Fungal diversity in sacred groves vs. managed forests in Epirus, NW Greece

Abstract

Old-growth forests are rare in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, because of a long history of human exploitation.1 In Epirus, NW Greece, ruined chapels, remote churches and abandoned monasteries which are scattered throughout the countryside are commonly surrounded by old trees, groves or woodland.2 Such “Sacred Natural Sites” have survived through time due to the fact that local people paid religious respect to these areas and avoided disturbing them for their personal use with activities such as cutting timber, harvesting firewood or grazing their animals. These ecosystems were established and flourished during the Ottoman occupation (1479–1912) when communities, along with Church authorities, imposed controlled management in sacred forests through social taboos. Management, or in this case non-management, of these sacred groves created patches of undisturbed, old-growth woodland.