Gavril Negrean

Globally and European Threatened Plants Present in Dobrogea (South-Eastern Romania)

The present work is the result of research carried out within the framework of IPAs project, a practical application of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (2002 Hague) in Romania. The data provided constitute a scientific basis support for enlargement of the national network of protected areas and for selection of Natura 2000 sites in Romania. A significant part is occupied by studies performed in Dobrogea. New information regarding 16 threatened taxa at Global (4 species) or European (12 species) level, that still occur in Dobrogea, are provided.

Neophytes In Protected Areas. Case Study: The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve

Abstract The Danube Delta is a relatively young territory, formed about 14,000 years ago. It has quadruple status: Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar site, UNESCO World Heritage site, Natura 2000 site. Water and human activities are the most important factors influencing the flora of this area, including the penetration and spread of alien plants. The main goal of our research in this area was to inventory the alien plants and to identify those species which are invasive and potentially invasive in the natural and semi-natural ecosystems in order to propose measures for their prevention and mitigation. An inventory of these plants, conducted between 2009 and 2012 and based on bibliography and field research, comprises over 160 taxa. About half of them originated from America and less than a quarter of them from Asia. A relatively high number of species have unknown status in the Danube Delta; they were reported only from one or two localities and we did not record them during our extensive field work. In this category we also included some taxa of Xanthium without a very clear taxonomy. The taxa recorded as casual are usually ornamental plants escaped from cultivation; however among them there are some species which are known as invasive in other areas of Romania, as well as in Europe. There are 26 naturalised species, two of which established here over one hundred years ago. 37 invasive species were identified, many of them recorded in natural or seminatural places. In order to prevent and mitigate the spread of plants recognised as invasive, we propose the implementation of some measures such as providing relevant information to local communities and raising awareness about the damages caused by the alien species, and promoting further research on alien plant species in this protected area.

The grasslands of the Dobrogea, Romania

This chapter describes the dry grassland vegetation of the Dobrogea region, which is significant for the Steppe and Pontic bio-geographical zones of Romania. Romania is covered by five bio-geographical zones: Continental, Pannonian, Alpine, Steppic and Pontic. Natural and semi-natural grasslands in Romania form a group of habitat types for the diversity of plants and other organisms. Grasslands cover about 14% of the Romanian territory. Of the more than 4000 species and subspecies of higher plants of Romania 60% are associated with grasslands: alpine and subalpine grasslands, mountain pastures and meadows, psammophile, halophile and xerophile steppe, sandy dry grasslands, continental halophilous swards and rush meadows. Between 2000 and 2003, a semi-natural grassland mapping project was developed in Romania to develop the classification system to identify the existing grassland diversity in Romania, to evaluate their deterioration, vulnerability, conservation value and to develop management recommendations, accessible for governmental conservation bodies and scientists.Keywords: Dobrogea dry grassland vegetation; Romania; semi-natural grassland mapping project