Project title: I Protect the Forest! I Protect My City!

Team: Forest Observers

7th Gymnasium of Thessaloniki   Thessaloniki   Greece   70 Student’s age: 14-15 years old

Is the city of Thessaloniki at risk due to the degradation of its suburban forest and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena?

The city of Thessaloniki borders on the northeast side with a suburban forest of coniferous trees covering an area of approximately 30,000 acres. However, in recent decades the forest has shown signs of decline. In July 1997, it suffered an ecological disaster as 55% of its total area (16,640 acres) was burned. Since then, it has been largely reforested, but various pressures on the forest ecosystem continue to be observed, such as frequent wildfires, a significant volume of waste from visitors to the forest, and a trend of expansion of settlements outside the designated areas. Furthermore, due to the prolonged energy crisis, illegal logging is sometimes reported. Additionally, many streams are neglected and unable to safely channel large amounts of water. Finally, since 2017, a large number of trees have been affected by the bark beetle Tomicus piniperda, causing them to dry out and requiring their compulsory felling to save healthy parts of the forest.

All of these factors are assumed to significantly degrade the health of the urban forest, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the flora (sick trees, reduced density of conifers, deforested areas). At the same time, there are more frequent periods of drought interrupted by days of intense rainfall, sometimes accompanied by flooding that endangers the lives and properties of citizens.

The environmental problem we examined concerns the condition of the flora in the urban forest of Thessaloniki and the amount of rainfall that our region has received in recent years. We investigated whether the forest’s ability to protect the city from intense rainfall has decreased, resulting in an increased risk of flooding in the urban area.

We mainly studied changes in flora due to fires that occurred in the last 30 years. Their detection was done using satellites from the EO Browser. From the fire incidents we identified, we found that the most destructive fire happened in 1997 and burned 50% of the forest. Since then, the forest has largely recovered, but in the last 10 years we have had more frequent fire incidents, especially near the Thessaloniki ring road, which passes through the forest (Image 1). These events may possibly be linked to periods of increased drought in combination with the constantly increasing traffic on the ring road (negligence of drivers who throw cigarettes on the pavement).

At the same time, we measured the amount of rainfall in our city. The students built rain gauges and recorded their measurements. For the study of rainfall in previous years, we collected data from the website https://meteosearch.meteo.gr/. From the relevant diagrams we created, we concluded that at least for the last 4 years there is a trend of increasing frequency of heavy rainfall (Image 2).

Regarding the degradation that the forest suffered due to the attack of the bark beetle in the years 2016-2018, it was not possible to observe the effects through EO Browser satellites, as the infestations were on scattered trees and could not be detected by the supported analysis. However, we visited the forest and observed degraded vegetation areas due to both the insect and fires.

Our research concludes that the quality of the vegetation in the Thessaloniki forest is relatively good, and therefore it retains the ability to protect the city during heavy rainfall for the time being. However, fire incidents are frequent, and we are at risk of losing this shield of protection.

Students can participate in various activities to protect the environment and improve the image of the neighboring forest. Some ideas that can be adopted include:

1. In cooperation with local authorities, a forest cleanup campaign can be organized. The goal will be to remove the waste and garbage that have been left in the forest.
2. Planting new trees or taking care of existing trees in the forest in cooperation with the forestry department and the municipality.
3. Organizing educational programs on the environment and biodiversity, including presentations, activities, and visits to the forest.
4. Creating signs and posters that reinforce awareness for the protection of the forest and biodiversity.
5. Creating educational videos or podcasts on the protection of the forest and biodiversity.
6. Creating videos or signs to raise awareness of drivers traveling on the Thessaloniki peripheral road so that they do not throw cigarettes and garbage from their cars.

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