Traditional vs contemporary management of Mediterranean vegetation: the case of the island of Crete V. P. PAPANASTASIS Abstract Mediterranean vegetation is very rich in plant species and vegetation types, highly complex and very vulnerable to human activities. In the past, management practices applied to Mediterranean ecosystems were moderate and resulted in an heterogeneous landscape where vegetation adapted itself and survived through millenia. In the last century though, and especially after World War II, human interventions and modern technology have disrupted the traditional agro-silvo-pastoral equilibrium and resulted in dramatic alterations of the environment including Mediterranean vegetation. Devastating forest wildfires and massive urbanization in coastal areas are only two prominent consequences of these recent developments. Two case studies on the island of Crete, one on the White Mountains where abandonment of the traditional human activities has led to fuel accumulation creating thus a great fire risk, and the other on the mountain Psilorites where intensification of the traditional livestock husbandry has led to land degradation and desertification, suggest that both under- and over- use of the Mediterranean vegetation has resulted in very homogenized and unstable landscapes. The only way to overcome these problems is to create heterogeneous landscapes by proper management of Mediterranean vegetation, so that mosaics are created and the man-nature equilibrium is restored.   < back .