Kritou Terra has been blessed with a very rich natural environment, which is linked to the distinctiveness of its ground, to the rich water springs and to its altitude which reaches a height of 630 metres. As Arkadiou remarks, Kritou Terra, in comparison to the other communities, always maintained dense vegetation that one can encounter both in mountainous and lowland areas.

The rivers and other sources of irrigation
The community is horizontally crossed by four rivers which start from the south and flow towards the north, whereas in the past, these rivers flowed throughout the year, this way establishing many areas as irrigable. After all, it is due to this reason that all species of flora one can encounter in the natural environment of our island also flourish in the area. 

At the north side of the community, where there used to be constant irrigation from the “Kefalovrysos” springs, as well as from the spring of “Dialous”, the cultivations which flourished were quite different and were mainly covered by a dense vegetation of the Cyprus walnut tree and other fruit baring trees such as orange, mandarin, fig, prickly pear, peach, pear, apple, hazel and lemon trees. The crops of these trees, the delicious fruits of Kritou Terra, were also trade products. At the same time, this area was used for planting other kinds of fruit and vegetables which were destined for private consumption.    

Cultivations  
The cultivations of Kritou Terra can be divided into four areas:  

• Located southeast of the village is the area with the vine and tree cultivations, which is mainly covered by almond trees.    
• Located southwest are pieces of land which were mainly used for seeding grains and other similar cultivations, as well as tree cultivations, mainly almond trees and partly carob and olive trees. 
• The northeast areas were mainly cultivated for seeding, whereas the largest part of these areas was covered by carob and orange trees.
• Located at the northwest area are grain cultivations, tree cultivations consisting mainly of olive cultivations, almond trees and a few carob trees.

Wildvegetationandfauna
It must be stressed that there is a great variety of wild vegetation in the areas of the community which includes terebinth and styrax bushes, a great range of wild flowers and wild trees such as the Cyprus Oak, the cotton wood, the platan, the cypress, as well as many reeds which flourish due to the rich water resources. 

Both the morphology of the ground and the natural environment of the community areas favour, as Arkadiou notes, the growth of the fauna. Kritou Terra has a very rich fauna and more specifically, in our community one can find all species of birds and reptiles of our island.

Unfortunately, however, fires which destroy the wild vegetation and fauna of our community break out quite often. The most common causes for the breaking out of these fires are reckless hunters and the gradual abandonment of the community.  

Source:
Savvas Arkadiou