Rubbish

It is well known that we, the modern Greeks throw out of our car window (either while driving or when stopped) whatever one can imagine. The situation with rubbish of all kind across the roads throughout the country, even in the most remote areas, is terrible. Most of the garbage are plastic... According to a British survey, almost 1 million car accidents are recorded on an annual basis in Britain because of garbage thrown by drivers. Not to mention the environment...
Indicative of the situation are the uploaded photos: it was taken at a burned site of southern Euboia (Styra) almost one and a half month after the fire of last August. It is evident that all this rubbish spread across the slopes is... post-fire! Imagine what quantities of rubbish are gathered within a year...

Urginea maritima

Post-fire flowering population of Urginea maritima in an olive-grove, Southern Euboia (10/2007). U. maritima is among the first plant species appearing on the burned soil and at the same time is the most typical example of fire favored anthesis across the Greek flora.

Autumnal Geophytes

Geophyte is one type of plant life form. It corresponds to plants with their buds protected into the soil. With other words, it refers to plants with subterranean shoots, such as the potato, the onion and the carrot. Autumnal geophytes, i.e. the geophytes that flower in autumn, are amongst the prettiest elements of Greek nature. The add unforgettable colors to the usually pale physiognomy of herbaceous layer that is just overcoming the summer dryness. Along the burned areas, in particular, the antithesis among the burned soil and the geophytic flowers is unique. Just look at the reddish Cyclamen, the yellow Sternbergia and the pale pink Colchicum.
There are plenty of data supporting the fact of fire being an agent that favors the geophitic anthesis. This phenomenon has been attributed to smoke (and in particular nitrogen oxides). Fire anthesis advancement is focused both on the individual (earlier flowering formation in burned than in the unburned patches) and the population level (highest proportion of the population forming flowers in the burned sites). (Photo: Sternbergia sicula flowering population in a burned slope of Mt Paneion).

2007, a year-landmark for the Environmental history of Greece

For the last 15 years I study the short- and long-term response of ecosystems towards fire. Despite the negative emotions that the word 'fire' may arise, fire remains a natural phenomenon, a natural disturbance factor with its own value and history. The effort to investigate its role doesn't cease to be full of surprises. Still, the year 2007 will remain a landmark for our country, since during the summer a record-number of wildfires burst over the country and burned thousands of hectares both in continental and insular Greece (in the picture the Penteli Mt. fire, in Attica, August 16th, 2007). Through this site, we shall monitor the burned ecosystems and landscapes, we shall discuss any relevant point of view and "breaking stories" and we shall try to locate and criticize any attempts of miss-management and land use alterations.