Lifelong Learning Programme

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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Geographical Areas

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GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS

NAME OF THE LOCAL AREA
Kerkini Lake (1st GEL Kilkis)
COUNTRY
Greece
CITY
Kilkis
THEMATIC AREA
Geography, Chemistry, Biology, Geology
DESCRIPTION OF THE LOCAL AREA
Kerkini Lake and its wider territory of Kroussia – Belles, belongs to the region of Local Community’s Importance. Kerkini Lake is 40 km away from Serres and 35 km from Kilkis. It is one of the ten most important wetlands of Greece which are designated as Ramsar wetland and belongs to the European Network of “Natura 2.000”. It is an earthly paradise which is a result of human intervention.
Kerkini was created in 1932 to restrain the water of Strymona river which emanates from the Boulgarian mountains and falls in the lake. Many years later it was used to store water in order to irrigate the valley of Serres. There is a rich ecosystem in the wider territory with rare Floral and Fauna species. There are over 600.000 acres of arable land which is irrigated directly or indirectly from the lake.
In the diverse natural environmental of Kerkini have been registered more than 620 plant species. Furthermore, many ecosystems can be detected, thus the region has remarkable hypoalpine zone across Kerkini mountain. Some Flora’s species which are thriving for example are marsilea, water chestnuts, noufaro, yarrow e.c.t.
The lake presents a variety of animals, fish, amphibian, mammals (jackal, wolf, wild cat, otter, ferret), invertebrates and many interesting species of centipedes, chiliopodarouses and a kind of scorpion. In the area around the lake have been recorded about 300 kinds of birds. The silver pelican and the pygmy cormorant that live there, endangered species. There are a lot of rare birds of prey like the golden eagle, the imperial eagle and the redbreast, while the land is a unique research field when it comes the wetlands and their management.

PICTURES

The location of Kerkni lake Kerkini lake is located in Serres city ,53 kilometres northwest from the center of Serres and 95 kilometres from Thessaloniki. The access to the lake is simple especially with a car because from both of two cities Kerkini and Theessaloniki there are two roads approaching the location.From Thessaloniki you can reach to the lake via to district road Thessaloniki-Kilkis-Serres or via to the national road Thessaloniki-Serres from Strimonas crossroad left turn for Kerkini lake. From Serres you can go either from district road Serres-Kilkis or through the national road Serres-Thessaloniki. In contrast with the car,the access with the bus is not so pleasant.From Serres there is connection through Sidirokastro but only in morning .Also from Thessaloniki there are 4 routes in the morning for the east side of the area.The rail connection of the area is substandard.From Serres to Thessaloniki and the opposite are realizing two routes.The first one is Intercity train and it stops only in Rodoupoli and Sidirokastro.The second one stops at all stations for the service of the areas settlements.
CREATION OF THE LAKE Lake Kerkini is situated 45 km. west of Serres, near the village Lithotopos. The current artificial lake Kerkini, is located in the \"Boutkovou\" ,which identified by most researchers of historical geography of Eastern Macedonia, with ancient Prasias lake. The river Strymon, was worshiped as a god in ancient times for the generous donations of its water in Serres plain, but for the devastating power when flooded, entered in Greece, coming from Bulgaria, the Strait of Ruppel and, before uniting content with the waters of the Gulf Strymonikos, rested on the lake Kerkini, the creation was intended to halt the flooding, retention of sediments and the irrigation of the plain of Serres The pond creation project started in 1928 and completed in 1936. These projects included the creation of embankments, the construction of a dam, draining the lake Achinos, creating irrigation canals, ditches the network construction and arrangement of streams, in order to increase and simultaneously to protect agricultural production, which as the main economic activity of Serres directly depends on the ability of water resource of Kerkini Lake. Over the years, the lake\'s capacity was limited by the debris of the Struma River and so in 1982 a new dam was built, with new mounds, which increased the surface of the lake seasonally from 54,000 up to 72,000 acres, with a periodic variation in the level of + 32 m up to the + 36 m. The increasing water level from 1991 tipped the balance and the cluster of various species and flora and fauna began to shrink the years after.
Nymphaeaceae Αccording to the old hydrological situation, especially before the dam’s operation, at the north-western edge of the lake there were few nymphaeaceae in altitude from 30.4 to 31.5 meter. Furthermore, they managed to occupy an area about 3.300 acres. After 1991, the area which they occupied was starting to be decreasing and it reached about 480 acres in 1996, 5 acres in 2003 and finally they are considered as endangered species. Firstly, this reduction depends on the 0.5 m rise of the maximum water level. Secondly, the fact that the water level maintains in a high level, during the period of the plants’ growth. Last but not least, the large and abrupt rises of the water level. Due to the large provision of the water, especially in spring, plants can not follow this rise. The right management of the water would be definitely the best way to solve this problem, contributing to the growth and the development of plants and generally of the whole area.
Andrea Cinerea, Radiceps Cristatus, Anser Erythropus, Phalacrocorax Carbo, Merops apiaster Andrea Cinerea (the great heron) is a bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, in Greece. This kind of bird lives in each and every wetland and in every kind of shallow waters that are both stable and fluid. Its nest is a platform of thick branches that are often reused during consecutive years. Radiceps Cristatus (the great crested grebe) is an aquatic bird of the Pigodidon family, in Greece. In the majority of its population the bird is extremely migrating. It breeds from April to September, nesting either alone or in pairs. Anser Erythropus is a migrating bird which winters in Lake Kerkini. Phalacrocorax Carbo (the great cormorant) is a large bird; it has a long tail and a white chin and usually lives near the sea, lagoon and rivers. Merops apiaster (bee-eaters) are a group of birds in the family Meropidae. They are distinctive for their colorful wings, long and narrow body and long wings in their tails. This group of birds lives and breeds in tropical and subtropical areas. The population of these birds has been reduced because of the lake’s low level which led to the shortage of food for the birds and also due to the destruction of the reeds which led to the incapacity of creating nests. For this reason men created artificial platforms so that the birds can build nests.
Lesser White Fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) The Lesser White Fronted Goose is the rarest and most endangered goose of Europe. In Lake Kerkini winters from two to four months after their trip.It looks like white fronted goose which is the most popular specie in Greece.Most of the times are among flocks of geese. The way to distinguish between an adult Lesser White Fronted Goose and an adult white fronted goose is that they are smaller in size, the neck is shorter and darker brown and the head is square and evenly brown. On the other hand, the beak is small and triangular, bright pink while the white area at the base of the beak and forehead extends higher toward the top of the head and has a bright yellow ring around the eye.The disappearance due to illegal hunting, degradation of habitats parking, in disturbance by human activities and other negative reasons in nesting area. The strict laws prohibiting human activities and illegal hunting could be the base for the solution. In conclusion, with the assistance of volunteers, the state interest and by placing electronic detectors to the Lesser White Fronted Goose would make their course and their stay safer.
Stones of Lake Kerkini In the region of Lake Kerkini, there is a wide range of geological fossils. The rocks of the area consist of transformed stones (formed during the Paleozoic period), into which plutonic has penetrated (formed during the Cenozoic period). The dominant stones, round the lake Kerkini, are gneisses, schists, migmatites, ophiolites and amphibolites. The lowland area consists of sedimentary rocks which come either from deposits of river and streams of the region or marine sediments formed in earlier geological periods (Miocene - Pliocene – Quaternary).The picture we send you depicts the findings of our research in the area of the lake Kerkini.
Lesser White Fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) The Lesser White Fronted Goose is the rarest and most endangered goose of Europe. In Lake Kerkini winters from two to four months after their trip.It looks like white fronted goose which is the most popular specie in Greece.Most of the times are among flocks of geese. The way to distinguish between an adult Lesser White Fronted Goose and an adult white fronted goose is that they are smaller in size, the neck is shorter and darker brown and the head is square and evenly brown. On the other hand, the beak is small and triangular, bright pink while the white area at the base of the beak and forehead extends higher toward the top of the head and has a bright yellow ring around the eye.The disappearance due to illegal hunting, degradation of habitats parking, in disturbance by human activities and other negative reasons in nesting area. The strict laws prohibiting human activities and illegal hunting could be the base for the solution. In conclusion, with the assistance of volunteers, the state interest and by placing electronic detectors to the Lesser White Fronted Goose would make their course and their stay safer.

VIDEO

A view of the Lake Kerkini.....

Initially, we chose Lake Kerkini as the most important wetland of our region (Kilkis-Central Macedonia-Greece), which is protected by the network, Natura 2000. On April 11th 2016, the students of the program Erasmus+, visited the region of Lake Kerkini and: -Adopted a part of the Lakeshore -Watched and Recognised some of the endemic bird species -Studied the Vegetation -Pictured human intervention -Studied the quality of the lake’s water and -Comprehended the value of the wetland