CONCLUSIONS

All the above result in a paradoxical contradiction between the conservation value and naturalness in Mediterranean agroforestry landscapes for birds. The most preserved open habitats, that could be characterized as less natural compared to original forests, have a greater conservation value, because they host more and rarer species, primarily species that prefer open habitats and low bushy vegetation. Consequently, for the conservation of these groups of species, there is a need for a socioeconomic approach aimed at preserving traditional land use in these landscapes through the continuation of low intensity farming activities (Brotons et al. 2004).

It is evident that common farmland birds are decreasing throughout Europe. However, there are hopes, stemming from the few agroforestry landscapes that “survive” and retain the variety of bird fauna as mentioned above. These are areas that escaped intensification and land use change and today constitute a paradise for farmland birds in many areas around the Mediterranean, including many areas in mainland and island Greece (Tsiakiris et al. 2009).

The dynamics of these ecosystems can be preserved only through traditional practices that can help bird species survive. Extensive grazing by sheep and goats, conservation of traditional cultivations, or even controlled burning and other tools must be implemented in order to preserve or restore a mosaic of open agroforestry habitats (Tsiakiris et al. 2009).

THE “BALKAN” SOMBRE TIT (Parus lugubris, new name Poecile lugubris)

One of the most characteristic species of agroforestry landscapes in mainland Greece (Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace) is the sombre tit (Poecile lugubris, Figure/Illustration 4), a species related to the tits, as it belongs to the Paridae family. It has a very limited global distribution, in southeast Europe and mainly the Balkans, extending eastwards to Asia Minor (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon) and marginally to Georgia and the Middle East (Catsadorakis and Källander 1999).

Despite its limited distribution the sombre tit is not included in any category of threatened or protected species.

In Greece it is found at altitudes up to 2000 m., in a variety of habitats, although in more open habitats compared to those of other related Paridae species, and almost always it seems to avoid dense forest. Typical habitat of the species are slopes with sparse tress (oaks, olive trees) and shrubs (e.g. Juniperus) that include terraces with cereals, non-intensively cultivated or abandoned fields, small openings and pastures in forests of Aleppo pine, grazed shrublands, maquis areas with sparse trees or bushes that include olive trees, fruit trees like prunes and almond trees, vines and sparse forests with oak, beech, willow and poplar or conifers, especially in stony areas with sparse vegetation, even in the sparse forest pastures of mountain forest boundaries, often with centuries old junipers (priority habitat 9560). In Prespa, a typical habitat of the species is the ecotone between broadleaved forest and farmland. It is a zone at altitudes between 850 and 1100 m., that contains grasslands, villages, small farms with natural hedges and stone walls (Catsadorakis and Källander 1999).

It breeds from March to early August and is monogamous. It feeds on seeds and is a hoarding species, caching and storing food for the winter (Panayotopoulou et al. 2006). In North Greece the sombre tit has sparse populations and a patchy distribution and it is one of the least known species.

Map: Global distribution of sombre tit (source: Birdlife International)