The Titarisios is a river in Thessaly, Greece. It is a major tributary of the Pineios. The river begins at the western slopes of Mount Olympus and flows southwest, then south. It leaves the mountains near the villageSykia, and turns east near the villageVlachogianni. It passes along the townTyrnavos and flows into the Pineios near the village Rodia. The confluence is at 65 m above sea level. Its total length is 70 km, and for most of its length it contains water throughout the year. The vegetation along the river is characterised by reeds, mainly the Phragmites australis, and by wetland forest with trees like plane trees, willows and poplars. According to the classification system of wetland types of the Ramsar Convention adopted in 1999, the Titarisios river falls into the category of inland wetlands. The river is currently primarily used for irrigation, although this has been declining recently. Major construction projects have caused drastic changes to the wetlands. The wetlands of the Titarisios are threatened by uncontrolled waste disposal, for instance near the villages Rodia, Vryotopos and Deleria. Around 3 km from Argyroupoli is Lake Mati Tyrnavou. Mati is today the only natural lake in Thessaly and although it has only a small area it is the core of an ecosystem with richflora and fauna.
Plants
Several types of vegetation are found along the river Titarisios:
reed vegetation, e.g. Arundo donax and Phragmites australis
halophytic and hemihalophytic vegetation, e.g. Juncusmaritimus, Salicornia herbacea and Chenopodium bonus-henricus
dune vegetation, e.g. Salsola kali, Amaranthus retroflexus and Portulaca oleracea
wetland forest vegetation, e.g. Populus nigra, Platanus orientalis, Populus alba, Ulmus minor and Salix alba
wet meadow vegetation, e.g. Mentha longifolia and various species of Trifolium
garrigue vegetation, represented by various species of Euphorbia
Fish
Specific studies of the fish in the Titarisios river have not been done, but 37 species of fish have been reported, and another 11 species are presumed present. Due to its connection to sea via the Pineios, the Titarisios also contains migratory fish like the Acipenser sturio and Alosa fallax. Also the Nemacheilus barbatulus and the Sabanejewia aurata balcanica have been found.
