BUSINESS: 296 PRACTICES
Knauf Gypsopiia A.B.E.E. is a member of Knauf Group. Its industrial activity in Greece began in 1991 and since then produces and offers complete building systems for partitions, ceilings, plasters, floors, ETICS, insulation and other special building systems.
Read more: www.knauf.gr
The extraction of gypsum rock above ground always goes hand in hand with recultivation. That means that while gypsum is still being extracted at one end of the quarry, recultivation has already started at the other end. By working in this way, Knauf is able to keep the area of incision to a minimum. Like all quarry operators, we are legally obliged to recultivate the areas we work. In doing so, we frequently exceed the specifications laid down in legislation. Knauf attaches great importance to not leaving “scars in the countryside”.
The purpose of recultivation is to prepare the land for agricultural or forestry use. It requires the site to be made reusable as a “fruitful location” and the typical appearance of the countryside to be restored. This includes filling in the quarry, i.e. levelling the variations of elevation and returning the original soil (which has been professionally stored for later use). It can also include planting appropriate trees or sowing blends of grass and herb seeds.
Into the following description we display the report of the environmental recultivation of Amfilochia quarry made from the Quarries Group Director for Knauf.
Citizens of Aitoloakarnania region.
Since our establishment in Greece on 1991.
In October 2015 Geology Professor Matthias Reimann, who is responsible for the quarries of the Knauf Group, visited our factory in Amfilochia and prepared the following report on the environmental restoration of our quarry in Katouna. This report will be delivered to the Knauf family.
"For 25 years running the quarry of Katouna - located just a few kilometers away from the factory of Amfilochia - and so far have been mined three million tons of gypsum.
Several years ago, the works of environmental recovery started, with the upper part, where the operation was completed. Due to the steep terrain a natural inclination could not be formed after operations. For the safety on the slopes and for planting reasons soil has been used, that was transferred from far away and accumulated over the narrow steps. All area that was to be planted was fenced to protect young plants from sheep and goats living unattended in the region.
In this climate zone and under these conditions a reforestation can be successful only if the plants are irrigated on a continuous basis. For this reason, one borehole is opened at the bottom of the quarry and at the limits of a geologic irregualarity (where gypsum based layers end and limestone layers begin) from which water is pumped to a height of 170 meters, and is stored in a tank, which is located in the upper part of the quarry. From there, water is irrigated with a pipe network throughout the area of the seedlings for a period of 5 years.
The plants are bought from the Forest Service - each seedling costs from 1 to 4 €. Typical tree types for the area which are planted already are pine, cypress, acacia, privet, eucalyptus and poplar. Besides those, thousands of bushy plants are planted as well.
The land sown with clover, flowers resistant to drought and succulents. In sterile materials repository 500 trees were planted so far. Due to irrigation losses in seedlings are extremely low. Over time and due to soil erosion masses of soil and stones will landslide and will change the geometric image, which currently exists.
Another case of exemplary environmental restoration in Knauf Group. "
So far, our company has panted more than 27,000 plants in the non operated parts of the quarry.
Overall, the renaturalisation of gypsum quarries can lead to an increase in biodiversity in our intensively used cultural landscape. They also act as a refuge for particularly threatened species. Scientific studies show that an increase in biodiversity can materialise even in quarries still in operation. Quarries can thus act as “stepping stone biotopes” and make an important contribution towards connecting protected elements of the countryside, thereby bringing greater benefits to the conservation of nature than harm.
Katouna Aitoloakarnanias.
Strengthening of organization’s social activity due to the reuse of the former mining area exploited by the local community in the near future.
