PROGRAMME

The European Wild Rabbit (WR) (Oryctolagus Cuniculus) had been introduced to Lemnos island, Greece many centuries ago. However, in the last few decades, there has been a systematic decline of human presence in the rural areas following agriculture abandonment and decreased WR hunting. These changes led to the WR overpopulation because humans are its main predators, which negatively affected farming production and the local rural economy. In this study, we estimated the distribution of the wild rabbits' impact on the agroecosystems of Lemnos, using the quantitative data from the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance Organization (ELGA). Based on an 11-year (period 2011-2021) spatiotemporal analysis of the damaged crop types, areas and compensation payments, annual maps of the wild rabbits’ impact were produced. Results showed that the northeast part of the island has been more affected by the WR overpopulation. There is a continuing increase in crop losses with local variances per year, except for a significant decline of WR impact for the period 2018-2019. The spatial analysis of the ELGA’s compensation time series could be a significant tool to understand the WR distribution and impact on rural areas, and furthermore to support environmental management solutions for the WR overpopulation problem of Lemnos island. The present research and the APC were funded by EPAnEk-NRSF 2014-2020; Operational Program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Call 111 “Support of Regional Excellence” in the context of the implementation of the program: AGRICA II: AGrifood Research and Innovation Network of ExCellence of the Aegean, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), MIS code: 5046750.