General National Id Greece_01 Site name Alpheos Water Body (GR0129R000215044H ) Summary The project refers to water retention management in the broader area of Ancient Olympia, Elia, Peloponnese, Greece; that is afforestation of mountain areas. The measures include the temporary installation of structures utilizing locally available timber in order to increase water retention as well as targeted planting of forests in mountain areas that can help stabilize hill slopes, thereby reduce erosion and potentially leading to greater water retention in the mountain areas. The primary measures targets include flood control and flood risk mitigation and the secondary biodiversity conservation. The main success factors was the positive attitude of decision makers, the willing of stakeholders and the positive public perception and the existing expert knowledge and tools. Light or indepth? In-depth The in-depth description of the case study cs-el-01-final_version.pdf NUTS Code Δυτική Ελλάδα (Dytiki Ellada) RBD code GR01 Transboundary 0 Data provider Maggie Kossida, IACO Source(s) Post-fire water retention management : The case study of Ancient Olympia, Greece Restoration of the archeological and the broader landscape of Olympia NWRM(s) implemented in the case study Maintenance of forest cover in headwater areas Longitude 21.378061 Latitude 37.3835085 Site information Climate zone warm temperate dry Mean rainfall 863,049987792969 Mean rainfall unit mm/year Average temperature 16,7000007629395 Mean runoff 675 Mean runoff unit 450 - 600 mm Type Case Study Info Monitoring maintenance Monitoring impacts effects 1 Monitoring location Edge of Field/Plot Performance Performance impact estimation method Unknown Performance impact estimation information Non applicable Design & implementations Application scale Other Installation date 2007-11 Lifespan 5 Age 7 Performance timescale 1 - 4 years Area (ha) 49,5 Area subject to Land use change or Management/Practice change (ha) 49,5 Design capacity description The temporary structures utilizing locally available timber have been designed to reduce the hill slopes thus attenuate the surface runoff as well as the sentiment volume. This measure enables the increase of soil moisture, water absorption, and infiltration. Additionally, it creates suitable sites for natural regeneration or technical afforestation of the burned area. The maximum volume of runoff water that can be retained has not been assessed as this was not originally a water retention application but the restoration of the surrounding of the archeological site. Constraints The factors that influence the selection and design of the NWRM is morphology, vegetation, climate and geology of the area. The morphology of the area (large slopes), increases surface runoff, leading to soil erosion and increased risk of landslides as well as increased flood events. To address this, the use of geotextile had to be implemented in most sloping and vulnerable positions. The vegetation (after the fires) has eliminated and a hydrophobic layer in the soil has been created by the combustion of organic matterwhich increases surface runoff and flood risk. The local climate, with an annual precipitation of over 1.000 mm and often intense events, also tends to increase the intensity of flood events. The soils of the study area are also very loose and corrodible; thus vulnerable to the rainfall. A high challenge for the temporary small structures is the hydraulic undercut. Improving the condition of existing rainwater drainage system e.g. cleaning of the rainwater drainage system to avoid filling the road network with logging waste and increasing the flood risk. Favourable preconditions The necessary preconditions are the climate conditions and the soil properties and characteristics. Design contractual arrangement Arrangement type Responsibility Role Comments Name Design consultation activity Activity stage Key issues Name Comments Design land use change Land use change type Design authority Authority type Role Responsibility Name Comments Other Determination of design details of the measure Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems The Institute along with NAGREF are the scientific / technical responsible parties Other Monitoring Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports . The main stakeholders involved for the study and the implementation of the restoration of the site were the The Ministry is the beneficiary, responsible for initiating and monitoring the interventions procedures Other Monitoring Z†™ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities The Ephorate is the regional cultural authority of the pilot area Other Determination of design details of the measure Forest Products Technology of the National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF) NAGREF along with the Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems are the scientific / technical responsible parties Lessons, risks, implications... Key lessons The retention measures are based on the principals of changing the area morphology as well as the soil composition. Thus, the length of the slopes was shortened, the surface roughness and the soil infiltration rates were increased, the surface runoff and sentiments were delayed and the soil humitity was increased. Water retention management can be implemented through improvement of the soil and changes in the landscape morphology. Success factor(s) Success factor type Success factor role Comments Attitude of relevant stakeholders main factor Attitude of decision makers secondary factor Existing staff and consultant knowledge secondary factor Financing Financing type Comments Private funds Donations EU-funds: Rural development funds Agricultural Development Programme Barrier Barrier type Barrier role Comments Other main barrier The main implementation barriers were physical constraints such as the high slopes. Driver Driver type Driver role Comments Other main driver Morphology, vegetation, climate and geology of the area. Financing share Financing share type Share Comments Policy, general governance and design targets Policy description The specific interventions aim at tackling the environmental impacts of the significant wildfires of the study area in 2007. The principal aim of the works includes reduction of soil erosion and flood management. The interventions also include burned trees harvesting and restoration actions on the existing vegetation and on the tree crops. Part of wider plan 0 Policy target Target purpose Runoff control Peak-flow reduction Erosion Control Improved Biodiversity Policy pressure Pressure directive Relevant pressure Policy area Policy area type Policy area focus Name Comments Policy impact Impact directive Relevant impact Policy wider plan Wider plan type Wider plan focus Name Comments Policy requirement directive Requirement directive Specification Socio-economic Direct benefits information The direct benefits include the reduction of the flood risk, the mitigation of soil erosion, the improvement of the micro-environment as well as the aesthetic restoration of the affected area. Ancillary benefits information Ancillary benefits include the increase of infiltration / percolation and recharge of aquifers; this water can be used for different purposes (e.g agriculture) as well as for ecosystem services. Also the aesthetic improvement of the area has positive societal impacts Costs investment 2762500 Costs investment information This amount includes the fixed capital cost, infrastructure, construction and landscape rehabilitation. Costs capital 1262500 Costs land acquisition 1500000 Costs land acquisition unit € (total value) Costs operation maintenance The operational cost for irrigation as well as for pruning and fertilizer application was not assessed. Costs total information No information available Ecosystem improved biodiversity 1 Information on Ecosystem improved biodiversity The wildfires had significant impact on the area biodiversity and the restoration measures included using species from the surrounding locations in order to restore the decreased biodiversity Information on Ecosystem provisioning services Not relevant for this application Ecosystem impact climate regulation No information available Information on Ecosystem impact climate regulation The micro-climate and micro-environment was positively affected by the implemented measures; however the degree of impact was not assessed Biophysical impacts Information on retained water The volume of retained water was increased due to the temporary log structures as well as the improvement in the area vegitation after the afforestation Information on increased water storage The measures increased the retaining of water for longer period enabling the infiltration/percolation and recharge of aquifers. Information on runoff reduction The measures improved the runoff control as the velocity of water volume was reduced leading to decreasing the intensity and frequency of floods. Water quality overall improvements Not relevant for this application Information on Water quality overall improvements Not relevant for this application Soil quality overall soil improvements Positive impact-SQ improvement Information on Soil quality overall soil improvements The measures have a direct impact on the overall soil quality as afforestation of the area succeeds in eliminating the hydrophobic layer that was created in the soil after the fires and thus increase soil storage capacity. The fires have created the porosity of the soil to decrease, thus the restoration has positive impact on the soil infiltration capacity. Also the soil is improved due to the increase of the moisture. Full Context Pathway(aka Context) Default view Area(aka Level or Site) ALL