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The surface of Argeş’ County forest fund is of 117.212 ha, from which 114.285 ha are covered by forests and 2.927 ha by other fields. The area has a mountain climate in the North part, a hill one in the middle part and a field one in the South part. 51 game funds are present here, amounting to a surface of 641.933 ha. The main game species from this county are: bear, common deer, chamois, roebuck, wild boar, rabbit, marmot, capercaillie, pheasant, badger, fox, marten, ferret, and weasel. 8 species (bear, common deer, wild boar, capercaillie, roebuck, fox and pheasant) were chosen and classified based on 19 criteria with the help of an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and with the Expert Choice Desktop software package. As such, the most important species resulting from the analytical hierarchy (AHP) are the common deer and the wild boar, and the least important are the capercaillie and the fox.

Bihor County is renowned for the quantity and quality of the non-wood forest products (NWFPs) harvested over time. Even if the potential of marketing of NWFPs is high, the focus is on timber production, that represents the main source of revenue for the forest owners. The aim of this research was to highlight the most important NWFPs from Bihor County. Four categories of NWFPs and nineteen criteria proposed within the FP1203 COST Action European non-wood forest products network were taken into account. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to evaluate the performance of selected alternatives by means of pairwise comparisons. The analyses were performed by using the Expert Choice Desktop software package. The non-wood forest products with the highest potential for Bihor County were the truffles (Tuber spp.) and the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L.), while the less important ones were the flowers of the black elder (Sambucus nigra L.) and bear’s garlic (Allium ursinum L.). Based on the results of this study, we conclude that Bihor County has a great potential for NWFPs mainly due to its great biodiversity as regards the forest ecosystems.

Protective shelterbelts in agricultural fields are pivotal for expanding agroforestry systems in Romania. However, the current state of shelterbelts in the country is not as good as it used to be six decades ago. The decline is attributed to deforestation in the latter half of the previous century and a combination of limited investments and bureaucratic hurdles. The objective of this study was to gauge the perceptions of the public in Romania regarding the necessity and significance of field protective shelterbelts. A questionnaire comprising ten open and closed questions was created using Google Forms, primarily focusing on the roles of key stakeholders in this domain. The survey was disseminated on the "Pădurile din România" Facebook page, resulting in a collection of 319 responses over a three-day period (December 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2023). The participants in the survey also provided several valuable proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, in Romania special attention was given to the culture of Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.), a species originating from North America, whose berries are very appreciated both for their nutritional and medicinal values. The aim of this study was to highlight the yield of a culture installed in Bărzani Farm, Arad county, Romania. The plants were produced in 2012 from seeds originating from Alberta (Canada). In the first two growing seasons the plants were kept into a nursery and specific treatments were applied. In Autumn 2013, the plants were transferred to two experimental plots, with a total area of 0.74 hectares, and a 3 m x 1 m planting scheme was adopted (i.e. 3 meters between the rows and 1 meter between the plants in the same row). Starting with 2018 different fertilizers were applied and soil analysis were performed. In most of the cases as regards the main micro- and macro-elements from the soil increasing trends were recorded thanks to the applied fertilizers. As regards the harvested quantities in the last five growing seasons, they grew from 1,250 kg (in 2018) to 6,800 kg (in 2022), meaning that, on average, each plant produced from 0.5 kg (in 2018) up to 2.7 kg (in 2022). The results recorded in the two experimental plots from Bărzani Farmrepresent an important step in the breeding program of this species in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania has a great tradition in afforestation of diverse categories of lands, including the degraded terrains. Afforestation projects are made in accordance with the technical norms approved by normative acts. In the last two decades, even if there were hundreds of afforestation projects, the forested area didn't increase significantly. This was mainly due to the fact that the targeted areas were small and due to the very bureaucratic process. In the perspective of upcoming funds from the European Union, through the dedicated component of the Romanian Recovery and Resilience Plan, it is expected that an area of 56.700 hectares of diverse lands, other that the ones already included in the national forest fund, would be forested until 2026. In this perspective, several reforms and investments are planned. Among them, a greater flexibility of the normative acts is envisaged, especially for lands situated outside the forest fund. In this context, the present paper analyzed the proposals contained in the afforestation technical norms corresponding to group no. 121, by introducing additional criteria. In AHP, three scenarios were considered. Out of the six species recommended by the technical norms, Tree of Heaven and black locust proved to be the most preferred species for afforestation of household dumps consisting of demolition materials mixed with organic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since centuries, the collecting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) represented one of the main human activities. Initially, the forest products were used in nutrition and traditional medicine, but with the development of society, they became significant sources for different industry branches. Romania has a long history and tradition in harvesting and using NTFPs, hundreds of species being of great interest nowadays. Along the Romanian Carpathians and their nearby territories, several communities are very active in collecting, processing and marketing of NTFPs. The aim of this study was to assess the collecting and marketing potential of NTFPs in Horezu locality (Vâlcea County). The methodology consisted in a questionnaire with 11 questions that was applied in one hundred households across Horezu during April 2020. Collecting of NTFPs represents a current activity, a high share of the inhabitants being interested in obtaining additional income for their family by selling the products either raw or processed. Due to the tourist potential of Horezu, the local people are motivated to collect considerable quantities of certain NTFPs, such as edible mushrooms, wild berries and medicinal plants. The diversification and the intensification of collecting and trading of NTFPs should be done in a sustainable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, forest management is focused on wood harvesting and marketing, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) having a low importance. Even so, across the country there are more than three hundred fifty NWFPs of interest, forest fruits, mushrooms and truffles, forest seeds, game products, fish from the mountainous water, honey and tree saps being among the most common ones. The main aim of this study was to highlight the economic contribution of NWFPs of animal origin to the turnover of the forest districts in Romania. Secondly, the potential of these products was assessed by using an Analytical Hierarchy Process implemented in Expert Choice Desktop software. By using a set of eight criteria, game products proved to be more promising in comparison with honey and fish from the waters included in the national forest fund. On average, NWFPs of animal origin have a very low (less than 1%) contribution to the turnover of the forest districts in Romania. The brief multi-decision analysis could represent an alternative for the forest managers aimed at highlighting the best alternative in a chosen scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbaria provide useful information for studies related to anatomy, morphology, systematics and taxonomy of plants. In Romania, sixteen herbaria collections exist, the one hosted by "Marin Drăcea" National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry being among them. The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of the representatives of genus Acer of "Alexandru Beldie" Herbarium (Code: BUCF). Each sample provided the following information: the scientific and popular names of the species, the taxonomic classification of the species, the place of collection, the date of collection, summary data about the biotope of the harvested plant and the name of the person who collected the plant. Every sample was evaluated and the degree of conservation was assessed. 333 paper sheets and thirty one taxa belonging to genus Acer were sampled. The collection contains several subspecies and varieties of some of the most common maple species across Romania (e.g. field maple), and also some rare species native to China or Japan. The vast majority of samples are in a good conservation phase, representing a valuable database for future interdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, in the last years, an increasing attention is given to the afforestation of degraded lands. According to recent statistics, across the country there are more than two million hectares of degraded terrains. In most of the cases, the afforestation works are carried out by specialized units and the projects are monitored by the territorial branches of the ministry responsible for forestry (i.e. Forest Guards). The afforestation projects are done based on the technical norms issued by the ministry responsible for forestry (i.e. Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests). For each type of degraded land, situated in a certain region, one, two or even more alternatives regarding the usage of specific tree and shrub species are proposed. The aim of this study was to highlight the best afforestation solution (i.e. the most suitable allochthonous tree species) of the salt-affected terrains as they are described in the Technical Norms regarding the compositions, schemes and technologies for forest regeneration and afforestation of degraded lands. The best alternative resulted by using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), that took into account five allochthonous species and ten criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some aspects in the case of extracting wood with horses, insisting on its economic aspects. Three felling areas from production units P.U. V and P.U. VI, Marghita Forest District, Bihor Forest Administration were chosen. The areas included hygienic cuttings, thinning cuttings and progressive fellings, with small volumes of the average trees to allow extraction with horses. The logging costs were determined and then they were compared in different situations according to the share of extraction method by horses, respectively the traditional extraction by winches. The importance of determining unit rates to be grouped into group norms, centralized under the form of tables, with multiple inputs to estimate the logging costs as easily and accurately as possible was also highlighted. Thus, grouped norms have been drawn up for situations/variants of extraction by horses which render the unit costs in different situations. Three major factors that significantly influence the logging costs when using horses were identified, namely: the volume of the average tree, the degree of accessibility and the extraction distance by horses. The logging method has little influence, theoretically, but the cutting of large trees must be performed to facilitate the work by horses in the forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truffle picking and hunting are two forest-related activities able to steer hot disputes over the forest sustainability. The reason is simple: hunting and truffle picking, at the same time and within the same forest, may cause deadly accidents. Across Europe, there are several countries with long tradition in picking truffles and hunting, such as Italy, France or Spain, but the legal framework regarding these doings differ from country to country. The goal of this study was to highlight the overlapping between the picking intervals of the main truffle species with the hunting periods of the most common wildlife species of hunting interest across Romania. In addition, for some of the most common game species, the assessed population size was also presented. Data regarding the assessed population size of the wildlife species was centralized from the website of the central authority responsible for wildlife management. In case of truffles, data contained by recently published scientific papers and information available on specialized and popular websites from Romania were compiled in order to figure the picking periods across the year. In general, the harvesting seasons of the truffles is overlapping in October, November and December, when the hunting is permitted for most of the game species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, the afforestation projects of degraded terrains are carried out in accordance with the technical norms issued by the ministry responsible for forest management. According to recent statistics, across the country there is a significant area of different types of degraded lands, more than 0.4 million hectares being affected by wind erosion. The goal of this study was to highlight the best afforestation alternative for the sandy soils across Oltenia and Carei Plains, corresponding to ecological group number 93 of the Technical Norms regarding the compositions, schemes and technologies for forest regeneration and afforestation of degraded lands. The best alternative resulted by using an Analytic Hierarchy Process, that took into account eight criteria. The combination between black locust and bird cherry proved to be the best choice. The significant area of sandy soils across Romania, but especially the lands from Oltenia and Carei Plains should be regarded rather as an opportunity to increase the forest fund through afforestation than a problem for the local communities and national economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) represents one of the most common certification schemes in forestry worldwide. The aim of this paper was to highlight the profile of the FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certified veneer companies from Romania. Data available in January 2019 on the official website of FSC (i.e.www.info.fsc.org) were taken into consideration. Based on the official records, at the beginning of 2019, 43 organizations based in Romania had a FSC CoC certificate for the product category W7 Veneer, most of them being located in the central and western parts of the country. As regards the certification bodies active in Romania, more than half of the valid FSC CoC certificates were issued only by two, namely Soil Association Certification Limited (SA) and SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS). By taking into consideration the worldwide demand of certified veneers, it is expected that this sector would gain an increasing attention in the future, meaning that more and more resources should be allocated, including specialized people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the importance of the forest soils started to gain an increasing attention both among forest specialists, policy makers and other stakeholders. This is mainly due to their importance for humanity, being the base for assuring several forest products and services. Since the 1980s, the Romanian soil specialists developed several soil taxonomy systems, based on the developments and data acquired at a certain moment. Knowing the type of the soil and its characteristics is crucial also for the foresters, for a sustainable forest management point of view. The aim of this study was to highlight the main characteristics of the forest soils across Getic Piedmont. Data from the forest management plans of twelve forest district that are responsible for managing the forests across the region were taken into account. The main representatives of Luvisols Class accounted for three quarters of the forest soils. In general, the characteristics of the forest soils are favorable for mixed-oak forest stands. In the future, special attention should be given to preserving the forests composed by autochthonous species, in order to maintain the fertility of the forest soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PEFC is one of the most common certification schemes in forestry worldwide. The aim of this paper was to highlight the profile of the PEFC Chain of Custody certified companies from Romania. Data available in December 2018 on the official website of PEFC were taken into consideration. Until present, 43 PEFC CoC certified companies were recorded in Romania, more than half holding an individual certificate. The certified companies are located in fifteen counties plus Bucharest, one quarter of them being based in the capital city. 60% of the valid CoC certificates in Romania were issued only by two certification bodies. As regards the product category, the number of the companies involved in paper-related activities is almost equal with the companies acting in wood industry. Even though Romania is a country well known for its forest resources and its wood industry, PEFC certification is not very well represented. But, by taking into account that PEFC national certification system was endorsed in midsummer 2018, it might happen very soon that PEFC (both FM and CoC) will gain more interest in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, the hunting is permitted for 18 mammal species (Law no. 407/2006), fallow deer (Dama dama L.) and red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) being among the most common species of hunting interest. The aim of this study was to analyze the data provided by the central public authority responsible for hunting activity for the hunting seasons starting from 2014-2015 until present regarding the approved annual quotas for fallow deer and red deer. In the case of the red deer, Harghita, Mureş and Suceava were among the counties with the highest approved quotas and with the highest numbers of realized quotas by the foreign hunters. The highest approved quotas for fallow deer were recorded in Arad and Timiş counties, respectively. We believe that these results would be useful for those managers of the hunting associations who would like to develop additional programs and services targeting the foreign hunters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical, physical and biological characteristics of forest soils are very important for foresters especially for assessing the capacity of forest sites for timber production. More and more foresters started to take into consideration the relation between the forest soils, the tree layer composition and the silvicultural measures in order to find the best combination from a sustainable development point of view. The aim of this study was to realize a description of the forest soils from Prahova County. The data for the timeframe 1988-2012 from the forest management plans of the eight state-owned forest districts within Prahova Forestry Directorate were taken into account. The most common forest soils across Prahova County were the eutric cambisol, the dystric cambisol and the luvisol. By taking into account the values of the pH and soil base saturation, two of the most relevant chemical characteristics of forest soils, we can say that the forest sites with eutric cambisols and luvisols provide the optimum conditions for the development of beech and Norway spruce. In order to conserve or to increase the chemical characteristics of the forest soils to an optimum level, future silvicultural measures should be focused on promoting the mixed stands, even if by doing this, the forests managers will have to face several challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, in the last two-three decades, the sector of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) received a special attention, thanks to their multiple uses. The most famous and used NWFPs in Romania which are harvested from the spontaneous flora are represented by the edible mushrooms and truffles, aromatic and medicinal plants, and forest fruits. Across the country, there are districts with high potential in harvesting these forest products, Prahova County being one of them. According to current legislation, the county is divided into two municipalities, twelve towns and ninety communes, including Bertea. The purpose of this research was to assess the potential of harvesting and marketing of the NWFPs in Bertea. A questionnaire with eleven questions was applied in the timeframe between 20th of April and 20th of May 2018 and one hundred households were the subject of the survey. The main way of procuring NWFPs is through harvesting by a family member, only a few people buying these products from local markets. The marketing of the NWFPs in Bertea is almost none, most of the people using the NWFPs for familial purposes and in small quantities. The majority of the interviewed people don't think that the marketing of the NWFPs should be promoted or collaboration between local stakeholders should be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total forest area in Europe accounts for 215 million hectares. In Europe, forest management is done both by private-owned and state-owned enterprises, companies, agencies or other structures. The European State Forest Association (EUSTAFOR) represents a forum of 33 national forest administrators (NFAs) originating from 22 countries, that are managing 30 million hectares of state-owned forests. The main aim of this study was to compare the data provided by EUSTAFOR for the NFAs regarding the managed forest areas. Secondly, the share of managed forest area per employee was assessed for each of the 23 members for which the information was available on the official website. The NFA that is managing the highest forest area is Metsähallitus (Finland), with more than 9 million hectares. As regards the average annual harvested wood quantity, the NFA from Poland, namely LASY PAŃSTWOWE, is the leader, with more than 37 million cubic meters. Based on these results, it seems that the highest share of managed forests per one employee was recorded in the countries situated in the northern part of Europe, namely Norway, Finland and Sweden. ROMSILVA, together with the NFAs from Germany and England ranked on the last positions as regards the share of the managed forest area by one employee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting has been always an important activity in Romania, not only due to the presence of high numbers of game species, but also for their variety. Tulcea County has a total of 54 hunting funds that account for 580.701 hectares, being one of the counties with high potential in terms of hunting. Amongst the main hunting species from Tulcea County (red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, European hare, pheasant, partridge, badger, fox, raccoon dog, jackal, ferret, weasel, stoat, musk, ducks, gooses) eight were chosen and prioritized based on nineteen criteria established within COST Action FP 1203. An analytical hierarchic process (AHP) was used and the analysis were performed by the aid of Expert Choice Desktop software package. The most important game species were the wild boar and the roe deer, while the least important were the golden jackal and the red fox. Specific game management measures were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, PEFC8482; represents the most spread certification scheme in forestry. The goal of this paper was to highlight the evolution of the number of Chain of Custody (CoC) certificates and the PEFC8482; certified area worldwide between 2013 and 2017, by analyzing the public data provided by the official website. Currently, the total PEFC8482; certified forest area accounts for approximately 313 million hectares, out of which 55% are located in North America. As for the largest forest areas certified by PEFC8482; the top three places are held by Canada, The United States of America and Australia. At the end of 2017, in Europe the PEFC8482; scheme had certified forests from a total number of twenty four countries, with the highest areas being shared by Finland, Russian Federation and Sweden. According to the most recent statistics, around 82% of the total CoC certificates issued worldwide were recorded in Europe, France, Germany and United Kingdom being the countries with the highest shares. Currently, in Romania only twenty three CoC certificates were issued and no forest area was yet certified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, medicinal and aromatic plants play an important role for humanity. Thousands of medicinal plants are used across the world. Almost 300 medicinal plants are known and used in Romania. Their distribution is not uniform across the country, being depended in some cases of the presence of forest sites. The main goal of this paper was to estimate the maximum quantities of medicinal plants that could be harvested by the eight Forestry Directorates, managed by National Forest Administration Romsilva, from the eastern part of Romania. Several studies, papers, indicators and databases were taken into account. 38 medicinal plant species have potential in terms of harvesting in the Eastern Romania, with a total estimated quantity of more than 1.500 tons. The highest quantities could be harvested by Vaslui, Iași, Vrancea and Botoșani Forestry Directorates. The species with the highest potential were: bear's garlic, silver linden, elder, small-leaved lime, common nettle, large-leaved linden and common hawthorn. Harvesting and management measures aimed at protecting certain medicinal plant species were also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania has at its disposal a rich potential for non-wood forest products that is insufficiently exploited. Even from the earliest ages, non-wood forest products have played an important role in the development of human society. As such, they contribute to the diversification of nourishment (fruits, mushrooms, truffles, game etc.) as well as to the medical industry's development (many of the non-wood products have different medicinal properties). The purpose of the present paper was to highlight the most important forest fruits from Gorj County. In order to achieve this, data from forest management plans from the last decade were used, together with an analytical hierarchic process (AHP) based on nineteen criteria. Therefore, the forest fruits that were found in this area were: raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.), common bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), Carpathian strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.), dog rose (Rosa canina L.), sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) and sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.). According to AHP, the most sought product on the market is sea buckthorn, followed by sweet chestnuts and common bilberry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context of increasing air temperatures and decreasing rainfall, the field shelterbelts play an important role in the management of agricultural lands in Romania. The aim of this study was to highlight the most preferred shrub species used for establishment of the filed shelterbelts in Romania. Ten of the most common shrubs, namely Cornelian cherry, common dogwood, European smoketree, common hawthorn, European spindle, wild privet, blackthorn, dog rose, black elder and common lilac, were selected and ten criteria were taken into consideration. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed in order to assess the performance of the selected alternatives (i.e. shrub species) by means of pairwise comparisons. Expert Choice Desktop software was used for the analysis. Based on the results of the analysed scenarios, recommendations were made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game species are among the main categories of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in Romania. Thanks to its diversified relief and forests, Romania has a high diversity of wildlife species. The national hunting area is divided into 2.151 hunting grounds that are managed by private-owned or state-owned forestry units and hunting associations. On the current territory of the country, hunting was a regular practice since the Middle Ages, and the first modern regulation dates from the second half of the 19th century. According to currently valid legislation, hunting in Romania is permitted for 18 species of mammals and 39 species of birds. Special attention is given to three species of EU interest, namely brown bear (Ursus arctos L.), gray wolf (Canis lupus L.) and wildcat (Felis silvestris Schreber). The annual contribution of hunting products to the turnover of the forestry units is usually less than 1%. In order to increase this contribution, forest managers should develop and promote other hunting related activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the status of the hydrotechnical torrent control works located in ten managed torrential valleys from Prahova County. The works were visually assessed by using a simplified version of the methodology developed in 2014 by the staff of "Marin Drăcea" National Research-Development Institute in Forestry together with the staff from Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering from Braşov. The damages and disfunctionalities were recorded separately for the transverse and longitude structures. The inventory was done between 6th of March and 16thth of April 2016th. In total, 144 hydrotechnical works were assessed (3 evacuation canals, 17 sills and 124 dams). The main identified damages consisted in detachments located in the overflowed area. Regarding the identified disfunctionalities, almost three quarters of inventoried works were affected by the clogging in various degrees (ranging generally between 50-70%), located both in spillway and apron. The high percentages of damages and disfunctionalities are due, most likely, to the lack or low number of interventions of maintenance and/or repair, especially for works carried out in the sixth and seventh decades of the last century. These findings should be regarded as a warning both for the local and national authorities, but also for the administrators of the forest fund. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between forestry students' multiple intelligences and their educational achievements (passing the exams). Thirty four-year students form Forestry Specialization within Faculty of Agriculture from Bucharest participated in this research. The Multiple Intelligence Inventory proposed by Walter McKenzie in 1999 was used. The data set was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Moreover, correlations between the marks obtained by the students and their dominant intelligences types were done. The study provided preliminary and usefulness results which should be taken into consideration in teaching and learning activities, both by the teaching staff and the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) is generally recognized as a useful tree species across its wide natural distribution range. In Romania, even if the presence of this species especially in mountainous and hilly regions is quite common, little is known about the uses of its sap, a special category of non-wood forest products. The aim of this paper was to test different methodologies for sap harvesting and syrup and alcoholic beverage production. Forty mature birch trees were sampled. During two days of spring, more than 70 liters of sap were collected. Syrup and alcoholic beverage were also obtained. At a small-scale, birch syrup and alcoholic beverage production could become an important source of income for birch forest owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Silvicultură şi Cinegetică is the property of Societatea Progresul Silvic / Forest Progress Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Silvicultură şi Cinegetică is the property of Societatea Progresul Silvic / Forest Progress Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patterns of fine-scale spatial distribution of multilocus genotypes can provide valuable insights into the biology of forest tree species. Here we tested for the existence of spatial genetic structure (SGS) in a four-oak-species forest with contrasting species abundances and hybridization rates. A total of 483 adult trees were mapped over 8.6 ha and genotyped using 10 highly polymorphic genomic regions. A weak but significant SGS was observed in each of the four oak species, with Quercus frainetto, the species with the lowest density in the sampling plot, exhibiting the strongest SGS. The values of the Sp statistic were 0.0033, 0.0035, 0.0042, and 0.0098 for Q. petraea, Q. robur, Q. pubescens, and Q. frainetto, respectively. The spatial correlogram of the total population was significantly different when hybrids were removed from the analysis, which suggests that hybridization influenced the SGS. Interspecific SGSs were significantly correlated with the rates of hybridization. Implications of the obtained results for the conservation and management of forest genetic resources are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest vegetation across Southern Carpathians is distributed in altitudinal layers. The aim of this study was to highlight the productivity differences between the southern and northern slopes of the Southern Carpathians for Norway spruce, silver fir, birch and black alder. Data from 45 forest management plans (46.329 stands from the southern slopes and 32.787 stands from the northern slopes) were used. For each stand, the mean diameter, mean height, age, standing volume, current volume increment and production class were assessed. Elementary statistical methods were used to identify the factors influencing productivity. Significant differences between the southern and northern slopes were recorded for silver fir. The volume and the current volume increment were higher on the northern slopes. In the case of birch and black alder, the same two parameters recorded higher values on the southern slopes. As regards Norway spruce, insignificant differences were recorded between the two slopes. The correlation between structure type and stand volume was positive and statistically significant in the case of Norway spruce, silver fir and birch, but it was negative in the case of alder. Analysing the correlation between stand volume and the main stand characteristics also revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between age and stand volume for all analysed species. The results of this study are especially interested for the forest managers and forest owners whose aim is to obtain a higher productivity for the studied species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about genetic differences among Quercus rainetto and Q. pubescens, two species of section Dascia Kotschy (subgenus Lepidobalanus, white oaks) that reach in Romania the margins of their natural distribution range. A set of genomic SSRs (simple sequence repeats) and EST (expressed sequence tags)-SSRs was used to estimate the genetic differentiation among four natural populations of the two species. Q. pubescens had higher values of genetic diversity than Q. frainetto, although the differences were not significant (P>0.05). Two out of seven marker-loci, QrZAG112 and QpZAG110, displayed very high FST values. Averaged across loci, the genetic differentiation was high and significant (FST = 0.067, P<0.05). Genetic distances were much higher among species than among populations within species. A Bayesian analysis indicated that two is the most appropriate number of genetic clusters. Using a blind procedure (i.e. based on multilocus genotypes only) the vast majority of sampled individuals (90%) could be assigned to the cluster corresponding to their phenotypes. When information about sampling localities was introduced in the assignment test, all individual trees were correctly classified. he higher degree of admixture in Q. frainetto as compared to Q. pubescens may be explained by different rates of introgressive hybridization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]