Riparian_areas_in_urban_settings_two_cas.pdf - Int J...

Int. J. Innovation and Sustainable Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2013 271
Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Riparian areas in urban settings: two case studies
from Greece
Valasia Iakovoglou
DEMETER Forest Research Institute (DEMETER/FRI),
Vasilika, GR-57006 Thessaloniki, Greece
Email: [email protected]
George N. Zaimes*
Laboratory of Mountainous Waters Management and Control,
Department of Forestry and Management of the Natural Environment,
Kavala Institute of Technology (KavTech),
1st km Drama-Mikrohoriou, GR-66100 Drama, Greece
Email: [email protected]
*Corresponding author
Dimitrios Gounaridis
Department of Geography,
Aegean University,
Mytilene 81100, Lesvos, Greece
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Riparian areas are significant ecosystems due to the numerous and
substantial services they provide. These ecosystem services can range from
wildlife habitat, water quality improvement, flood mitigation and recreational
opportunities. Human developments, including cities and towns are frequently
established in the riparian areas and degrade their functionality. Maintaining
healthy riparian areas in urban settings that sustain their connectivity with the
natural riparian areas should be of a great priority. Fragmented riparian areas
lose many of the aforementioned ecosystem services. At the same time healthy
riparian areas are aesthetically pleasing, creating a feeling of escape for the
inhabitants, while also increasing the real estate value of the adjacent
structures. In this study examples of healthy and degraded urban riparian areas
from two Greek cities are presented. Overall, the proper restoration and
sustainable management of these areas can improve the quality of life in urban
settings and maintain the services they provide.
Keywords: conservation; ecosystem services; restoration; urban riparian areas.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Iakovoglou, V., Zaimes,
G.N. and Gounaridis, D. (2013) ‘Riparian areas in urban settings: two case
studies from Greece’, Int. J. Innovation and Sustainable Development , Vol. 7,
No. 3, pp.271–288.

272 V. Iakovoglou, G.N. Zaimes and D. Gounaridis
Biographical notes: Valasia Iakovoglou is a Research Assistant at the Hellenic
Agricultural Organization “DEMETER” Forest Research Institute (FRI) since
2010 and a Teaching Assistant at Kavala Institute of Technology (KavTech),
Greece since 2007. She received her MSc in Urban Forestry from the
Department of Forestry and her PhD in Ecophysiology from the Department of
Natural Resource and Ecology and Management, both degrees at Iowa State
University, Ames, USA. Some of her research interests relate to climate change
and its implications in rural and urban ecosystems, proper restoration and
reforestation, urban ecosystems, stress effects on plants, seed dormancy.