Land Use/Cover Changes in North Eastern Greece from 1980 to 2000

Routes of transhumance movement as well as both summer and winter destinations are subjected to intense grazing that over the years may shape landscapes. The aim of this study was to investigate land use changes in Aspropotamos area, Trikala from 1985 to 2000 that serves as a summer destination of transhumance flocks. Changes in land cover were explored with the post classification comparison approach within a GIS environment. Two maps of 1985 and 2000 were used. The results of the current paper reveal a dramatic reduction of shrubland (up to 100%) followed by grazed open forest (17.61 %) and grasslands (13.77%), while the higher percentage of increase was recorded in the forest (32.7%) followed by agricultural land (24.88%). It seems that the declining trend of transhumance grazing in mountainous areas in Greece account for both changes in rangelands and forest areas. In conclusion, transhumance serves as a critical element towards maintaining ecosystem productivity to its recent historical equilibria.

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