Assessment of Greek forests protection and management

Abstract

Forests perform multiple and intertwined social, economic, and environmental functions. Greek forests are complex biotic communities, characterized by trees, and encompassing much of the life on Earth. Efficient forest management strategies should be formed to consider the future forest dynamics to achieve important management objectives such as biodiversity conservation preserving ecological functions and countering climate change. Greek forests have long been threatened by a variety of destructive agents. The greatest problem for Greek forests is the lack of management. In Greece, during past years, serious natural disasters have occurred, associated with fires and floods that are inextricably linked to its geographic location, geology, geomorphology, vegetation, and the prevailing climatic conditions. Hence, restoration of forest ecosystems is of great importance and a main environmental issue in Greece. Efforts of restoration are based on earlier empirical techniques, which were later improved, and supported by scientific research. The selection of a suitable method and its implementation demands deeper knowledge of natural ecosystem functions and of the physiology of diverse organisms. Moreover, a versatile, and interscientific approach is required, coordinated with the direction of the goals and objectives of the restoration, individual actions, utilization of research results, usage and improvement of technologies, as well as the creation, improvement, and development of infrastructure. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.