Ancient olive groves on Crete Hariklia Kargiolaki, Decentralized administration of Crete

Transcription

1

2 Ancient olive groves on Crete Hariklia Kargiolaki, Decentralized administration of Crete

3 Olea europaea Olive tree (Olea europaea) Asmall tree (family Oleaceae), native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin (coastal areas of southeastern Europe, western Asia and N. Africa) as well as N Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The word derives from Latin olīva which in turn comes from the Greek ἐλαία ultimately from ancient Greek, while we find references in Linear B syllabic script.

4 Origin Introduced into the countries of the Mediterranean Basin via Egypt and then Crete or Israel, Syria and Asia Minor. 19th century illustration Fossil olive pollen has been found in Macedonia, Greece, and other places around Mediterranean, indicating that this genus is an original possibly relict element of the Mediterranean flora. Fossilized leaves of Olea were found in the palaeosols of the volcanic Greek island of Santorini (Thera) and were dated about B.P. Inprints of larvae of olive whitefly Aleurolobus (Aleurodes) olivinus were found on the leaves. The same insect is commonly found today on olive leaves, showing that the plant animal coevolutionary relations have not changed since that time.

5 Past The olive is a plant that is mostly cited in ancient literature. In Homer's Odyssey, Ullyses crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock, and in the Iliad, there is a metaphoric description of a lone olive tree in the mountains, by a spring; the Greeks observed that the olive rarely thrives at a distance from the sea. Olive was one of the woods used to fashion the most primitive Greek cult figures, called xoana, referring to their wooden material; they were reverently preserved for centuries.

6 The gift of the olive wins Athena the patronship of Attica from Poseidon Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, unnamed at the time. They agreed on giving the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians choosing the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persians fleet but the water was salty and not very good for drinking. Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians accepted the olive tree and with it the patronage of Athena, for the olive tree brought wood, oil, and food.

7 No gold - silver, or bronze medals Olive wreaths The olive wreath known as kotinos was the prize for the winner at the ancient Olympic Games. An olive branch, of the olive tree grew at Olympia, in the form of a circle or a horse-shoe. It was introduced by Heracles as a prize for the running race winner to honour Zeus (Pausanias), made from branches of the sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. According to Herodotus, after the battle of Thermopylae, Xerxes was interrogating some Greek prisoners and inquired why there were so few Greek men defending the Thermopylae. The answer was "All other men are participating in the Olympic Games". And when asked "What is the prize for the winner?", "An olive-wreath" came the answer... "Good heavens! Mardonius, what kind of men are these against whom you have brought us to fight? Men who do not compete for possessions, but for honour."

8 Ancient olive trees Theophrastus, the 4th century BC father of botany, states that olive trees ordinarily attained an age of about 200 years, and he mentions that the very olive tree of Athena still grew on the Acropolis; it was still to be seen there in the 2nd century AD; and when Pausanias was shown it, ca 170 AD, he reported.. Legend also says that when the Persians fired Athens the olive was burnt down, but on the very day it was burnt it grew again to the height of two cubits..." Indeed, olive suckers sprout readily from the stump, and the great age of some existing olive trees shows that it was perfectly possible that the olive tree of the Acropolis dated to the Bronze Age.

9 Ancient olive groves on Crete

10 Chania Municipality of Voukolies Bugiukliana (Crete, Greece) (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania : CENTOLIMED project)

11 More on ancient olive trees of Crete A network of cultural associations throughout the island (Chania, Rethymnon, Herakleion and Agios Nikolaos that invite people to report on the existence of ancient olive individuals and they created a data base that up to now includes ca 200 ancient olive trees. The idea is to know, and protect them from uprooting. Diktio politistikon syllogon Kritis.mp4

12 The ancient olive tree at Vouves (Chania, Crete)

13 Economic activity is relatively low, consisting mainly of the products of agriculture Then WHY protect them?? Need of our past history, in order to form our present and future. Part of our culture (olive wreaths, baptism using olive oil, xoana, ) Aesthetic value of the environment But also the scientifically proved environmental value in terms of biodiversity

14 22ma Olive orchard on Crete March 24 th

15 Olive orchard on Crete April 21 st

16 An ancient olive orchard on Crete is home to: 98 plant species (Fournaraki et al.) 32 bird species vs 27 bird species to a new olive orchard and 12 to a vine yard (Drettakis et al.) Carduelis carduelis

17 Edible greens (27% of the undergrowth of an AOO is edible) Compositae Crepis vesicaria L. Geraniaceae Geranium molle L. Liliaceae Muscari comosum (L.) Miller Cruciferae Sisymbrium officinale Compositae Crepis commutata (Spreng.) Greuter Umpelliferae Tordylium apulum L. Umbelliferae Torilis nodosa (L.) Gaertner Umpelliferae Oenanthe pimpinelloides Papaveraceae Papaver rhoeas L. Polygonaceae Rumex cf.pulcher L. Compositae Lactuca serriola L. Leguminosae Medicago polymorpha L. Malvaceae Malva sylvestris L. Boraginaceae Echium cf.italicum Plantaginaceae Plantago lanceolata L. Campanulaceae Petromarula pinnata (L.) A.DC. Compositae Leontodon tuberosus L. Compositae Cichorium intybus L. Guttiferae Hypericum perforatum Liliaceae Asparagus aphyllus L. Umpelliferae Daucus carota Solanaceae Solanum nigrum L. Caryophyllaceae Stellaria cupaniana (Jordan & Fourr. Beginot Compositae Sonchus oleraceus L. Hypolepidaceae Kuhn Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Umbelliferae Scandixpecten veneris L. Compositae (L.) J. Holub Helminthotheca echioides

18 Underneath the canopy Oenanthe pimpinelloides Muscari comosum (L.) Miller

19 More aromatic & medicinal!! Thyme (Satureja thympra ) Thyme (Corridothymus capitatus ) Labdanun (Cistus sp.)

20 Background of cent.oli.med actions Lack of policies for identification and protection of High Nature Value Farmlands (HNVFs) Threats: Loss of biodiversity due to intensive agricultural activities. Uprooting of ancient olive trees for ornamental purposes due to the low cost effectiveness of their growing Limited knowledge of the environmental value and cultural heritage of ancient olive groves. Poor information and lack of awareness of stakeholders

21 Traditional management on Crete Tillage Controlled grazing (sheep, donkeys, and other) Protection of aromatic and medicinal plants and wild edible plants Dry stone walls for protection from soil erosion mainly in mountainous areas

22 The change in agricultural practices Herbicides are extensively used to control weeds Wild edible plants are gradually being neglected Livestock feeding in many areas is no longer dependant on grazing of natural grasslands Animal husbandry in certain areas has become intensive or semi intensive and can result in uncontrolled overgrazing

23 Threats of the AOOs Habitat conversion to : farms & plantations Transportation/Energy infrastructure : utility lines and roads Consumptive biological resource use : grazing, wildfires, plant material cutting Pollution : human caused nutrient imbalance (eg fertilizer use), solid and liquid waste Invasive species (alien and native): Plants, animals, disease & pathogens Modification of natural processes, : fragmentation, land degradation Social threats : tree uprooting Economic threats :cutting trees to use for burning

24 Economic crisis!!! A way to look back to our roots, rediscovering old practices that kept us alive for centuries, instead of running away and following others. Need for fuel., and olive wood is burnt easily, no protection mechanism!!

25 That is why we must protect A.O.Os Maintain or restore cultural & heritage values Increase job opportunities for local people Promote local economy Support local income generation diversity. Protect biodiversity Promote sustainable land use Represent part of our landscape

26 How? No law at national or regional level regarding the protection of AOOs Lots of legislation for the protection of biodiversity. USE them or other media to ensure: 1. The development and effective implementation of AOO agricultural area management plans. 2. shared policies/regulations are harmonized for AOO agricultural areas

27 .. Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs...thank you!!