| The GREAT FOREST (Kotza Orman) |
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| 14.01.05 | |
More than 41 species of fish, 20 reptile, 11 amphibian, and 14 mammal species have been identified.
 Nestos
river is the natural boundary between Macedonia and Thrace. It has its sources
in Bulgaria. After crossing deep valleys and gorges in the mountains between Mt
Orvelos and Mt Rodopi, it debouches into the plains and the sea, opposite the
island of Thassos. Its banks from Toxotes to the sea (length: 27km, width:3-7 km)
used to be the center of the most beautiful forest in Europe: Kotza Orman (the
words mean "large or legendary forest" in Turkish). This forest
covered an area of 130.000 square meters. It is very important for its
vegetation and fauna. Some of the trees found here are poplars, ashes, wych-elms,
oaks, bar elders. This forest was a refuge for many wild animals (such as wild
boars, wolves, lynxes, otters, badgers, foxes hares and roe deer) and all the
birds passing from or living in the area. Kotza Orman is indispensable for the
people living nearby. It is a source of timber and a pastureland for the animals
of 33 villages. From February to April and during the summer months it is a
wonderful habitat for bees. One of the most impressive trees is the ash, well
known all over the world for its precious wood. Another tree that is rare in
Greece and abundant in Kotza Orman is the black alder. The big forest, a part of
which belongs to the perfecture of Xanthi, could definitely become a National
Park, accessible both from the sea and the land.
The most significant feature of the wetland is the Kotza Orman Forest, the largest expanse of riparian woodland (dominated by poplar Populus, willow Salis and plane Platanus) in the south of Balkans. Until 1930 this forest covered an area of 70,000 sq. km. and was virtually impassable and virgin. Since 1930 and up to 1950 a number of river management works necessitated the clearing of the larger portion of the forest, hence one of the last riparian woodlands of Europe was almost driven to extinction. The remaining woodland and adjacent lagoons maintain an ecosystem of rich diversification.
The first wetland museum in Greece was founded in Chryssoupolis by a local ecological group. The local residents are very much interested in the preservation of the Nestos wetland. In view of this the Forest Service enclosed large areas in 1990, banning also all kinds of human activity. This measure revived the riparian forest and encouraged visitations by birds that had been missing from the area for years. |
Nestos
is the longest river in Greece with its sources found in the Bulgarian range of
Rila. The river traces a course of 130 km in Greek soil before it discharges in
the Sea of Thrace. The delta system it creates extends from the bridge of the
Toxoton covering an area of 550,000 sq. km. Adjacent to the sea are the lagoons
of Nestos – Vassova, Erateino, Agiasma, Keramoti, Kokala, Haidefto,
Monastiraki and Maggana – covering roughly an area of 12,000 sq. km.
More
than 41 species of fish, 20 reptile, 11 amphibian, and 14 mammal species have
been identified. In terms of avifauna, 261 species of birds have been recorded.
The riparian forest and the coastal area constitute a hotspot for breeding,
while the lagoons are transitory locations for feeding and rest of migratory
birds, with the river of Nestos functioning as a wintering haven. | < Προηγ. | Επόμ. > |
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