Axios Delta National Park

(orange)|left The Axios Delta National Park consists of the Axios riverbed and delta, the Haliacmon delta, the Kalochori lagoon, the Alyki Kitrous lagoon, the Nea Agathoupoli wetland, the Gallikos river estuary and the mouth of the Loudias river. It is located in Central Macedonia, and it lies within five regional units: Pieria, Imathia, Pella, Kilkis and Thessaloniki. and is situated on one of the main migratory routes for birds in Europe. == Climate ==

Under the Köppen climate classification the Axios Delta National Park has a cold semi-arid (BSk) climate. The summers are hot and the winters are cold and wet. Extreme weather phenomena are rarely recorded in the park during the winter. Snowfall is infrequent and the waters almost never freeze. Most rains occur in autumn and the park has an average annual precipitation of 442.5 mm (17.4 in). == Flora ==

habitat at the Axios Delta National Park In the Axios Delta National Park there is a number of 370 plant species and vegetation is present in all of the park. Glassworts cover large parts of the lagoons, forming little islands; common reeds and bulrushes create reedbed habitats; European alders, elms, willows and other trees are part of a forest that protects riverbanks from erosion; and common purslanes, petty spurges and many more plants thrive at the sand dunes of the park. == Fauna ==

Avifauna In the Axios Delta National Park has been recorded an astonishing number of 299 bird species, Some of these birds are the Dalmatian pelican, the greater flamingo, the collared pratincole, the Mediterranean gull, the pygmy cormorant, the Kentish plover, the glossy ibis and the squacco heron. The park is also home to 15 species of bats and a number of rodents, like the forest dormouse and the European ground squirrel, An introduced species, the nutria, is also present in the area. It has been living in the park for more than 60 years, after some individuals escaped from a fur farm. William Martin Leake during his travels in the 19th century also documented the presence of wild boars in the area, though they're now considered locally extinct. Both tortoise species, the Greek tortoise and the Hermann's tortoise, are threatened and listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. The area of the park which is covered with sand dunes between the Alyki Kitrous lagoon and the Aegean sea has the largest population of Hermann's tortoises in Europe and it is the most densely populated in the world. Invertebrates Many invertebrates are found in the Axios Delta National Park, like butterflies, bivalves, beetles, gastropods and dragonflies of numerous species. One of them is Pinna nobilis, a large species of clam which has lost more than 80% of its global population during the last decade and it is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. == Human activity ==

Mussel cultivation Along the coastal zone of the Axios Delta National Park, 30,000 tons of mussels of the Mytilus galloprovincialis species are produced each year. That is 80-90% of all mussels produced in Greece and the reason is that the Axios, Haliacmon and Loudias rivers are releasing nutrients in the water resulting in faster growth. Rice production Sentinel-2 satellites About 10,000 hectares of rice paddies extend within the Axios Delta National Park, thus occupying almost a third of its area. The rice grown in the park is of the Japonica and the Indica varieties. Salt production The second largest salt production facility in Greece is located at the western part of the Alyki Kitrous lagoon. A 400 hectares salt evaporation pond produces 28,000 tons of salt each year. Water buffalo farming at the Axios Delta National Park One of the largest herds of water buffaloes in Greece lives at the mouth of the Gallikos river in the Axios Delta National Park. Greek buffaloes date back 2,500 years ago and were brought to the country when Xerxes used them to carry his army's supplies across the Struma river during the Greco-Persian Wars. == References ==