Στοιχεία Τόπου

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Γενικά Στοιχεία

Όνομα LIMNOTHALASSA KOTYCHI - ALYKI LECHAINON
Κατηγορία Τόπου Βιότοπος NATURA
Κωδικός Τόπου GR2330009
Κύριος Χαρακτήρας
Βιότοπος
Φυσικό Τοπίο
Δομημένο Τοπίο
Διοικητική Υποδιαίρεση Νομός Ηλείας
Δήμος-Κοινότητα
Συνολική Έκταση (ha) 2337.83
Χερσαία Έκταση (ha) 2005.44
Συνολική Περίμετρος (km) 24.5
Μέγιστο Υψόμετρο (m) 27.0
Ελάχιστο Υψόμετρο (m)
Ένταξη στο Υπάρχον Θεσμικό Πλαίσιο

Χαρακτηριστικά

Τύπος Τοπίου
Κλίμα
Γεωλογία
Περιγραφή Τόπου Kotychi (or Neophytos) is a brackish coastal lagoon situated some kilometres to the north of the cape of Kyllini. It is the largest lagoon remaining in the western Peloponnisos after the drainage of the Agoulinitsa lagoon. Its surface presents strong seasonal fluctuations depending on the annual rainfall. Kotychi is a shallow lagoon with a depth of 30-40cm. It is fed by considerable quantities of fresh water input from several small streams and torrents, the largest of these being Brantzeleiko, Gouvos, Sykias and Trikokkia. These streams enter the lagoon mainly in its southern and eastern sides. At the centre of its western side there is an opening almost 30 m in width, which links the lagoon with the Ionian Sea. The salinity of the water tends to be kept low and the depth of the water tends to be reduced due to the deposition of suspended matter brought into the lagoon by the streams. These streams are also used as main drainage ditches from the surrounding agricultural land. The soil of the area consists mainly of alluvial and lacustrine sedimentary deposits. The deeper layers are a mixture of sands pebbles and stones. Presently the majority of the surrounding area is agricultural land and only a narrow natural zone occurs around the lagoon. Ammophilous vegetation is limited to the narrow sandy zone on the western side which separates the lagoon from the Ionian Sea. In this zone dunes with the dominating species Ammophila arenaria develop mainly near the opening of the lagoon, as well as to the northwest of it. The presence of the species Eryngium maritimum, Echinophora spinosa, Cyperus capitatus, Sporobolus pungens, Pancratium maritimum, Euphorbia peplis, Salsola kali, Cakile maritima etc. is significant on this side of the lagoon. On this same side, in a zone parallel to the ammophilous vegetation, characteristic vegetation comprising Arthrocnemum fruticosum, Juncus maritimus and J. acutus also grows in this zone. Apart from the above mentioned species Scirpus maritimus, Phragmites australis, Elymus hispidus and Juncus maritimus are present with a high coverage. Halophytic associations consisting of mainly Arthrocnemum fruticosum or Salicornia europaea grow almost all around the lagoon, as well as on the islets occurring in the lagoon itself. The participation in these associations of the species Halimione portulacoides is also of significance. Where many streams enter the lagoon in its eastern side, the presence of Phragmites australis, Scirpus maritimus and Typha domingensis is noteworthy. Great surfaces with Scirpus maritimus grow on the northern side of the lagoon. Small clusters of Tamarix are found limited to the south-eastern side of the lagoon only. Brackish water vegetation grows in a large area of the shallow lagoon. It is characterized by the species Ruppia cirrhosa and Zostera nolti. Potamogeton pectinatus is less frequent at the eastern part of the lagoon. At this same side, the species Lemna gibba grows among the plants of Scirpus maritimus. In the salty water of the lagoon, the species Ruppia maritima and Enteromorpha intestinalis occur. At present we don't have much data regarding the microflora of the lagoon. The smell of hydrogen sulphate at the eastern side of the lagoon, as well as at the entering streams probably indicates the occurrence of bacteria and Cyanophyceae. It is noticeable that around the halophytic associations, small size meadows which are usually under cultivation, occur. South of the lagoon adjacent minor salt marshes with Salicornia, Juncus and reed beds exist along ditches. In the north-western part of the site the pine forest begins together with shruby vegetation which is actually the southern part of Strofilia forest. The site extends eastwards a few meters beyond the limits of the wet meadows with Juncus, northwards to the village of Brinias and southwards up to Kragareika. The western limit of the site is the seashore of the Gulf of Kyllini. The majority of this area is cultivated mainly with maize, tomatoes, potatoes and Citrus trees. Areas of cultivated land are used as forage pastures for free grazing.
Κατάσταση Τόπου
Εγκατάλειψη οικισμών
Τάση Κατάστασης Τόπου
Ιστορία και εξέλιξη του τόπου
Σημεία με καλή Θέα
Μονοπάτια Περίπατοι

Αξίες

Οικολογική Αξία
Κοινωνικοοικονομική/πολιτιστική Αξία
Αισθητική Αξία
Σχόλιο για τις αξίες Kotychi is the largest and the most significant lagoon occurring in the Peloponnisos. Although agricultural activitiy has been intensified around the Kotychi wetland, the wetland habitats themselves have not been significantly affected by such work.From an ornithological point of view, the lagoon has great ecological interest because it is on of the southernmost lagoons on the western migration route of many birds. For this reason it is a major resting station for migratory birds. The flora of this lagoon includes the species Halocnemum strobilaceum, the populations of which are very degraded in Greece and must be protected. Also, the species Cotula coronopifolia, which has an interesting geographical distribution from a phytogeographical point of view. Pancratium maritimum, is a species whose populations have been reduced along the Greek coasts. Furthermore, the examined area consists a natural ecological laboratory for education and research and is also widely used for fishing.Concerning the fauna of the Kotychi lagoon, some vertebrate species of Annex II of the Directive 92/43/EEC have been recorded. For Caretta caretta sandy beach of the site (especially the belt-shaped islet in front of the lagoon) seems to be quite a satisfactory nesting place, with about 20 nests/ km/ season (Cheiras, pers.comm.). Some more species listed in sections 3.3 and 3.4 have been occurring in the site, evaluated as Other and Greek Important Species for other reasons. Among them the Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, appears in the Greek Red Data Book under the threat category "Endangered" and the Greek Slow Worm, Anguis cephallonicus, is endemic to the southwestern Greece, along with the Peloponnisos endemic fox Vulpes v. hellenica. Some of these taxa are evaluated as Important Species for other reasons since they are protected by the Bern Convention (Erinaceus concolor and Vulpes v. hellenica are excluded). Moreover, Eryx jaculus is eligible for motivation C, since it is included in the CITES Convention. With the exceptions of Rana epeirotica, Rana ridibunda, Ablepharus kitaibelii, Eryx jaculus, Vulpes v. hellenica, Martes foina and Meles meles, the remaining taxa are important because they are protected by the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981. In addition, the toad Bufo viridis, the frogs Hyla arborea and Rana dalmatina, the lizard A. kitaibelii and the colubrid snake Natrix tessellata, have been evaluated by the CORINE-Biotopes Project receiving motivation D for this reason. Finally, also important are the two Balkan endemics that have been recorded in this site, i.e. the frog Rana epeirotica and the lizard Podarcis taurica ionica, both distributed in western Greece and Albania.Zoologically, this site is also important because of the interesting avifauna living in the area, especially for breeding, passage and wintering waterbirds. This avifauna includes herons, egrets, bitterns, ibises, flamingos, pochards, ducks, terns, and waders as well as birds of prey (eagles, harriers) etc. many of which are threatened taxa in Greece. Species of concern include Pelecanus crispus, Egretta garzetta, Egretta alba, Plegadis falcinellus, Aythya nyroca and Falco naumanni. Due to such a rich fauna, Kotychi lagoon is considered as an E.C. Important Bird Area and is a Ramsar Convention Site.

Κίνδυνοι

Απειλές/διαταραχές
Σχόλιο για τις απειλές-διαταραχές
Τρωτότητα Although this site is one of the Greek Ramsar Convention wetlands, various impacts coming from human activities are known to exist there. The most important of which is intensive and totally uncontrolled shooting, which greatly threatens the local avifauna, especially during winter and migration periods. Arable and stock farming, fishing, digging and banking up, occasional tree-felling and tourism, all variously affect the animal habitats causing their direct destruction or decline, indirectly influence the site's hydrology. Two military air bases operating nearby (in Araxos and Andravida) could somehow affect this site. It is obvious that Kotychi Lagoon shows signs of degradation. It was formerly surrounded by more extensive marshes, which have now been reduced to a narrow zone. The reduction of this zone has taken place gradually mainly during the last 30 years. Levels of fertilizers and pesticides have increased in recent years as streams entering the lagoon also act as drainage channels hence collecting the various pollutants from nearby agricultural lands. Pollutants also come from small olive oil refineries and tomatio processing plants. Emphasis also must be given to another big problem of the lagoon, that is its small depth, which allows the penetration of halophytic plants and consequently to the disappearance of the wetland. The deposition of the suspended matter from the inflowing streams also contributes to this problem. The preservation of the balance and quality of the water is very important for the conservation of the ecosystem as a whole. Increasing tourism is another danger that threatens the sand-dune ecosystems. Sand exctraction from the beach and the sand dunes is also a problem. Negative changes to the ecosystem also result from uncontrolled grazing as well as the establishment of fisheries. Many incidents of the Caretta caretta persecution by local fishermen have been reported (Cheiras, pers. comm.).
Προτεραιότητα προστασίας

Πανίδα και Χλωρίδα

Χαρακτηριστικά Ενδιαιτήματα
Αξιόλογα Φυτά
Αξιόλογα Θηλαστικά
Αξιόλογα Πτηνά
Accipiter nisus nisus (Τσιχλογέρακο)
Acrocephalus arundinaceus (Τσιχλοποταμίδα)
Anas acuta (Ψαλίδα)
Anas clypeata (Χουλιαρόπαπια)
Anas crecca (Κιρκίρι)
Anas penelope (Σφυριχτάρι)
Anas platyrhynchos (Πρασινοκέφαλη)
Anas querquedula (Σαρσέλα)
Anas strepera (Καπακλής)
Anser anser anser (Σταχτόχηνα)
Ardea cinerea (Σταχτοτσικνιάς)
Ardea purpurea (Πορφυροτσικνιάς)
Ardeola ralloides (Κρυπτοτσικνιάς)
Aythya ferina (Γκισάρι)
Aythya fuligula (Μαυροκέφαλη)
Aythya nyroca (Βαλτόπαπια)
Botaurus stellaris (Ηταυρος)
Burhinus oedicnemus oedicnemus (Πετροτριλίδα)
Calandrella brachydactyla (Μικρογαλιάντρα)
Calidris alpina alpina (Λασποσκαλήθρα)
Calidris ferruginea (Δρεπανοσκάληθρα)
Calidris minuta (Νανοσκαλήθρα)
Charadrius alexandrinus (Θαλασσοσφυριχτής)
Circaetus gallicus (Φιδαητός)
Circus aeruginosus (Καλαμόκιρκος)
Circus cyaneus (Βαλτόκιρκος)
Circus pygargus (Λιβαδόκιρκος)
Cuculus canorus (Κούκος)
Cygnus cygnus (Αγριόκυκνος)
Cygnus olor (Κύκνος)
Egretta alba (Αργυροτσικνιάς)
Egretta garzetta (Λευκοτσικνιάς)
Falco naumanni (Κιρκινέζι)
Falco peregrinus brookei (Πετρίτης)
Fulica atra (Φαλαρίδα)
Gelochelidon nilotica (Γελογλάρονο)
Glareola pratincola (Νεροχελίδονο)
Himantopus himantopus (Καλαμοκανάς)
Hippolais pallida elaeica (Ωχροστριτσίδα)
Ixobrychus minutus (Μικροτσικνιάς)
Larus genei (Λεπτόραμφος γλάρος)
Larus melanocephalus (Μαυροκέφαλος γλάρος)
Larus ridibundus (Καστανοκέφαλος γλάρος)
Melanocorypha calandra calandra (Γαλιάντρα)
Netta rufina (Φερεντίνι)
Nycticorax nycticorax (Νυχτοκόρακας)
Pelecanus crispus (Αργυλοπελεκάνος)
Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (Κορμοράνος)
Philomachus pugnax (Μαχητής)
Phoenicopterus ruber roseus (Φοινικόπτερος)
Platalea leucorodia (Χουλιαρομύτα)
Plegadis falcinellus
Podiceps cristatus (Σκουροβουτηχτάρι)
Podiceps nigricollis (Μαυροβουτηχτάρι)
Sterna albifrons (Νανογλάρονο)
Sterna caspia (Καρατζάς)
Sterna sandvicensis (Χειμωνογλάρονο)
Streptopelia turtur (Τριγώνι)
Tachybaptus ruficollis (Νανοβουτηχτάρι)
Tadorna tadorna (Βαρβάρα)
Tringa glareola (Λασπότριγγας)
Tringa totanus totanus (Κοκκινοσκέλης)
Vanellus vanellus (Καλημάνα)
Αξιόλογα Αμφίβια / Ερπετά
Αξιόλογα Ψάρια
Αξιόλογα Ασπόνδυλα
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