Study site description: Nestos River Delta, Maggana, Greece

Table of Contents

1. Responsible partner
2. General information
3. Bio-physical description
   1. Land use
   2. Climate
   3. Geology
   4. Hydrogeology
   5. Water resources
   6. Soil salinization
4. Socio-economic description
5. Institutional and political setting
6. Relevant end-users / stakeholder groups
7. Past and on-going projects

Land use

The study site of Maggana is situated in North Greece (Thrace region), extending within a recent sedimentary delta environment formed by the Nestos river deposits. The Nestos river delta, having a total area of 540,700 km², consists today of ~284,300 km² of cultivated land. The eastern part of the delta, having a total area of 176,400 km², consists up to 60% of cultivated land (~ 106,630 km²), the irrigated being 89,893 km². The main crop types used are maize, which covers over 50% of cultivated areas and is followed by cereals, sugar beets, tomatoes, cotton, soya and tobacco crops.

Livestock-farming is performed in fragmentary sites within the region. natural forests and coastal marshes can also be found in the delta region. On some beaches reforestation with Pinus brutia and Pinus pinaster has taken place. Herb species such as Pancratium maritimum, which previously abounded in sand dunes, are threatened today because of tourism. Also the Leucojum aestivum which sprouts in humid flat extents, is in danger from desiccation and modern agriculture, while it is rescued only locally.

Figure 4: Land use changes in the study site region between 1945 (left) and today (right)