BROADLEAF AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS

One of the peculiarities of Mediterranean forests is that apart from the familiar purposes they serve as forests, they are also used as important grazing sites.

Oak forests constitute the “meeting point” of timber production and livestock production: they include all types of oak forests that were preserved as grazing grounds (Pantera et al. 2009, Ispikoudis et al. 2021), such as Macedonian oak (Quercus trojana, Figure 4) and valonia oak (Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis) forests. The most well-known of these forests are those of Foloi in the Peloponnese and the “Kuri” forests of Almyros (Volos), Mouria (Kilkis) and Kozani, which they were specially managed: grazed during the summer and pruned before the winter to gather animal fodder and wood, the main source of energy for the forest-dwelling populations (Caballero et al. 2009, Ispikoudis et al. 2021). Their special management has resulted in the appearance of plant species that are usually found in forests (e.g. Lathyrus laxiflorus), as well as species that are adapted to grazing (e.g. Phlomis fruticosa). They additionally host other important species, while, according to Fotiadis et al. (2006), 35 endemic species and subspecies were recorded only in valonia oak forests in Greece, of which 30 are Balkan- and sub-Balkan endemics, and 5 are Greek endemics.

A special case of forest-meadow systems are the alpine beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) (Figure 5), which have a limited distribution in the high mountains of Northern Greece. They are important forests, with a protective role for downhill lands, but due to their development (in continuity with alpine meadows) they were either grazed or their trees were systematically pruned for livestock winter fodder. The understory of these forests features rare plant species for the Mediterranean region, which are usually found in Central Europe, such as Lactuca alpina, Rumex arifolius, but also Balkan endemics such as Acer heldreichii (Strid et al. 2020).

Alder (Alnus glutinosa), willow (Salix spp.) and plane (Platanus orientalis) wetland forests are among the most interesting forest-meadow systems, as they were used, mainly in the past, as a resting place for farm animals. Yet willows (Salix spp) were also for centuries a “medicine” for animals, as their bark contains large amounts of salicylic acid, while alders had a double pruning purpose, both for fodder and wood (Ispikoudis et al. 2021).