Mihai Răzvan Niţă

Land use consequences of the evolution of cemeteries in the Bucharest Metropolitan Area

The uncontrolled development of built-up areas determines the inclusion of peripheral and ex-urban land uses inside the settlements. In the present study, we investigated the geographic differences in the rate of land conversion to cemetery areas, considered as peripheral areas, from the Bucharest Metropolitan Area. Using geospatial data about the cemeteries and their adjacent land uses, we evaluated the spatial changes of cemeteries at LAU2 (Local Administrative Units level 2) level (i.e. municipalities, cities, communes). Between 1975 and 2008, we observed an increase in the number of cemeteries with a surface area of 100.8 ha, mainly in areas with poor environmental quality in proximity of Bucharest city. Cemeteries tend to become common land uses within the built-up areas, occupying increasing surface areas (up to 3.5%), with important consequences, especially in areas close to Bucharest city. Cemeteries are a good example of peripheral land use, characterised by a permanent impact on human settlements. The inclusion of peripheral land uses inside the settlements promotes urban sprawl, favours inefficient strategic planning and generates new land use interactions. An increase in the management efficiency of peripheral land uses can alleviate negative interactions and favour sound planning options for the sustainability of settlements.

Analysing Landscape Fragmentation and Classifying Threats for Habitats of Community Interest in the “Iron Gates” Natural Park (Romania)

Abstract Our study aims at evaluating the ecological impact of landscape fragmentation, identifying, and classifying the threats affecting habitats of community interest in the “Iron Gates” Natural Park. We used landscape metrics for assessing the fragmentation process, results expressing decreases in the values of three metrics (MPS, ED, SDI) and increases for two metrics (NumP and IJI). We observed an insignificant increase in landscape fragmentation related to a reduced decrease of its landscape diversity for the 1990-2006 timeframe. We classified the main anthropic threats to habitats of community interest in three main categories: diversification and densification of buildings and transportation infrastructures, land use and industrial activities.

Spatial and Temporal Dynamic of Rural and Urban Landscapes Identified in the “Iron Gates” Natural Park

Abstract In the present paper, we identified landscape typologies in the “Iron Gates” Natural Park from Romania and assessed their dynamic starting with 1990 to 2006. We evaluated the dynamic of landscapes based on land use and land covers changes as extracted from the Corine Land Cover databases. We found no major modifications in the distribution of landscapes, only 4.4% of the study area recording changes. Forestry landscapes have the highest ratio of change (on 1.5% from the total surface of the park), with significant decreases also recorded in landscapes of shrub and rare vegetation, as well as mixed agricultural landscapes. Among the active transformation processes, forestation (on 45% of the modified surface) and agricultural activities (20%) recorded the highest distribution.