Marine habitat mapping within the GR4340008 Natura site (Lefka Ori kai Paraktia Zoni)

The description and mapping of marine habitat types according to Annex I of Directive 92/43/EOK (EEC, 1992) and / or the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) in 66 of approximately 300 Greek NATURA 2000 network sites, were the subject of Research Work for the Ministry of Environment Planning and Public Works of Greece. This research project, under the name "Identification and description of habitat types at sites of interest for conservation", lasted from 1999 to 2002 and was carried out by the National Centre for Marine Research (NCMR, renamed as Hellenic Centre for Marine Research - HCMR since 2003) in association with the Institute of Marine Biology of Crete (IBCM, joined to HCMR since 2003), the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI). The recognition and imprinting of marine habitat types was based on the combined use of aerial photos of scale 1:5000 acquired during the second half of 1999 for the needs of the project, data from the scientific echo sounder Sea-Bed discrimination system "RoxAnn", phytobenthos samples and in situ observations by scuba diving and underwater cameras. Regarding the sampling, hard bottom samplings were carried out using SCUBA diving. The samples were collected on hard substrates mainly in the upper infralittoral zone (30 to 50 cm below the lowest sea level). For the study of the soft bottom habitats, oceanographic cruses were carried out with the IMBC R/V “Filia”, using a Smith McIntyre sediment sampler.本研究针对约300个希腊NATURA 2000保护网络站点中的66个，依据欧盟生境指令92/43/EOK（欧洲经济共同体，1992年）附件一及/或欧洲自然信息系统（European Nature Information System, EUNIS）标准完成海洋生境类型的描述与制图，该工作为希腊环境规划与公共工程部委托的研究项目。本项目名称为「保护关注区域内生境类型的识别与描述（Identification and description of habitat types at sites of interest for conservation）」，实施周期为1999年至2002年，由希腊国家海洋研究中心（National Centre for Marine Research, NCMR，2003年更名为希腊海洋研究中心Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, HCMR）牵头，联合克里特海洋生物学研究所（Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, IBCM，2003年并入HCMR）、塞萨洛尼基亚里士多德大学与渔业研究所（Fisheries Research Institute, FRI）共同开展。海洋生境类型的识别与成图，综合采用了本次项目需求下1999年下半年获取的1:5000比例尺航空影像、科学回声测深仪「RoxAnn」海底识别系统采集的数据、底栖植物样本，以及水肺潜水与水下相机获取的原位观测资料。采样环节中，硬质底质样本通过水肺潜水采集，采样点主要分布于最低海平面以下30至50厘米的上潮下带硬质底质区域。针对软质底质生境的研究，则借助IMBC「Filia」号海洋考察船，采用Smith McIntyre沉积物采样器完成样品采集。