Prespa Flora & Vegetation
Publication: Flora and Vegetation of the Prespa National Park, Greece
The placew in mainland Greece that have had the privilege of an authoritative and detailed description of their plants and vegetation gathered into a single volume can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and with this book Prespa is honoured to join their number.
Prespa is equally distinguished by the richness of its plant diversity. Within its relatively small area – 275 km2 – the region has both the greatest wealth of habitat types and the highest diversity of plant species per square kilometre found in Greece. This is largely due to the region’s geographical position, situated between the Mediterranean and the continental interior, as well as to its substantial altitudinal range (from 850 to 2,334 m). Other important factors are the two different underlying geological substrates, the dramatic topography, the local micro-climate and the presence of extensive wetlands, as well as the many and varied interactions with the landscape by human communities.
Flora and Vegetation of the Prespa National Park, Greece is the fruit of a collaboration between three eminently distinguished botanists, Arne Strid, Erwin Bergmeier and Georgios Fotiadis, who have compiled this meticulous and comprehensive catalogue of all the species of wild plants found growing in the Greek part of Prespa, both native and non-native, after years of study in the region.
It includes detailed descriptions of the characteristics of all 1,816 species and sub-species that have been recorded to date, many of which are rare or endemic. Together with 1,160 high quality photographs and 3 detailed maps, the text forms a complete guide to the flora of Prespa, from which readers can not only identify almost all the individual species, but also explore the main features of the vegetation and the region’s 45 habitat types.