GR4340011 - FRE - TZITZIFES - NIPOS
Map
Photos of the site
Quality
The ecological quality and importance of the site consist in the presence of the unique in Crete matorral of daphne (Laurus nobilis). Its biodiversity needs investigation but it is expected to have a great interest. Only a few species of plants, mammals and gastropods have been described up to now, but among them there are species endemic to Crete, such as all the plants and gastropods listed in section 3.3 (except Vitrea clessini, which is an endemic to the Aegian region). Notably, Oxychilus spratti is stenoendemic of Central and West Crete. One more endemic to Crete species reported the site is the amphibian Hyla arborea cretensis.
Other characteristics
The area is located at the east part of Crete, near the town of Chania, and it includes the villages of Tzitzifes and Fre. The site is characterised by rocky lands and steep slopes, which are covered by a matorral of daphne (Laurus nobilis), some woodlands of Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), phryganas (dominated by Sarcopoterium spinosum and Thymus capitatus) and a garrigue with Quercus coccifera (5331 is used to describe tree-spurge formations of Euphorbia dendroides). An the lower altitudes there are cultivated lands, principally olive trees, while vineyards cover a small part of the site.
Documentation
1) Kypriotakis Z. & Tsiourlis G. Vegetation map of Crete. Unpublished data.
2) Kypriotakis Z. Plants of Crete. Unpublished data.
3) Turland N.J., Chilton L. & Press J.R., 1993. Flora of the Cretan area. The Natural History of London, London : HMSO, p.439.
4) Vardinoyannis K., 1994. Biogeografia ton cherseon malakion sto notio nisiotiko aigaiako toxo (Biogeography of land snails in the south Aegean arc). Ph.D. Thesis, Univerity of Athens.
5) Zohary M. & Orshan G., 1965. An outline of the Geobotany of Crete. Israel Journ. Bot., v.14:1-49.
6) Georghiou K. 1995. Checklist of Endemic, Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece. Draft. University of Athens. (3.3, 3.4, 4.2)
7) Morgan V & C. Leon. 1992. Datasheets of Flora species for revision of Appendix I of the Bern Convention. Volume IV. endemic taxa of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey Nature and environment. Nature and Envrionment. No 63 p. 106. Council of Europe, Publishing and Documentaion Service, Strasbourg. (3.2.g.)
Reference: Natura 2000 data form, database release 7 Feb 2014