Lake Karla

Infobox_lake
lake_name = Lake Karla
image_lake =
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
coords = coord|39|32|N|22|42|E|type:waterbody_region:GR_scale:2000000|display=inline,title
type = Mountain lake
inflow = 1 river and 7 tributaries
outflow = Pinios River, "evaporation"
catchment = convert|37000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on
basin_countries = Greece
length = convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on
width = convert|46|km|mi|abbr=on
area = convert|37372|m2|acre|abbr=on
depth = convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on
max-depth = convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on
volume =
shore = convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on
elevation = 60 - 80 m (180–240 ft)
islands = 3+ islands
See article
cities = Volos

Lake Karla sits at 60 to 80 m (180 to 240 ft) above sea level making it the only one in the plain of Thessaly.

The lake is located at the northern end of the prefecture of Magnesia in Pinios basin, adjacent to Pelion and Maurovouni mountains. On the eastern part of the lake the town of Kanalia lies. The restoration process aims to satisfy the needs of Volos in potable water, and partially restore water balance in eastern plains of Thessaly.

Name

Its first name was Voivis and was taken from the nearby ancient city of Voivis which today is located at Kanalia

Restoration of the lake

The MedCom meeting culminated with an excursion to Lake Karla, some convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on north of Athens. Lake Karla was an 180 km² lake that was completely drained in 1962 to gain land for agriculture. The lake was part of the ancient Greek mythology (the god Apollo was married on its shores). Before its drainage, it was the site of a unique fishermen culture, with the fishermen spending some nine months of the year in reed huts that they built on the lake. The lake fisheries were an important tradition and to some extent a significant economic activity.

For these reasons, and because agriculture was never successful in the saline soils of the former lake bed, the local population is very much in support of an ambitious project to restore the lake. The restoration will reflood only 50 of the original 180 km² of the former lake. The project represents a 100 million ECU investment that would be financed with the support of the European Commission. Some technical aspects still require further elaboration in order to ensure that it is environmentally sound, but the project has so much popular and political support that most likely it will go ahead quite soon. If so, it would represent one of the most ambitious wetland restoration projects and a good case study for the Ramsar Convention [ Epsilon Co. 1992. Rehabilitation and environmental benefit of the Karla Water Reservoir construction. Athens] .

Other notable facts

The site includes Mavrovouni mountain, two water reservoirs in former Lake Karla and the spring Kefalovryso in Velestino. Mavrovouni (convert|390|km2|acre|abbr=on|disp=/, max elevation convert|1054|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=/) extends between Ossa and Pilio mountains and is today restored totally in Magnesia Prefecture [ CORINE Information System. European Environment Agency. CORINE, Biotopes, 1991.] . It mainly consists of schist [ Council of Europe 1992. Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. Directorate of Environment and Local Authorities, Strasbourg.] and, in less extent, of limestone. The marine area covers 2% of the site, the terrestrial area covers 96% and the reservoirs cover 2% [ Commission of the European Communities. Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds.] .Its northeast side ends in steep cliffs in the Aegean Sea [ Gerakis P. A. 1992. Conservation and management of Greek wetlands: Proceedings of a Greek Wetlands Workshop, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, 17-21 April, 1989. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. xii + 493pp.] . At the higher zone it is mainly covered by oak forests (especially Quercus conferta) and at lower parts by beech and chestnut forests. Maquis covers the lower zone. At the eastern part of the mountain it is very dense and dominated by holm oak (Quercus ilex). The rest of maquis is dominated by kermes oak and wild olive and has deteriorated as a result of intense grazing. This area is used for pasture by high numbers of farm animals. Mavrovouni also includes ravines, rock formations, grasslands, phrygana and agricultural land. A significant number of streams runs the mountain, most of them drying in summer. At the banks of the streams there are plane trees, alders, poplars and willows [ Stefanidis A. 1973. Freshwater fish from Thessaly and the valley of Sperchios river. Biol. gallo-hellen. 4(2):184-203.] . The two water reservoirs, one near Stefanovikio (convert|4|km2|acre|abbr=on|disp=/) and the other near Kalamaki (convert|2|km2|acre|abbr=on|disp=/), were constructed in 1988 for irrigation purposes in the area of the former Lake Karla. Their water flows in from Pinios river through the Asmaki stream. However, industrial and agricultural wastes flow into the reservoirs. They are possibly eutrophic and a rapid increase of reedbeds into them is observed.
Kefalovryso spring has suffered the effects of human activities. Its area has been reduced, it has lost its natural vegetation and possibly its native fishes, as well. Now it is used as a pond for the production of commercial (trout etc.) and exotic fishes.

NOTES:a) The habitat type 5420 concerns mainly Cistus salvifolius, C. creticus, C. monspeliensis, Thymus capitatus, Ballota acetabulosa, Sarcopoterium spinosum and Genista acanthoclada.b) The reedbeds (Phragmites australis), occurring in the two reservoirs and not included in AnnexI, could constitute an additional habitat type [ Adamakopoulos P., T. Adamakopoulos, D. Bousbouras, G. Giannatos, V. Hatzirvassanis, Y. Ioannidis, D. H. Papaioannou, A. Sfougaris 1991. Les grands mammiferes de Grece (carnivores et artiodactyles): situation actuelle, repartition, habitat - Les especes menacees, perspectives de protection. Biol. gallo-hellen. 18(1):107-126.] .

References

External links

* [http://www.ramsar.org/wn/w.n.medcom1_report.htm RAMSAR]
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=1126&m=0/ BirdLife IBA Factsheet]