Action C2.1: Automatic monitoring and early warning systems

The Cave of Lakes-Kastria (Special Conservation Area GR1130008) is the first cave in Greece whose abiotic environment is monitored for a long time.  From October 2023 until today, an automatic monitoring system records and transmits real-time data on the environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, etc.) inside and outside the cave and monitors through cameras some key places where chiroptera gather near the natural entrance. The system was designed and installed in the framework of the LIFE GRECABAT project "Greek Caves and Bats: Management Actions and Change of Attitude" (LIFE17 NAT/GR/000522, Action C2). It consists of a weather station outside the cave (Station 1), four automatic recorders of abiotic parameters along the cave (Stations 2 to 5), two infrared cameras inside the cave, near the physical entrance (Fig. 1 & 2), and an automatic counter of incoming/outgoing visitors.