A Mediterranean Natura 2000 forest site in central Cyprus protecting pine woodland, phrygana, and rich birdlife.
Dasos Stavrovouniou
Dasos Stavrovouniou is a protected natural area of nearly 1,930 hectares located in central Cyprus, recognized as a Site of Community Importance and a Special Protection Area under the European Natura 2000 network. The site lies within the Mediterranean ecoregion and is centered on the hill country around the Stavrovouni area, giving the protected zone its name and its character of rocky slopes, shrubland, and Mediterranean pine forest.
The area combines several distinct habitat types typical of the eastern Mediterranean: thermo-Mediterranean shrublands, phrygana communities dominated by Sarcopoterium spinosum, eastern Mediterranean scree, siliceous rocky cliffs with chasmophytic vegetation, Olea and Ceratonia forests, and Mediterranean pine forests rich in endemic mesogean pines. This habitat mosaic supports a notably diverse bird fauna and gives the site its principal conservation value.
Designated as a bird Special Protection Area in December 2002, Dasos Stavrovouniou is most significant for its role in protecting breeding, migrating, and wintering bird populations in Cyprus. Beyond birds, the site also shelters endemic invertebrates, plants, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles, making it a compact but ecologically rich protected area within the broader Natura 2000 system.
