A very interesting mosaic of natural vegetation and a good variety of more particular habitats surround the wetland of Psalidi. At least five main types of habitats are recognized belonging to the Appendix I of the 92/43/EEC directive regarding the conservation of natural habitats. The most common plant communities that are officially identified, are as follows: Sea-submerged Posidonia beds,

wet-meadows with rush (Juncus sp), Tamarisk associations with Tamarix smyrnensis, halophilous vegetation with Arthrocnemum spp., Halocnemum spp and Salicornia spp, reed-beds with Phragmites australis.

 

A variety of important animals are also present.  The avifauna should be especially mentioned, since it includes a good number of rare or threatened species. The Psalidi wetland serves as a vital stop-over for migratory birds such as the Grey Heron, the Squacco Heron, the Little Egret, the Purple Heron, the Night Heron, the Glossy Ibis, the Garganey, the Marsh Harrier, the Black-winged Stilt, the Ruff and the Wood Sandpiper. In addition, hundreds of ducks, coots and

flamingos winter in this wetland every year.  The flamingos appear in Psalidi in the autumn to feed upon planctonic crustacea and depart at the end of spring. It should be again pointed out that this very interesting wildlife does exist despite the fact of the intense development of the neighboring area.

 

The characteristics above, combined with the fact that this type of wetland is very rare around the broader archipelago, renders the wetland of Psalidi quite important.