TROODOS NATIONAL FOREST PARK (ETHNIKO DASIKO PARKO TROODOUS – CY5000004)

The Natura 2000 network in Cyprus consists of 63 sites, out of which 40 are Sites of Community  Interest (SCI), 30 are sites of Special Protection Areas (SPA) and seven sites are both SCI and SPA. The project targets one Natura 2000 site: Ethniko Dasiko Parko Troodous (CY5000004). “Ethniko Dasiko Parko Troodous” is the “Troodos National Forest Park” in Greek.

The ecological quality and importance of the site is composed of the following natural values:

1. Eleven Annex I (Habitats Directive) habitat types, of which four are priority habitats (62B0*, 9390*, 9530*, 9560*), recorded in Troodos National Forest Park.
2. Troodos National Forest Park has a very rich flora; 40% (786 taxa) of the total flora of Cyprus and 51% (69 taxa at species and subspecies level) of the endemics have been recorded. Moreover, 10 taxa of the endemic plants of the island are local endemics.
3. Five plant species accepted as new additions to Annex II of the Habitat’s Directive, three of which are priority ones (*Arabis kennedyae, *Chionodoxa lochiae, *Pinguicula crystallina), occur in the Troodos National Forest Park. The site hosts six protected plant taxa (Annex I – Bern Convention) as well as 21 threatened taxa (IUCN list).
4. The fauna of the Troodos National Forest Park is particularly rich. It supports the sole population of Loxia curvirostra quillemardi in Cyprus and also the endemic species, accepted as new additions to Annex I of Directive 79/409/EEC (amended in 2009, now called Directive 2009/147/EC), Oenanthe cypriaca, Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae, Parus ater cypriotes and Sylvia melanothorax. The site also hosts 14 bat species (five of which are listed in Annex II of the Directive 92/43/EEC).
   The site offers habitat to three endemic mammal subspecies: Ovis gmelini ophion (Cyprus wild sheep), Hemiechinus auritus dorotheae (hedgehog) and Mus cypriacus (Cyprus mouse).
   The endemic reptile (snake) Hierophis cypriensis, accepted as new addition to Annex II of the Directive 92/43/EEC, and other five endemic reptiles are also found in the site. Small populations of the butterfly Callimorpha quadripunctaria (listed as priority species in Annex II, Directive 92/43/EEC) are found within the site. Additionally, all (six taxa) endemic butterflies of Cyprus occur in the site.
5. The relief and the topography of Troodos massif are the main regulators of the climatic conditions of Cyprus, in particular of the rainfall, and consequently of the water resources, both surface and groundwater, a fact also influencing the island flora and fauna.
6. The geological characteristics of Troodos are of outmost importance. The Troodos Ophiolite Complex occupies the central-southcentral part of Cyprus and it is one of the best developed ophiolites in the world.