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Histories of Bioinvasions in the Mediterranean pp 195–217Cite as

The Forest on the Peninsula: Impacts, Uses and Perceptions of a Colonial Legacy in Cyprus

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Part of the book series: Environmental History ((ENVHIS,volume 8))

Abstract

Throughout history the values and meanings attached to habitats and species in particular places have seen considerable change. Such shifts in perspective are of particular relevance to the biology of invasions, with human attention and values often determining both the initial movement of species around the world, and the decision that subsequent independent spread should be considered damaging to the environment. This chapter examines such a case for the Akrotiri peninsula , Cyprus , where a particular colonial story about the degraded state of the environment, and the need to combat malaria , led to the introduction of various Australian trees for sanitation and other purposes. Today, some of these non-native species are considered invasive, and are having impacts on valued wetland habitats on the peninsula. We use archival research to investigate the changes in policy towards these habitats and the non-native species that affect them, and field research to describe the ecological context. Our study illustrates the complex interactions between ideas, practical aims, and values that lie behind the planned and invaded habitats at Akrotiri.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Vegetation scientists often use this hierarchical classification system for the description and naming of plant communities. Although these ‘syntaxonomic’ categories are “less crisply defined” (Mucina et al. 2016) than the taxonomic categories of genus, species etc., in Europe at least, the use of such systems is well established, and categories higher than the class (such as the alliance mentioned here) can provide a convenient means of indicating biogeographic, taxonomic and environmental similarities between communities. The Latinised names of these communities typically indicate key species and characteristics, as well as the level at which the category sits in the hierarchy (Kent 2012).

  2. 2.

    For more on the botanical networks that led to such species becoming part of the British colonial landscape see, amongst others, Barton (2002), Doughty (2000), and Grove (1995).

  3. 3.

    We use the word ‘casual’ here in the ecological sense of a plant that has successfully reproduced (either sexually or vegetatively), but that has not been observed to maintain its populations over longer periods (Richardson et al. 2000). That is to say, the species is not considered to be established (or naturalised, an oft-used synonym) in the area under consideration.

  4. 4.

    Note the potential for historic shifts between pastoralism and agriculture to have altered the epidemiology of the disease on the island.

  5. 5.

    The forest has also been known as the Limassol Salt Lake Plantation or Limassol Marsh Plantation, depending on the report.

  6. 6.

    If it was, the species was not a great success—it does not feature in Meikle (1977).

  7. 7.

    Note that by this date the reputation of certain eucalypts for malaria-related drainage schemes was well established, partly due to the apparent success of Trappist monks at Tre Fontane near Rome (Doughty 2000). Some sceptics remained, however (Doughty 2000), Dyer among them. In the letter cited here, Dyer also quotes Sir Joseph Hooker’s account of his recent visit to Tre Fontane, which is worth repeating here in full: “I made a point of going to ‘Tre Fontana,’ [sic.] the Trappist convent in the Campagna cured of fever by Eucalyptus! The fact is, it was inhabited by a few monks, who died off like flies. These were succeeded by the Trappists, who anon brought 500 acres under cultivation of all sorts, including a few Eucalyptus, now multiplied by thousands of mere seedlings. Of course the sanitary state of the locality improved at once. Nevertheless, no fewer than three died of fever there last year. The Government allows a gang of 80 convicts and a guard of soldiers to aid in cultivation; and this together with a subsidy depends for its continuance on the fever being kept down and Eucalyptus planted. So of course the monks attribute all to the gum trees, which seem to me to have grown wretchedly compared to what one sees in the Riviera. I saw very little Eucalyptus elsewhere and no good ones anywhere; the Campagna winters are too cold.” (House of Commons 1881, p. 107). Gaming bureaucratic systems is apparently not a mortal sin.

  8. 8.

    Presumably in early 1895, Michell’s report is dated May 15th, 1895.

  9. 9.

    At this point the British did not appear to distinguish the native P. brutia from the non-native halepensis.

  10. 10.

    ‘Propagule pressure’ is the term used by ecologists to denote the influence of the number of individuals on the likelihood of the successful establishment of a species in an area (Lockwood et al. 2009).

  11. 11.

    Following successful implementation of the strategy described by Aziz (1947), Cyprus was declared officially malaria free in 1950, with Mehmet Aziz styled as the ‘Great Liberator’ in the London press (Morgan 2010).

  12. 12.

    The information included was derived from a report written by the Conservator of Forests, L. Leontiades, so this absence could reflect a forester’s bias away from considering plantations as a threat, as much as a lack of spreading non-natives.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. S. Christodoulou, Simon Pooley, Chris Preston, Ana Isabel Queiroz and Ioannis Vogiatzakis for useful comments on the text. JOM and JMP thank COST Action TD1209 Alien Challenge for funding their Short Term Scientific Mission to Cyprus; we also thank this COST Action for funding image reproduction and licensing. OLP thanks NERC CEH Wallingford for a Learning & Development award to fund his participation, and A.-M. Catterall (Druce-Fielding Herbarium, University of Oxford) and H. Alexander (UK National Archives) for their assistance. We would also like to thank all of those who helped us at Akrotiri, including Capt. G. Bullivant (JSHU), P. Charilaou (AEEC), G. Hadjikyriakou, and N. Andreou (JSHU).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) Wallingford, Benson Lane, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK

    O. L. Pescott, J. M. Peyton & J. O. Mountford

  2. Eastern Michigan University, 900 Oakwood St., Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, USA

    S. E. Harris

  3. Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Splaiul Independentei Nr. 296, 060031, Bucharest, Romania

    M. Onete

  4. Joint Services Health Unit (JSHU), Akrotiri, Cyprus

    A. F. Martinou

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  1. O. L. Pescott
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  4. M. Onete
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Correspondence to O. L. Pescott .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IHC—Institute of Contemporary History, NOVA-FCSH, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ana Isabel Queiroz

  2. Department of Geography, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom

    Simon Pooley

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Pescott, O.L., Harris, S.E., Peyton, J.M., Onete, M., Martinou, A.F., Mountford, J.O. (2018). The Forest on the Peninsula: Impacts, Uses and Perceptions of a Colonial Legacy in Cyprus. In: Queiroz, A., Pooley, S. (eds) Histories of Bioinvasions in the Mediterranean. Environmental History, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74986-0_9

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