (Vascular Plants of Greece 2020, Kuhn et al. 2019, Tsiftsis & Antonopoulos 2017). Data on storage behaviour and longevity of orchid seeds are generally scarce. For...

Cephalanthera cucullata Boiss. & Heldr. is an endemic orchid of Crete, growing in wooded, shaded locations on most mountain massifs of the Island. It is a species of European priority (Annex II, 92/43/EEC Directive) and is characterized as endangered (EN) by both the Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece (2009) and the latest evalua...

The aim of the study is the consolidation of a methodology suitable for organizing, utilizing and visualizing information regarding species distribution provided as text in historical sources. The work of the French Scientific Expedition in 1829 in Peloponnese, Greece, was used as a case study. We propose a system organized in three geographical le...

Reforestation constitutes a challenge in post-fire ecosystem restoration, although there are limitations such as species and genotype selection, planting and management design, and environmental conditions. In the present study, the basic issue is the longevity of Abies cephalonica Loudon—the Greek fir seedlings planted extensively in Parnitha Nati...

The asymbiotic seed germination of orchids is a complex process with considerable technical difficulties, due to the natural requirement of a plant-fungus symbiotic relationship under field conditions. Only on rare occasions, orchid seeds are known to readily germinate in water. Neotinea maculata is a relatively common orchid species with its main...

Masting and regeneration dynamics were investigated in a long-term perspective using Abies cephalonica as a study tree species. Extensive fieldwork was implemented in Parnitha National Park, Greece, following a large-scale wildfire. Annual cone production was monitored for a 5-year period in 130 tagged trees, in 13 plots with 10 individuals each, e...

In Greece, based on the VPG Checklist, Orchidaceae comprises 141 taxa, belonging to 101 species and 19 genera; 26 of them are endemic to Greece and 34 (24% of the total number of taxa, 54% of the endemics) are included in one of the IUCN threat categories (Tsiftsis S. & Tsiripidis I., 2016). Asymbiotic seed germination has been studied in about 80%...

Masting and regeneration dynamics were investigated in a long-term perspective using Abies cephalonica as a study tree species. Extensive fieldwork was implemented in Parnitha National Park, Greece, following a large-scale wildfire. Annual cone production was monitored for a 5-year period in 130 tagged trees, in 13 plots with 10 individuals each, e...

Keywords: Orchidaceae, Germination, Distribution, Hymettus, Urban area. Introduction: In Greece, 140 taxa of οrchids are growing native (according to the List of the Vascular Plants of Greece). This study presents the distribution of orchids in the Campus of N.K.U.A. and an overview of the efforts in understanding the physiology of seed germinatio...

Asymbiotic seed germination of orchids is a complex process and most of the technical difficulties are due to the requirement for a plant-fungus symbiotic relationship under field conditions. More than 100 Orchidaceae species grow natively in Greece; mature seeds of 11 orchid species (belonging in 7 genera) were collected in 3 localities (Mt. Hymet...

Abies cephalonica cone and seed morphometric characteristics as well as seed germination behaviour were investigated during an 8-year-long diachronic study (2007–2015). The research was carried out in Parnitha National Park, in the part of this Greek endemic, silver fir population that was spared from an unprecedented wildfire (2007). A statistical...

Résumé La zone méditerranéenne est un pôle majeur de biodiversité, laquelle joue un rôle crucial pour la sécurité alimentaire et représente une source de revenus et de services dont dépendent les populations pour leur subsistance et leur bien-être. Ce chapitre présente un état des lieux de la diversité des ressources végétales, animales et génétiqu...

Contribution to the postfire management of the endemic Grecian fir (Abies cephalonica) forest in Parnitha National Park, Attica, Greece.

Στο Ινστιτούτο μας υλοποιούνται 7 καινοτόμα έργα εφαρμοσμένης έρευνας, τα οποία καλύπτουν σχεδόν όλο το εύρος του γνωστικού μας αντικειμένου. Τα έργα παρακολουθούνται από το Ερευνητικό Δυναμικό του Ινστιτούτου, οι οποίοι συμμετέχουν ενεργά στην υλοποίηση των έργων και συμβάλουν στη βελτίωση των αποτελεσμάτων τους. Με τα εν λόγω έργα επιχειρείτε η α...

Background and AimsThe Campanulaceae is a large cosmopolitan family, but is understudied in terms of germination, and seed biology in general. Small seed mass (usually in the range 10-200 µg) is a noteworthy trait of the family, and having small seeds is commonly associated with a light requirement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigat...