Filenews 5 June 2022 - by Angelos Nikolaou
In a competitive environment with projects of high ecological and environmental value, the network of partners from Cyprus has demonstrated the serious effort made in preserving unique elements of the natural heritage of our country.
The LIFE-KEDROS project claimed and achieved significant distinction at this year's LIFE Awards of the Commission. This is the only Cypriot participation that won an award and even as the best LIFE project (Best of the Best) in the Nature category. 116 LIFE projects completed in 2021 were awarded a European prize.
The awarding of the project, as the leading project in the LIFE Nature category, was held at a special ceremony "LIFE Awards 2022", which was held in Brussels on Monday 30 May. The ceremony was of particular importance, since it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the LIFE programme, but also with the launch of the European Green Week (EU Green Week), the largest environmental event in Europe.
The selection of the award of the LIFE-KEDROS project, from a number of other projects implemented in various European countries for the sole purpose of protecting nature, is a special honour for the project's network of partners, who were:
1. The Department of Forests (contractor partner of the project) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
2. The Forestry Association of Cyprus.
3. Frederick University through the Nature Conservation Unit.
The LIFE-KEDROS project, fully entitled "Holistic management of priority habitat 9590 in the Natura 2000 Cedar Valley-Campos area" (LIFE15 NAT/CY/000850), aimed to ensure the medium and long-term conservation of the forest with the endemic species Cedrus brevifolia (cedar the short-leaved). The project, with an implementation period from September 2016 to January 2021, had a total budget of €1,342,000, of which €920,000 (68.6% of the total eligible budget) was funded by the LIFE programme.
Cedar the short-leaved is found in Cyprus and nowhere else in the world, forming a special habitat type, whose ecological value has been recognized by the European Commission. The European Commission, following a recommendation by the Republic of Cyprus, has included the habitat in Annex I of the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC), with the habitat code 9590 Cedrus brevifolia (Cedrosetum brevifoliae), describing it as a priority habitat, i.e. a habitat type for which conservation measures must be taken.
Reference from the father of botany
C. brevifolia has a special botanical value, since it is one of the four species of the genus of cedars (Cedrus sp.) that are found today on our planet, and at the same time it is the species with the most limited geographical spread of the other species of cedars. The presence of cedar on the island is lost through the centuries, with the father of botany, Theophrastus (371 - 287 BC), reporting the presence of this species in Cyprus. The same author mentions a case where cedar timber from Cyprus (as specified by Pliny, 23-79 AD) was used for the construction of the warship of the Demetriou the Besieger. The ecological value of the cedar forest is also supported by genetic studies which, among other things, showed that the species has been separated from its relative Cedrus libani 6.56 (±1.20) million years ago (Mya), documenting in a scientific way the long presence of the species on the mountain peaks of Troodos even before the development of civilization on the island. The cedar forest in Cyprus spreads to the high peaks of the Pafos Forest at an altitude of 900 m - 1362 m, covering an area of more than 2.9 km2 (290 ha). At the limits of the spread of the cedar forest, among others, a number of species of flora and fauna (e.g. mouflon, Cypriot snake, etc.) are hosted, serving as a natural refuge and breeding ground for special and remarkable species of our country.
Threats to forests with cedar
The Department of Forests, as the department responsible for the protection and management of forests, together with the scientific community (Nature Conservation Unit) identified a number of parameters that could potentially affect the resilience and elasticity of the forest with cedar in Cyprus. Such parameters (pressures and threats) are nowadays:
Climate change is expected to adversely affect a number of biological processes and the resilience of the species C. brevifolia. Climate change, combined with the limited range of forest spread to the highest peak of the Pafos Forest, make the species prone to the threat of extinction due to climate change.
The competition that individuals of the species C. brevifolia receive at various stages of their development, both in nutrients and other abiotic pores (e.g. water, light) and in a growth space, from other species of woody vegetation, such as pinus brutia (trachea pine) and Quercus alnifolia (latzia).
The possible onset and expansion of a forest fire, either due to human activity or from natural causes (lightning), in the forest C. brevifolia, will work disastrously, since the species is not distinguished by strong mechanisms of fire resistance and recovery after a fire.
The fragmentation of the C. brevifolia forest due to natural (environmental) processes and human intervention, contributes to its discontinuous distribution in space, with the risk of extinction or change of the biological characteristics of the species (e.g. genetic diversity) being more pronounced in those parts that are small in extent of spread and geographically isolated from the other parts of the C. brevifolia forest.
The pressures that the forest receives in terms of the abiotic component, such as the point presence of corrosive phenomena, contribute to the loss of fertile soil that would contribute constructively to the establishment of new vegetation and regeneration of the species. At the same time, elements of the biotic component under special conditions can act negatively and lead to phenomena of infestations of cedar trees by pests. These infestations reduce the vitality of individuals of the species, while in extreme cases they lead to their necrosis. Necrosis and loss of germinal material have a direct impact on the ecological balance of the habitat.
Through the implementation of LIFE-KEDROS, the dynamic conservation of the forest was achieved with the cedar the short-leaved, since the project contributed to:
To support the resilience of the cedar forest, through targeted forestry interventions covering an area of 51% of the total area of distribution of cedar forest, creating favourable conditions for 10,034 cedars.
The restoration of 12.31 hectares (ha) of habitat 9590 and the expansion of the forest to an area of 9.37 ha, contributing to the increase of the composition and connectivity of the cedar forest to a total area of 21.68 ha. This area corresponds to ~21% of the pure clusters of the forest.
The implementation of infrastructure for the prevention and non-expansion of forest fires in the cedar forest, with the construction of a fire lane, water reservoirs and information and warning points, benefiting more than 8504 ha that are directly connected to the habitat 9590 (~47% of the Natura 2000 area).
Enhancing forest resilience, through the control of targeted biotic threats, such as the management of the pest population, affecting the vitality of C. brevifolia individuals. For this purpose, the presence of natural predators of pests (insects and pontiffs) in the boundaries of the cedar forest was strengthened, with the installation of artificial nests. The network of these nests in combination with their colonization by species of bats, the Cypriot owl (Otus cyprius) and the hoopouli (Tyto alba), is estimated to have contributed throughout the period of the project to the predation of ~9500 pontikos and 32 million insects. Also, the practice of mass collection of targeted harmful cortical organisms (Orthotomicus erosus) that affect secondary individuals C. brevifolia, using pheromones, was applied. This method contributed to the reduction of the population of harmful bark-eating insects in the places where it was applied, up to 98% over a period of three years.
The strengthening of the abiotic component within the cedar forest, by strengthening the point-by-point anti-corrosion resistance of the habitat, through the installation of dry-stone walls with a total length of 176 m, and the installation of stone-filled gabions of a total length of 156 m within the central stream of the cedar valley, actions that contributed to the prevention of soil erosion by reducing and retaining the amount of erosion soil, or even the improvement of soil conditions on mature C. brevifolia trees, over an area of more than 0.5 ha.
The ex situ conservation of the species with the creation of a new plantation at the Amiantos mine, in an area of 8.5 ha (equal to 8.5% of the natural pure clusters of habitat 9590), with 6500 new plants C. brevifolia, and with the simultaneous storage of 200 kg of seeds of the species.
Sub-objectives
The network of project partners, apart from the primary purpose of the project, set a series of individual objectives, the implementation of which serves the sustainable conservation of the endemic cedar forest in Cyprus. Specific objectives of the project were the following:
Minimization of the possibility of partial destruction or loss of the forest in case of forest fire.
Enhancing the forest's resilience and adaptability to climate change and competition from other species.
Enhance the natural regeneration of cedar in the clusters formed by the species.
Restoration and expansion of the forest with the cedar of Cyprus within its area of spread.
Implementation of specific measures for the ex situ conservation of the species C. brevifolia, through the creation of a plantation at the Asbestos Mine (Troodos National Forest Park) and the storage of semen at the Genetic Material Bank of the Department of Forests.
Informing and sensitizing the scientific community and the public about the actions and results of the project.
For this reason
Special honour for Cyprus
The award of the LIFE-KEDROS project by the EU, in a highly competitive environment, reflects the scientific and technical excellence of the project in fulfilling its objectives. At the same time, it highlights once again the scientific knowledge that exists in our country on issues of conservation and protection of nature, as well as the potential of positive results from the cooperation of the academic community, environmental NGOs and competent Government Departments for issues of nature protection. This award rewards the entire effort of individuals and institutions that contributed from the writing of the proposal to the implementation of its actions.
