The main characteristics of the Central Crete site are summarised hereafter:

Site name	Central Crete
Information Providers	UTRIER NAGREF AUTH
Site location
Geodetic coordinates in WGS84	lat: ULX 828000 - ULY 3930000 long: LRX 887970 - LRY 2870030
Province	Crete
Region	Irakleio / Rethymno
Country	Greece
General conditions
Altitude range	0 - 2500 m
Climate	Average precipitation (spatial range, mm/y): 400 - 1400 mm depending on aspect, altitude Average temperature (spatial range °C/y): South coast 30°C max; below 0°C at high altitudes/winter
Topography	Flat 10%, gentle 40%, rough 50%
Rock type	Alluvial rocks 10%, Limestones 50%, Marls 20%, Flysch 20%
Land cover	Planted forest 5%, shrubland 40%, grasslands and agricultural areas 50%, other 5%
Land Use	Rangelands 50%, agriculture 40%, settlements 5%
Land condition	contact Georgios TSIOURLIS
Local contacts	Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (Crete, Greece) University of Crete/Iraklion Collaborative administration to facilitate data and stakeholders contacts: Forest Services of Rethymnon and Heraklion Georgios TSIOURLIS (NAGREF) Vasilis PAPANASTASIS (AUTH)
Appraisal
Of what the site is representative in a Mediterranean context?	Grazing, rangelands, degraded vegetation in rangelands, limestone area, mountainous terrain, strong influence of regional development funds, highly increased tourism, change of agricultural production systems (extension of irrigated olive tree plantations, etc.), strong soil erosion on marls
Which is the relevance of applying DeSurvey to the site?	EU membership/accession as the main driving force for significant land use changes in sharp contrast to traditional land use schemes
Might the site be complementary of other conditions?	Yes: elevation gradient allows for comparison of different ecozones at very short distances Grazing in strongly rugged terrain
Might the site allow comparative analysis with other sites?	Yes; e.g. grazed rangelands at less rugged topography and different grazing regimes; see above
Which is the relative impact of policy/subsidized, market and subsistence economy on land use structure?	Land use strongly driven by policy/subsidies, e.g. increase in livestock, extension of olive plantations, increased tourism with migration of rural population to urban/tourist centres
Which are the potential users of DeSurvey products in the site?	Local Municipalities AKOM (Development Company) Region of Crete
Research projects in the site	DeMon-II, EU Framework 4ENV4-CT95-0166: Analysis of trends in vegetation cover until 1996; Biomass estimations; Grazing Pressure MEDIMONT, E.U.Contract No: EV5VCT910045: The ecosystem in this area is resilient to grazing pressure. The desertification process is reversible with proper grazing management LAND USE SYSTEMS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN MOUNTAIN AND MARGINAL LANDS, E.U.Project No.AIR3PL93 2426: Comprehensive view of the possible effects of grazing and burning on the vegetation cover
Information database	Only available for DeSurvey consortium