Since 2016, part of the Local Community of Poulithron is a protected area of the Natura 2000 network with the code name GR2520005 MONI ELONAS KAI CHARADRA LEONIDIOU - SPILAIO MANA KAI GALAZIA LIMNI.
Characteristics of the area
The protected area Monastery of Elona and the Leonidi Charadra - Mana Cave and Blue Lake is a long gorge on the eastern side of the Parnonas mountain range. It stretches from the banks of the Myrtoo Sea, near the settlements of Leonidio and Poulithra, crosses the site of the Monastery of Elona and ends at the village of Kosmas, at an altitude of about 1000 metres. It consists mainly of limestone rocky ecosystems, but in the higher parts the Cephalonian Spruce (Abies cephalonica) grows.
Quality and importance
Recently in the region Monastery of Elona and the Leonidi Charadra - Mana Cave and Blue Lake some very interesting plant species have been found. Some of them are very important and very rare, such as Potentilla arcadiensis, which shows the crucial role that the Greek mountains play in the survival of very rare plant species. Also, in the limestone rocky ecosystems, Greek endemic plants thrive. Some of them have been recently described and four of them are exclusively endemic to this gorge and are listed in very small populations, at risk of extinction. Regarding the fauna of this area, there is not much information available. The jackal Canis aureus is an endangered species in Greece (category "Vulnerable"). Apart from this animal, all vertebrate species listed in section 3.3 and bearing the C motif are protected by the Bern Convention. The lizard Ophiomorus punctatissimus and the snake Malpolon monspessulanus are also protected by the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981 which accepts motive C for this reason. Similarly, the spiny lizard Ophiomorus punctatissimus is further indicated by the D motive as it has the westernmost end of its distribution area in Central and Eastern Greece and the Peloponnese. The hare Lepus europaeus is characterized by motive D since it is generally rare in Greece.
Species of strict protection referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and listed in Annex II to Directive 92/43/EEC.
- Elaphe quatuorlineata (reptile/snake)
- Elaphe situla (reptile/snake)
- Miniopterus schreibersii (mammal/bat)
- Myotis blythii (mammal/bat)
- Myotis emarginatus (mammal/bat)
- Myotis myotis (mammal/bat)
- Rhinolophus blasii (mammal/bat)
- Rhinolophus euryale (mammal/bat)
- Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (mammal/bat)
- Rhinolophus hipposideros (mammal/bat)
- Testudo hermanni (reptile/turtle)
- Testudo marginata (reptile/turtle)
