GR4340003 - CHERSONISOS RODOPOU - PARALIA MALEME
Map
Photos of the site
Quality
The quality and importance of "Rodopos" site is indicated by the following characteristics: 1) The archaeological site of Diktynaio in the northern area of the peninsula and the absence of a road in a good condition after the village Rodopos, act as a barrier for extensive human activities. 2) In the area of Ravdoucha mammal subfossils have been found. 3) The site as a whole is very important for the avifauna of Crete (CORINE, MEDSPA) because of its position and its geomorphology (important to cliff nesting birds - important migration route for harriers and herons). 4) There are a lot of endemic species (plants and animals) in a variety of sufficiently conserved habitat types. There are also species such as Fritillaria graeca, an endemic of the Aegean islands, which in the island of Crete it has been found only in Rodopos peninsula and its presence is very rare.5) The coastal area from Kolympari to Platanias is one of the most important places for the reproduction of Caretta caretta in Crete. OTHER IMPORTANT SPECIES WITH MOTIVATION DPlants: The species Ophrys bombyliflora, Ophrys candica, Orchis italica, Ophrys doerfleri are protected by the CITES Convention (Annex C). Ophrys doerfleri, an endemic species is also protected by the Greek Law (Presidential Decree 67/81). Stachys tournefortii is included in the IUCN Red Data List (1993) in the category of threatened plants characterized as rare and is protected by the Greek Law (Presidential Decree 67/81).Malcolmia flexuosa ssp. naxensis is endemic to the Aegean region and Anatolia. Helichrysum orientale Iia a species with distribution in Greece and W Turkey. Parietaria cretica is a species with distribution in Sicily, Greece and the Aegean region.Reptiles: 1) The snake Natrix tesselata and the lizard Podarcis erhardii are also very rare in the site; moreover Podarcis erhardii is of great importance because it is found in one of the southern limits of its distribution. Invertebrates: 1) The snail Monacha rothi is very rare in the site, which is one of the southern limits of its distribution.
Other characteristics
The site is located at the NW part of Crete, (about 20 Km from Chania), and comprises Rodopos peninsula and the coastal area from Kolympari to Platanias. The marine part of the site is delimited by the depth curve of 50 m and is characterised by the presence of posidonia beds. The terrestrial part is characterised by: 1) Vegetated sea cliffs, Aegean cliffs, chasms, screes and sink holes. 2) Phrygana affected by grazing. 3) Local Pistacia lentiscus thickets in a good condition. 4) Areas cultivated with vineyards. 5) Locally restricted intensive building activities. NOTES5331 is used to describe thickets of Euphorbia dendroides of macaronisia origin.
Documentation
1) 3.2C, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3: 1) MEDSPA Database.
2) Economidou E., 1988. Entopismos kai meleti ton ygroviotopon kai allon simantikon gia tin ornithopanida viotopon tis Kritis (Location and study of wetlands and of other important for Avifauna biotopes of Crete). Patras University.
3) Turland N.J., Chilton L., Press J.R. 1993. Flora of the Cretan area. London: HMSO.
4) Sowig, P. 1985. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Verbeitung und Okologie der Amphibian und Reptilien Kretas. Salamandra 21(4): 252-267.
5) Archives of the Hellenic Zoological Society.
6) Valakos E. Personal communication.
7) Kypriotakis Z. Personal communication. 8) Paragkamian K. Personal communication.
9) Vardinoyannis K. 1994. Biogeografia ton chersaion malakion sto notio nisiotiko Aigaiako toxo (Biogeography of land snails in the south Aegean island arc). Ph.D. Thesis. Athens University.
10) Archives of the Hellenic Zoological Society.
11) Chopard L. 1957. Note sur les Orthopteres cavernicoles de Crete. Bull. Soc. ent. Fr. 62:26-28.
12) Georghiou K. 1995. Checklist of Endemic, Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece. Draft. University of Athens. (3.3, 3.4, 4.2)
13) 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.)
14) Grimmet R.F.A. & T.A. Jones. 1989. The Important Bird Areas in Europe. ICBP Technical Publication No. 9, p. 906. (3.2. a).
15) [CORINE BIOTOPES] (3.2. a, b).
Reference: Natura 2000 data form, database release 7 Feb 2014