Silviculture and Cinegetics Review - Societatea Progresul Silvic

Forestry Policy 

Exceptional trees 

Natural regeneration 

Conservation of forest 

biodiversity 

Legislation 

Forest shelterbelts 

Silviculture and Cinegetics Review 

XVII/30/2012 

Societatea ”Progresul Silvic” 

www.progresulsilvic.ro 

Celebrities of forestry 

Forestry history 

Wildlife 

Agroforestry systems 

Forest Roads 

By-products 

Pinus strobus (D: 59cm; H: 35m) în blocul experimental „Frumuşeaua lui Lupe” –O.S. Baia

CUPRINS REVISTA DE SILVICULTURĂ ŞI CINEGETICĂ XVII/30/2012 

Valentin Bolea 

Aurel Teuşan 

Maurice Bonneau 

Ioan Adam 

Nicolae Cadar 

Oliver Merce 

Ilie Cosmin Cântar 

Ioan Adam 

Traian Ivanschi 

Oliver Merce 

Daniel Turcu 

Nicolae Cadar 

Ilie Cântar 

Manole Greavu 

Mihaela Mănescu 

Salvatore Vals 

Vildan Feta 

Mariana Dogaru 

Ilie Muşat 

Cristinel Constandache 

Sanda Nistor 

Emil Untaru 

Cornel Costăchescu 

Florin Dănescu 

Marian Ianculescu 

Elena Mihăilă 

Dan Niţu 

Ioan Neşu 

ElenaMihăilă 

Corneliu Costăchescu 

Florin Dănescu 

Teodor Maruşca 


Dănuţ Chira 


Diana Vasile 

Cătălin Cojanu 

Katalin Péter 

Aliona Sava 

Nicolae Ovidiu Anţilă 


Editorial 

Editorial 

Reflecţii la finele Anului Internaţional al Pădurilor 

Reflections at the end of the International Year of the Forests 

Ocuparea pădurilor de către om 

Occupation of forests by humans 

Occupation des forêts par l’homme 

Fundamente ştiinţifice pentru crearea perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a culturilor agricole din 

Câmpia Banatulu 

Scientific foundation for creating field protection forest belts in the Banat Plain 

Înfiinţarea perdelelor forestiere de protecţieîn zona de câmpie a judeţului Mehedinţi 

Installation of protection forest belts in the plain area of Mehedinţi County 

Consideraţii privind proiectarea perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a câmpurilor şi a căilor de 

comunicaţie în Dobrogea şi Bărăganul de est 

Considerations on designing forest belts for the protection of field and communication ways in Dobrogea 

and East Bărăgan 

Principiile creării perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a căilor de comunicaţie şi modul de 

aplicare a lor în practica actuală de proiectare 

Principles of creating the communication ways protection forest belts and their 

implementation in the current design practice 

Cercetări privind comportarea unor specii de arbori şi arbuşti utilizate în compoziţia perdelelor 

forestiere de protecţie din sud – estul României 

Behavior of some species of trees and shrubs used in the composition of protection forest belts 

in South-Eastern Romania 

Technical solutions to set up networks of field protection forest belt in the Romanian Plain and 

the Dobrogea Plateau 

Technical solutions to set up networks of field protection forest belt in the Romanian Plain and 

the Dobrogea Plateau 

Perdelele forestiere de protecţie a culturilor agricole – o necesitate 

Crops protection forest belts - a necessity 

Sisteme agrosilvice 


Sistemul agrosilvopastoral durabil, în contextul încălzirii globale a climei 

Sustainable Agroforestry System, in the context of global climate warming 

Perdele forestiere de protecţie antifonică şi antipoluantă pe perimetrul Companiei Kronospan – 

Braşov 

Forest belts for acoustic and pollutant protection on the perimeter of Kronospan Romania 

SRL-Brasov 

Ierarhizarea exemplarelor de ulmi excepţionali din România 

Ranking of exceptional elm trees (Ulmus spp.) in Romania - Abstract 

Ulmul (Ulmus laevis Pall.) excepţional din localitatea Căpeni 

Giant white elm (Ulmus laevis Pall.) from Căpeni 

Abundenţa relativă a speciilor, indicator al biodiversităţii 

The study of abundance, as an indicator of species diversity 

Capacitatea de regenerare naturală a arboretelor de şleau cu gorun şi cer din Masivul 

Dognecea 

Natural regeneration capacity of mixed stand with sessile and Turkey oak in Dognecea Massif 

Consideraţii privind potenţialul de regenerare a gorunului în şleaul cu gorun şi cer din Masivul 

Dognecei 

Considerations on regeneration potential of sessile oak in mixed stands of Dognecea Massif 

1

CUPRINS REVISTA DE SILVICULTURĂ ŞI CINEGETICĂ XVII/30/2012 

O privire actuală asupra punerii în valoare a pădurii. Partea a III a. Căile de transport, premiza 

punerii în valoare a pădurii 

Petre Bradosche Actual view on wood harvest. Part III. Transport routs, the premise for the enhancement of the 

forest 

Titlu 

Adrian Horia Enescu 

Drumurile sumar amenajate – alternativă viabilă pentru accesibilizarea pădurii 

Summary equipped roads – viable alternative to forest accessibility 

Lucian Dincă 

Maria Dincă 

Recoltarea trufelor 

Harvesting the truffles 

Sorin Geacu 

Adrian Rener 

Cerbul lopătar în pădurile luncii Mureşului inferior 

Fallow deer in lower Mureş floodplain forests 

Aurel Teuşan Ordonanţa europeană nr. 925/2010: O nouă pagină în materie de certificare 

Aurel Teuşan 

Cooperare sau confruntare 

Cooperation or confrontation 

Alexandrina Ilica 

Măsura 2.2.1. “Prima împădurire a terenurilor agricole“. Comentarii şi propuneri 

Measure 2.2.1. “First afforestation of agricultural land“. Comments and suggestions 

Gheorghe Gavrilescu Din activitatea Societăţii ,,Progresul Silvic” 

Gheorghe Gavrilescu Scrisoare 


Sesiunea de comunicări privind Perdelele Forestiere de Protecţie din România 

Aurel Teuşan 

Biometria, Pădurea şi Omenia - 

Cu ocazia centenarului profesorului Mihail Prodan 

Ilie Muşat 

Ioan Z. Lupe - In memoriam 

Ioan Cotârlea 

Doctor docent Ioan Zeno Lupe - Pădurile satului natal, roua inimi sale 

Iovu Adrian Biruş A încetat din viaţă profesorul Marian Ianculescu 

Cristian D. Stoiculescu In memoriam Mircea Petrescu 

Marin Marcu 

La catafalcul colegului nostru inginer Vasile Botea 

Gheorghe Gavrilescu Din activitatea Societăţii ,,Progresul Silvic” 

Gheorghe Gavrilescu Scrisoare 


Sesiunea de comunicări privind Perdelele Forestiere de Protecţie din România 

Aurel Teuşan Biometria, Pădurea şi Omenia - 

Cu ocazia centenarului profesorului Mihail Prodan 

Ilie Muşat 

Ioan Z. Lupe - In memoriam 

Ioan Cotârlea 

Doctor docent Ioan Zeno Lupe - Pădurile satului natal, roua inimi sale 

Iovu Adrian Biruş A încetat din viaţă profesorul Marian Ianculescu 

Cristian D. Stoiculescu In memoriam Mircea Petrescu 

Marin Marcu 

La catafalcul colegului nostru inginer Vasile Botea 

2

EDITORIAL BOARD SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Comitetul de redacţie: 

1. CS I dr. ing. Valentin Bolea - Institutul de Cercetări şi 

Amenajări Silvice (ICAS) - Staţiunea Braşov, redactor 

şef, 

2. CS I dr. ing. Dănuţ Chira - ICAS, redactor şef, 

responsabil Cercetare, 

3. CS III dr. ing. Eugen N. Popescu - ICAS Braşov, 

redactor şef adjunct, responsabil Producţie silvică, 

4. Conf. dr. ing. Ion Micu – Facultatea de Silvicultură şi 

Exploatări Forestiere (FSEF), Universitatea Transilvania 

Braşov (UTBv), responsabil Cinegetică, 

5. Prof. dr. ing. Nicolae Şofletea - MA ASAS, FSEF, 

UTBv, responsabil Învăţământ silvic, 

6. CS I dr. ing. Stelian Radu - ICAS Simeria, responsabil 

Arii protejate. 

7. Dr. rer. nat. Aurel Teuşan - expert silvic - Soc. R+F & 

FCH, Ettenheim, GERMANIA 

8. Ing. Petre Bradosche, Toury-Lurcy, FRANŢA, 

9. Ing. Rudolf Rösler, Leitender Forstdirector, Regensburg, 

GERMANIA 

10. Prof. dr. ing. Ladislav Paule, Technical University in 

Zvolen, SLOVACIA, 

11. Ing. Fausto R. Morales Alfaro, COSTA RICA, 

12.Profesor asociat Sorin Popescu - Texas A&M 

University, USA 

Secretariat de redacţie: 

13. Teh. pr. Florentina Damian - ICAS Braşov, secretar, 

14. Filolog Roxana Munteanu - Traduceri 

15. Conf. dr. ing. Victor Păcurar - FSEF, UTBv, traduceri, 

16. Şef lucr. dr. ing. Tudor Stăncioiu - FSEF, UTBv, 

traduceri, 

17. Ing. Alina Curtu - Direcţia Silvică (DS) Braşov, 

traduceri 

Membri: 

18. Ing. Gheorghe Gavrilescu, Preşedinte Societatea 

„Progresul Silvic” Bucureşti, 

19. Prof. dr. ing. Ion Florescu – membru titular (MT) 

ASAS, FSEF, UTBv, 

20. Prof. dr. ing. Ion Milescu - MT ASAS, Fac. 

Silvicultură, Univ. Ştefan cel Mare Suceava, 

21. Prof. dr. ing. Iosif Leahu – membru corespondent (MC) 

ASAS, FSEF, UTBv, 

22. Prof. dr. ing. Ioan Vasile Abrudan - decan FSEF, 

UTBv, 

23. Conf. dr. ing. Ovidiu Ionescu - prodecan FSEF, UTBv, 

24. CS I dr. ing. Iovu - Adrian Biriş - ICAS Bucureşti, 

25. CS I dr. ing. Ioan Blada - ICAS Bucureşti, membru al 

Academiei de ştiinţe din New York 

26. IDT I ing. Ion Giurgiu - şef staţiune ICAS Braşov, 

27. CS II dr. ing. Vadim Leandru - ICAS Bucureşti, 

28.Ing. Maria Munteanu - Preşedinte Societatea 

”Progresul Silvic” Filiala Braşov - Covasna, 

29.Ing. Ilica Alexandrina - Preşedinte Societatea 

”Progresul Silvic” Filiala Alba Iulia, 

30. Ing. Ion Cotârlea - DS Sibiu, 

31. Dr. ing. Marius Ureche - DS Sibiu, 

32. Ing. Costel Stan – şef ocol, O.S. Curtea de Argeş, 

Preşedinte Societatea „Progresul Silvic” Filiala Argeş 

33. Prof. dr. ing. Tatiana Şesan - MC ASAS, Fac. 

Biologie, Univ. Bucureşti, 

34. Dr. ing. Teodor Maruşca - director general Institutul 

C&D ot. Pajişti Braşov, membru asociat (MA) ASAS, 

34. Dr. ing. Teodor Maruşca – director ştiinţific Institutul 

C&D pt. Pajişti Braşov, membru asociat (MA) ASAS, 

35. Prof. dr. ing. Neculai Patrichi - director Institutul C&D 

Ecologie Acvatică, Pescuit şi Acvacultură - ICDEAPA 

Galaţi, Univ. Dunărea de Jos, Galaţi, MA ASAS, 

36. CSI Lector dr. ing Dana Malschi – Fac. Ştiinţa 

Mediului Univ. Babeş-Bolyai Cluj Napoca, MA ASAS, 

37. Dr. ing. Victor Ciochia – Institutul Naţional C&D pt. 

Cartof şi Sfeclă de Zahăr Braşov, MA ASAS, 

Notă: 

"Revista de Silvicultură şi Cinegetică" nu cenzurează 

opiniile autorilor care, însă, îşi asumă întreaga 

responsabilitate tehnică, ştiinţifică sau juridică privind 

textele publicate. 

Revista de Silvicultură şi Cinegetică 

Silviculture and Cinegetic Review 

ISSN-L 1583 – 2112 

ISSN 2284 – 7936 (on line) 


Braşov, Str. Cloşca nr. 13 

tel: 0268-419936 

fax.: 0268-415338 

e-mail: valentinbolea@yahoo.com 

Editura Silvică 

Editori: 

- Societatea „Progresul Silvic”, 

- Institutul de Cercetări şi Amenajări Silvice - Staţiunea 

Braşov, 

- Facultatea de Silvicultură şi Exploatări Forestiere, Braşov 

3

EDITORIAL SILVICULTURES AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Starting in 2012, The Journal of Forestry and Hunting 

will expand the dissemination of progress in the 

science and technology of forestry and hunting from 

national to international level, recording the following 

changes: 

- Biannual occurrence, not only printed, but in 

electronic form on the website: 


- Publication in English of the main scientific and 

technical articles, received written in Romanian, 

French, German or Spanish. 

- Completing the Editorial Board by inviting 

prestigious scientific personalities from Germany 

Aurel Teuşan and Rudof Rosler; from France Peter 

Bradoschi; from Czechoslovakia Professor Ladislav 

Paule, from the U.S. Professor Sorin Popescu, and 

from Costa Rica Fausto D. Morales. 

- Orientation of topics towards global issues, to the 

resolution of which forestry and hunting play an 

important role. Below we illustrate some of these 

areas: 

- Effective management of key resources: water, soil, 

air and forest ecosystems. Rivers, lakes, erosion and 

pollution protection forest belts. Detoxification of 

polluted rivers. Improvement of degraded soils. 

Abandoned land use. Detection, evaluation and 

monitoring of pollution by foliar diagnosis. Tending 

operations in forest ecosystems, maintaining a good 

phytosanitary state, ecological restoration, natural 

regeneration and use of small wood. 

- Sustainable use of natural resources: research for the 

knowledge of: virgin forests, exceptional trees and 

resource interdependence. Protection of natural 

resources through market instruments: taxation of tree 

harvesting and other activities affecting the 

environment (deforestation and injuries) and forest 

border care for. Sustainable use of forest ecosystems 

by promoting mixed stands of native species and of 

local origin, natural regeneration of forests, avoiding 

grazing in the forest. Conservation and biodiversity 

monitoring. 

- Superior capitalization of wood: enhancing beech 

thinning. Promoting forestry in harmony with natural 

and potential productivity of forest; production of 

high quality thick wood; maximization of carbon 

storage in the forest and participates fully to the fight 

against climate change. Limiting exports of rough 

wood. 

- Raising environmental standards: better knowledge 

and implementation of environmental legislation. 

Information systems and monitoring of environmental 

EDITORIAL 

4 


quality. Use of partnerships. Public awareness and 

campaigns for social and environmental behavior 

change. Models of best environmental practices in the 

urban life. Environmental exhibitions and forums. 

Prevention of environmental degradation (floods, 

heavy snow falls, drought and heat stroke and 

excessive heat in cities) by creating the forest belts to 

protect the rivers, agricultural crops and roads, by 

creating urban forests and green belts, and by 

ecological design, impact studies and environmental 

balance of investment work. 

- Improving public forestry education by raising 

awareness of general public and youth regarding the 

role and wealth of the forest and respect towards the 

forest. 

Launching of conservation actions and 

implementation of outstanding research results, out of 

which we exemplify the below. 

For the protection of exceptional trees in Romania 

after the call issued by St. Radu and C. Coandă "Let 

us save remarkable trees - endangered living 

treasures” (FCR 21/2005), have been written the 

following articles: 

- „Exceptional trees in the beech and fir forest of 

Şinca Veche” (Ţaga Mountains, Braşov) (V. Bolea, D. 

Chira, R. Munteanu, D. Vasile, C. Mantale, K. Péter, 

G. Roman, FCR 28/2011); 

- „Famous specimens of the Quercus robur L. 

species” (V. Bolea, D. Vasile, FCR no. 29/2011); 

- „King of oaks on the Homorod pastures” (D. Vasile, 

K. Péter, FCR 29/2011); 

- „Draft law on protection of exceptional trees in 

Romania” (V. Bolea, C. Balabaşciuc, I. Florescu, C. 

Stoiculescu, FCR 29/2011); 

-„King of spruce of Poiana Braşov” (V. Bolea, G. 

Ienăşoiu, FCR 29/2011); 

- „Elm hierarchy in Romania” (V. Bolea, FCR 

30/2012); 

- „Elm (Ulmus laevis Pall.) of Căpeni” (D. Vasile, C. 

Cojanu, K. Péter, FCR 30/2012). 

For the implementation in practice of the tradition of 

identification, publicity, evidence and protection of 

exceptional trees in Romania, the Brasov - Covasna 

Branch of "Forestry progress Society" has been 

carried out the following: 

- Sending the draft law on exceptional tree 

preservation in Romania to forestry engineers, 

members of the Romanian Parliament; 

- Launching of the action to save exceptional trees 

during the meeting of Brasov - Covasna Branch of 

Society "Forestry progress" on September 13, 2011,


through presentation of V. Bolea followed by 

discussion; 

- Development of Awards for exceptional trees: the 

Silver fir tree of 58 m and the European beech of 51 m 

from Şinca Veche, the Norway spruce of 54 m from 

Poiana Braşov, the common oak of 2.93 m diameter 

and 900 years (large estimation) old from Homorod; 

- Ceremony of the coronation of the King of Norway 

spruce in Poiana Brasov with the participation of the 

President of “Forestry progress Society" - Gheorghe 

Gavrilescu, the President of Brasov - Covasna Branch 

- Maria Munteanu and the board of specialists from 

the production, research and higher education, the 

Environmental Protection Agency, the Environment 

Guard, the local television etc. 

To promote increment of CO 2 quantities sequestrated 

by the forests and trees outside forests there have been 

written the following articles: 

- Field protection forest belts from O.S. Buzău (D. 

Cârstian, FCR 22/2006); 

- Urban forest (V. Bolea, D. Vasile, FCR 23/2007); 

- Increasing CO 2 sequestrated capacity in trees (V. 

Bolea, D. Chira, D. Vasile, FCR 24/2008); 

- Green program for Romania (M. Ionescu, M. 

Sorescu, A. Ungur, V. Popovici, M. Ionescu, FCR 

24/2008); 

- Views on the afforestation of degraded lands (A. 

Ilica, FCR 25/2009); 

- Cessation of attacks against the trees, the first step in 

the action to reduce the concentration of CO 2 in the air 

(G. Gavrilescu, V. Bolea, D. Vasile, FCR 26/2010); 

- From forest belts to agro-forestry systems (A. 

Teuşan, FCR 28/2011); 

- Evaluation of economic and ecological efficiency of 

field protection forest belts (I. Muşat, FCR 28/2011); 

- Creating "Urban Forest" in Baia Mare (V. Bolea, 

FCR 29/2011). 

Decrement of CO 2 quantity in the atmosphere was 

promoted in 2012 through organization by the Braşov 

- Covasna Branch of "Forestry progress Society", of 

the "Commemorative Scientific Session Ioan Lupe" 

with the following agenda: 

1. One hundred years from the birth of dr. habilitat 

Ioan Lupe, honorary member of A.S.A.S. (E.N. 

Popescu); 

2. Dr. habilitat Ioan Zeno Lupe. People of his native 

village, his heart's dew (I. Cotârlea); 

3. Scientific foundations for creating field protection 

forest belts in the Banat Plain (I. Adam, N. Cadar, O. 

Merce, I. Cântar); 

4. Installation of protection forest belts in the 

plain area of Mehedinţi County (I. Adam, T. 

Ivanschi, D. Turcu, N. Cadar, I. Cântar); 

5. Considerations on designing forest belts for the 

protection of field and communication ways in 

Dobrogea and Eastern Bărăgan (M. Greavu, M. 

Mănescu, S. Vals, V. Feta, M. Dogaru); 

6. Principles of creating the communication ways 

protection forest belts and their implementation in the 

current design practice (I. Muşat); 

7. Research on the behavior of some species of trees 

and shrubs used in the composition of protection 

forest belts in South-Eastern Romania (C. 

Constandache, S. Nistor, E. Untaru); 

8. Technical solutions to set up networks of field 

protection forest belts in the Romanian Plain and 

Dobrogea Plateau (C. Costăchescu, F. Dănescu, M. 

Ianculescu, E. Mihăilă, D. Niţu); 

9. Agricultural crop protection forest belts - a 

necessity (I. Neşu); 

10. Agro-forestry systems (E. Mihăilă, C. 

Costăchescu, F. Dănescu); 

11. Sustainable Agro-forestry System, in the context 

of global climate warming (T. Maruşca); 

12. Forest belts for acoustic and pollutant protection 

on the perimeter of Kronospan Romania S.R.L. (V. 

Bolea, D. Chira). 

The session was followed by a field trip to the forest 

belts for acoustic and pollutant protection on the 

perimeter of Kronospan factory of Stupini, Braşov. 

5


Reflections at the end of the International Year of the Forests 

Aurel Teuşan 

1. The Forests of Europe: On the edge 

of the Ministerial Conference in Oslo 

1.1. Introduction 

„Our problems can only be solved globally“, so said 

Michael Prodan, Romanian professor during a speech 

held in October 1975 at the Faculty of Forestry of the 

University of Freiburg. At the same time he urged 

listeners to think in systems, entities that are mutually 

conditioned - a view that is endorsed in recent decades 

by the European Ministerial circles. During a first 

conference in Strasbourg (1990) an intra-European 

cooperation for common measures for the protection 

of forests has been established. The conference in 

Helsinki (1993) followed, the topic being the 

assurance of sustainability in matters of forest 

exploitation. In another conference (Lisbon 1998) 

were discussed the ways to meet the many functions 

incumbent to the forest. In Vienna (2003) the 

emphasis was on the responsibility of the partners and 

in Warsaw (2009) on the qualitative aspect of forest 

resources. The cycle of conferences culminated during 

the International Year of the Forests with a statement 

in Oslo in June 2011 to which contributed several 

organizations, namely Forest Liaison Europe, 

UNECE, FAO and EFI (European Forest Institute). 

The topic, „State of Europe’s Forests“, is conclusive 

and it is conceivable as the new starting point to 

optimize the European forestry. 

The ultimate objective in the management and 

exploitation of forests is defined as follows: 

- Ensuring biodiversity, productivity, natural 

regeneration and vitality. 

- Also transposing in the position that meets the socioeconomic 

and ecological requirements not only 

locally but nationally and globally. In short: 

sustainable management. Condition sine qua non: 

adjacent ecosystems are not affected. Wishing to 

emphasize the differences between regions, Europe 

was divided into six subunits, namely North, Central - 

West, Central - East, Russian Federation, South - East, 

South - West. The basic data come from the 46 

Member States and were obtained through both a 

questionnaire and the European statistics. 

The needed information was unavailable in some 

cases. The available data was divided into two 

chapters. These, in turn, have several subdivisions that 

we will briefly reproduce. 

1.2. Quantitative elements 

- Forested area in Europe amounts to 10.2 million km 

2 or 25% of the total world. In the last 20 years forest 

area increased in all 6 regions with 0.8 ha annually. 

- Wood reserves have increased over the same period 

by 8.6 billion cubic meters from where a gap between 

the increased surface and the reserves in wood. 

Europe has the second place after South America. 

Average per hectare varies between 158 m.c. 

(European Union) and 105 m.c. the rest of Europe. 

- Storage capacity of carbon dioxide. Between 2005 

and 2010 European forests have incorporated 870 

million tons annually, a figure equal to 10% of the 

total gas emissions. 

- Vitality of forest ecosystems. The main criterion is 

the tree crown. In 2009 one quarter of the control trees 

had thinning crown. The trees attacked by insects, 

fungi and animals in Europe amount to 11 million 

hectares or 1%. Sulfur deposits decreased by 30% 

over the past decade. 

- The balance between annual growth and exploitation 

is positive. In 1990 only 51% of the growth were 

exploited, a rate which in 2010 reached 62%. 

- Roundwood production. In this field, Europe is 

primus inter pares in the world. In the year 2010 over 

578 million cubic roundwood were collected, revenue 

amounted to 21.1 billion Euros. 

- Other products (Christmas trees, fruit, berries, bark). 

The reports obtained show a gain of 27 billion Euros. 

Other details are difficult to obtain. 

- The forest as workplace. Beginning with 2007 a 

constant annual income of 818 Euros was made. 

- Biological Diversity. Some methods of forest 

management, including promoting the natural 

regenerations and mixed forests, can help improve this 

sector. 

- Natural forests. At European level natural forests 

(26%) are found only in the mountain regions of 

northern and eastern Europe. 

- Forests with protective functions (soil, water) totalwithout 

Russia - 20%. 

6


- The proportion of public / private forest. Except for 

Russia, half of Europe's forests are in the hands of 

individuals, the latter are expanding. 

- Forest and wood are an important economic factor. 

Forest and its products, including pulp and paper 

industry provides almost 4 million people with a job, 

though it is true the trend is of decrease. 

Despite precautions, working in the forest is 

considered one of the most dangerous jobs. 

1.3. Qualitative elements: forest policy, 

institutions and instrumentation 

- National forest programs - in continuous 

improvement - are of primary importance. A goal 

achieved so far by 37 countries. It is desirable that in 

formulating them all partners be consulted. Starting 

with 2007 in two thirds of the European countries 

several massive reforms have taken place. 

- International and national political orientation has 

repercussions on national forest policies. Actually, the 

fact is that in this sector there are still many 

adjustments due, among other things, in science and 

practice of forestry. 

2. Lack of wood: From Martin Luther 

to the International Year of the Forests 

2.1. All for the better 

In a letter to a friend, the reformer Martin Luther 

(1483-1546) complains about the lack of wood and 

honest people. Today, the last shortcoming no longer 

concerns anyone. Only the lack of wood remained the 

constant of all ages, therefore as well in the 

International Year of the Forests. It is known, 

however, all evil is for good. Over the centuries, the 

above-mentioned lack of wood gave rise to forestry. 

The first guidelines (Sylvicultura Oeconomica, 1713) 

came from the Director of the Mines in Saxony named 

Carl von Carlowitz. The aim pursued was regulating 

cutting of forests, for a constant and sustainable 

supply of timber for the mines. Over time, forestry has 

become an occupation for which men of letters - once 

they have sensed the importance of the goal pursued - 

had words of praise. Take only the famous German 

poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805). Here's an episode 

described in the magazine Sylva of 1814. 

wild animals. But I see that you have great 

preoccupations, working with abnegation every day. 

The benefits of your work are not only for all of us, 

but also for future generations. 

"Indeed, German forestry was the European model for 

more than two centuries." In Germany, there is 

forestry ...", so said the head of a French forest 

district. Unfortunately, not in all cases for the benefit 

of the white fir (Abies alba), fact proven in the Black 

Forest, home of this forest species. The literature 

shows that in this region there were tree specimens 

unsurpassed in dimensions. 

One of them was 68 feet high, 380 cm in diameter and 

produced timber of 140 cubic meters. Thwarted then 

in the grated cutting scheme, followed by plantations, 

the fir tree began to "suffer" (Tannensterben). The 

remedy successfully tested in mixed mountain forests 

(spruce / fir / beech) is the perennial forest, the forest 

gardening being its prototype. 

2.2. Evergreen forest: in the footsteps of 

Professor Michael Prodan (1912-2012) 

As he was head of the Frasin forest district between 

1937 and 1940, Prodan was destined to deepen the 

problem of perennial mountain forests, among others 

through biometric formulas. He was awarded his 

doctorate in Germany with a theme focused on forest 

gardening. A new comer to Germany, he did not 

master the language, so he supported his concepts 

with formulas. With the result that the holder of 

Forestry Department, Professor Röhrl, immediately 

offered him an assistantship. 

Later when appointed professor, he guided 41 papers 

and 26 degree thesis. His disciples have immortalized 

him by planting a fir tree near the paths beaten by the 

teacher during his free time. Why this fir tree Here's 

why: Freiburg is located at the foot of a hill 

dominating the town, hill that became a place of 

comfort for Professor Prodan in his spare time. One 

day he found at the edge of the path a young silver fir 

tree, lost among leafy seedlings, so with no chances to 

survive. Instinctively - maybe thinking about the trees 

in the Carpathians - he relieved it of its adversaries. 

Then he felt the need to jump in and help in the 

coming years. At first, a breeze ... 

Always looking for inspiration, Schiller met in a 

forest with a forest worker. After an exchange of 

views, Schiller exclaimed. "I thought you only killed 

7 

In time he needed tools. Until the news about the 

teacher‘s "weakness" spread out and the forest 

workers jumped to the rescue. In addition to the


annual clearance they installed a bench with a tablet 

with the inscription: "Prodantanne (Prodan‘s silver 

fir tree) (photo 1). 

- A few years later (1999) another one follows, 

namely the Program for the Endorsement of Forest 

Certification Schemes (PEFC). 

- Various restrictive prescriptions regarding the 

international wood trade (FLEGT, EUTR). 

- In March 2013 is due to come into effect the 

European order no. 995/2010. As of this date, the 

trade in wood and wood products from unauthorized 

exploitation will definitively be put to an end. 

- The FSC and PEFC standards - currently voluntary – 

are slowly becoming the guide and also mandatory. 

For the wood products from forests already certified 

the Chain of Custody (CoC) standard is designed. 

Photo 1. „Prodan silver fir“ taking the reign of decidous 

trees 

One can not speak of Professor Prodan without 

emphasize his merits in promoting the perennial 

forests, hence the merits in combating illegal logging. 

One could even say that Prodan has sparked a flurry 

of measures, which currently are about to permanently 

block unauthorized cuts - condition sine qua non for 

the promotion of sustainable forestry. Let us take 

them one by one: 

- His speech in October 1975 at the Faculty of 

Forestry, University of Freiburg. The title: 

"Verpflichtung Forstwirtschaft und der der 

Forstwissenschaft" is also Prodan’s program. 

"Our graduates are preaching in vain urbi et orbi 

sustainable forestry, based on annual growth. In fact, 

in most countries around the world the practice is 

abusive exploitation. We are beholden to combat them 

wherever and whenever we can around the globe", 

said Professor Prodan. 

- The setting up of "Gesellschaft für Technische 

Zusammenarbeit" (GTZ) on January 1st, 1975. It is an 

initiative of the foresters formed by Prodan. The 

society aims to promote, in word and deed, 

sustainable activities both in forestry and other areas. 

It is present on all continents and is recently 

undergoing restructuring. 

- The International Conference in Rio (1992). The 

problem forest devastation becomes a global concern. 

- Pillaging of the forests concerns the NGOs as well. 

One such NGO from America, namely Stewardship 

Council (FSC) are developing a standard meant to 

stop illegal logging based on voluntary agreement 

with the owners of the forests (1993). 

8 

2.3. The forest and the timber in light of the 

International Year of the Forests 

From a series of contributions appearing in the 51- 

52/2011 issue of the publication Holz-Zentralblatt we 

should mention: 

- In the last 50 years the forested area in Germany 

increased by 11%. Therefore, it has a prominent place 

in Europe. 

- Encouraging aspects in the furniture industry, 

prefabricated wooden buildings, pulp and paper. 

- Certain trends such as removing from production 

forests by making them nature reserves, national 

parks, etc. are counterproductive, so combated. 

- The supply of wood from local forests still remains a 

primary goal. 

- The prospects are poor. Round wood availability is 

poor. Mills are confronted with issues of existential 

importance. 

- The need of a strategy for 2020. 

Theme discussed in the Parliament on November 17, 

2011. Partners are still far from common ground. In 

other words: we have the opportunity to return to this 

theme. 

3. The Lack of Wood: From Martin 

Luther to the International Year of the 

Forests 

3.1. Issues 

With the transition from forest curtains to agroforestry 

systems we have dealt on another occasion 

(see nr.28/2011, p 69). Meanwhile another step 

forward was made with regards to the proximity 

between the being that is the tree and the crown of 

Creation, the man. As man, caught by other things, is 

failing to reach to the forest for relaxation – physical


and spiritual – it is the forest, the trees that approach 

the man. Not that the latter would feel better among 

men. On the contrary! The coexistence with the man 

is more of a punishment. Soil often inappropriate, 

roots ill-treated by digging, trunks injured by vehicles, 

branches amputated, tips shortened. Not tomention the 

harmful emissions and increasing aridity. The only 

good is that man started to become aware that his fate 

is inextricably linked to all that is green. Hence the 

promotion of green spaces in crowded urban areas 

focused on trees and forest vegetation. An advanced 

movement took place in Sweden and Finland, where 

the arboristics became an interdisciplinary science and 

a profession. The International Year of the Forests has 

incited the German forums to certain major actions. 

Let us take them one by one. 

3.2. Making the most of the vacant land 

At a meeting organized by Deutsche Stiftung für 

Umwelt (Foundation for Environmental Protection) 

between September 6 and 7, 2011 at Osnabrück it was 

presented a project focused on the theme of 

integration, namely the transformation of vacant 

spaces in urban forests. The project takes into account 

the environmental, economic, social and aesthetic 

requirements and it is based on several preliminary 

studies. The initiators are not satisfied with the a mere 

afforestation, but use the opportunity to acquaint 

townspeople with several forest types, namely forest 

grove, non managed dry forests, forest gardens and 

parks. Of the over 700 objects examined were chosen 

10 locations with areas ranging between 0.7 and 16 

ha. The University of Dresden was committed to carry 

out the project. The partners are the cities of 

Würzburg, Hof and Kempten. Given the threat of 

vandalism, selected areas were originally surrounded 

by a fence of 1.80 m high. 

3.3. Species under examination 

Within a Bavarian decennial project called "Stadtgrün 

2021" (City with a greenery), project focused on the 

cities Würzburg, Kempten Hof, there are tested 20 

species of trees. The question is whether and what 

type of measures could meet the specific requirements 

of future urban agglomerations. 

The species, the selected varieties respectively, come 

from all continents. Another feature is that a 

symbiosis with the roots of different types of 

mushrooms was created, a way to mitigate the 

harmful effects (stress) caused by urban factors. 

Of the 72 species of trees proposed, there have been 

chosen the species and varieties listed below (table 1). 

Previously there was an exchange of views and 

experiences with experts in Dendrology, with the tree 

nursery specialists and university institutes. 

Tale. 1. List of trees species tested decennial in „Stadtgrün 2021“ project 

Tree species, variety, origin 

Short description 

Symbiosis 

(type) 

Acer buergerianum, Japan, China Attractive species, small crown, resistant to drought. AM 

Acer monspessulanum, Mediterranean area Medium-sized tree, very heat resistant AM 

Alnus x spaethii, Späth, Berlin, 1908 Purple variety, well known in the Netherlands. Wind resistant. EM 

Carpinus betulus, Frans Fontaine, 

The Netherlands 

Has a permanently slender variety. 

EM 

Celtis australis, very common on the streets of Extremely resistant, a good alternative to Platanus sp. Interesting 

southern Europe 

examples in Germany. 

AM 

Fraxinus ornus, southern Europe, Asia Medium-sized, decorative. Mostly used for street decoration. AM/EM 

Fraxinus pennsylvanica Summit. 

Has a variety with pioneer features. Decorative during fall. 

America de Nord 

Successfully tested in southern France. 

AM/EM 

Ginkgo biloba, China 

Attractive and also resistant to extremes of climate and biotic 

pests. Varieties are less researched. 

AM 

Gleditsia triacanthos Skyline, North America Has a variety without thorns. AM 

Liquidambar styraciflua, America /West 

Spectacular tree during fall due to the red foliage. Less resistant 

to frost. 

AM 

Magnolia kobus, Japan Robust, frost resistant, positive results in Germany as well. AMP 

Ostrya carpinifolia, Europe/South, Asia Minor Variety adequate to sunny slopes. Promising tree. EM 

Parrotia persica, Iran, southern Rusia Highly adaptable tree. A rainbow of colors during fall AM/EM 

Quercus cerris, Europe, Asia Minor Promising tree, frost resistant, common in southern Europe EM 

Quercus frainetto Trump, Europe Asia, 

selection NAKB, NL, 1979 

Hungarian oak, suitable for arid lands. Sometimes with problems EM 

Quercus x hispanica Wageningen, Europe; Spanish oak, bastard Q.cerris x Q. suber. Spread up to the 

selection , NL,1979 

Balkans. Prefers a calcareous soil. 

EM 

9


Sophora japonica Regent,China, Korea. În Extremely resistant to drought and heat. The Regent variety is 

Europe selection NL,1979 

more slender. 

AM 

Tilia tormentosa Brabant, Europe/West, Asia Silver lime, a native of the Balkans, is one of the most important 

Minor 

trees in terms of climate extremes. 

AM/EM 

Ulmus ‘Lobel’, Europe, Wageningen, NL, 1973 An alternative in dealing with elm mortality. Wind resistant. AM/EM 

Zelkova serrata Green Vase, 

Japan, China, Korea; var. north-american, 1983. 

One of the most common species in Tokyo. Experimented 

successfully in Europe as well. The variety here named is 

distinguished by a slender crown, yellow to orange in color 

during fall. 

AM/EM 

The evolution of the species listed above is to be 

supervised every year until 2021. Their resistance 

towards freezing and dryness is very important. 

Bibliography 

Böll S., Schönfeld P., Körber K., Herrmann J.V., 2011: 

Stadtbäume im Zeichen des Klimawandels. Projekt 

„Stadtgrün 2021“. AFZ – Der Wald 4/2011, 14-18. 

Ham A., 2011: Urbaner Wald und Urbane Forstwirtschaft 

im Jahr der Wälder. AFZ / Der Wald 20. 

Köhl M. 2011: Europäischer Waldbericht 2011: Bericht 

der 6. Ministerkonferenz zum Schutz der Wälder in 

Europa. AFZ, der Wald, Band 66, Heft 24, Seiten 10-13. 

Abstract 

Forested area in Europe amounts to 10.2 million km 2 or 25% of the earth. Wood reserves have increased in the last 20 years 

by 8.6 billion cubic meters from where a gap between the increased surface and the reserves in wood. Between 2005 and 

2010 European forests have incorporated 870 million tons annually, a figure equal to 10% of the total gas emissions. In 

2009 one quarter of the control trees had thinning crown. In 1990 only 51% of the growth were exploited, a rate which in 

2010 reached 62%. In 578 million cubic meter round wood were collected, revenue amounted to 21.1 billion Euros. 

Keywords: forested area in Europe, storage capacity of CO 2 , vitality of forest ecosystems 

Translated by: Roxana Gabriela Munteanu 

10

FORESTRY POLICY SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Occupation of forests by humans 

Maurice Bonneau 

We often tend to consider that the spaces now 

occupied by forests have always been like that. This is 

very rough estimate and recent work in mainland 

France and French Guiana, have shown that our 

forests were to a large extent, in the past, cropland or 

pastures. 

Since 1905, Henry, forest soil scientist who taught at 

the School of Forestry at Nancy, published a welldocumented 

work, "Forest soils". I read this book and 

was surprised to find the assertion that nitrification of 

ammonium in the forest was always zero. I worked at 

the time on nitrogen mineralization in soils of the 

Vosges and Massif Central and I found, for my part, 

an active nitrification in most cases. Taking a closer 

look at Henry's book, I was assured that the 

characterization method of nitrate that he used was 

perfectly correct. So there was a problem somewhere 

and I was puzzled for years without finding the 

answer. I was wondering if, since 1905, the nitrifying 

microorganisms were contaminating forests starting of 

agricultural areas and if so how. 

The answer was given to me in the late 1980s as part 

of research on forest decline. One of my collaborators, 

Etienne Dambrine, sought to discover the relationship 

that might exist between decline and the early 

occupation of the current forest plots. This required 

consulting the ancient land registers, but those of the 

Alsatian Vosges were written in Gothic German. 

Fortunately a German student, Waltraut Körner, one 

of the few who still know this writing, became 

interested in the problem and came to decipher the old 

records. In most cases, stands that had been spared by 

the decline (characterized the loss of leaves or 

needles, and yellowing of those who remained) were 

located on land parcels formerly used for agriculture, 

either as cropland, either as a path to the cattle. 

Furthermore soils of these plots were the site of active 

nitrification, unlike areas where there were no signs of 

human occupation. This was later confirmed by 

laboratory incubations (Jussy, 2002). 

So I had finally the explanation of Henry's assertion in 

his book turn of the century. The old agricultural plots 

were afforested with spruce during the second half of 

the nineteenth century and, as usual at the time, at 

planting densities of about 10,000 seedlings per 

hectare (I recall on this occasion that the forest of 

Compiegne, near Paris, very excessively exploited 

during the Revolution and Empire, 1920-1930 was the 

object of active oak reforestation and forest 

administration required reforestation contractors, upon 

receipt of the work, the existence of 50,000 live oak 

saplings per hectare!). Henry, who in 1905 published 

the results of his research, had probably collected soil 

samples on which he worked five to ten years earlier 

and, most likely, it was impossible to take samples in 

spruce plantations that had at the time 20 or 30 years 

and included 10,000 stems / ha. Therefore its results 

corresponded to plots that had always been in the past 

forest stands of beech and fir and in which, as Etienne 

Dambrine today, he did not find any nitrates. 

Etienne Dambrine did not stop here. At a meeting 

with a historian around Nancy, he found, in communal 

forests today in the form of coppice with standards of 

sessile oak and white beech, on limestone outcrops of 

the Jurassic, the remains of walls of huts, enclosures 

attesting that these forests were once spaces occupied 

by peasants. It probably dates back to the early 

centuries of the Christian era, when the Gallic 

villagers were expelled by the Romans who reserved 

the best land, those of the plain of the Woëvre on 

Callovian or Oxfordian clays, to the legionaries 

released after their years of service. 

Taking advantage then of the development of Lidar, a 

device that can be embarked on an aircraft and can 

reproduce very precisely the relief of the ground even 

under tree cover, he came to the conclusion that a very 

large part of the forest of Haye, near Nancy, had also 

been heavily used by farmers. 

This ancient occupation is confirmed by soil analyzes 

showing that the lands of these areas where you can 

now find remnants of occupation have lower C / N 

ratios are and richer in phosphorus than where the 

forest always existed. Similar findings in the Massif 

Central where many former pastures were afforested 

with spruce or Douglas fir or reclaimed spontaneously 

by birch or Scots pine (Prévosto, 2004) pending the 

return of beech and fir. Similarly, in Tronçais forest, 

in central France, several sites of Roman occupation 

were detected. The vegetation surveys carried out at 

increasing distances from the former agricultural 

buildings have shown that neutrophils or demanding 

nitrogen species were more and more frequent as we 

approached them. 

11


This requires that we recognize today that our forests 

have been formerly 70 or 75% occupied by farmers. 

We have now in metropolitan France 16 million 

hectares of forests, while at the end of the First 

Empire, the woodlands were reduced to 7 or 8 million 

hectares, as a result of land clearing that occurred 

during the Revolution, after the departure abroad of 

nobles loyal to the monarchy and sale as national 

property of the church lands. 8 million hectares of 

forests today are former agricultural land and half of 

the rest has been in the 4th or 5th century. 

In Guyana it is the research undertaken by INRAP 

(National Institute for Preventive Archaeological 

Research), which helped find many signs of human 

presence in the forest called virgin (Dambrine et 

Jérémie, 2010). These are very special soils, black and 

containing numerous fragments of pottery. These are 

the terra firme found mainly on river banks. They 

clearly confirm the first descriptions, by Francisco de 

Orellana who went down the Amazon in the mid 

sixteenth century, of large villages extending over 

several kilometers, but that disappeared quickly, 

villagers being driven out by the Spanish or 

Portuguese conquerors or decimated by epidemics 

brought by Europeans. But there are many more 

convincing facts. We identified over 1,800 sites 

within the Guyanese forest where human presence is 

attested by the former presence of post holes, 

fragments of pottery, fragments of rock, and remains 

of workshops of shaping tools or of game cutting. 

More spectacular still, barred spurs, hills or 

promontories around which were dug deep trenches 

several meters wide, defensive sites, therefore at the 

center of which must have existed permanently 

occupied villages. 

This leads gradually to the idea of a forest heavily 

inhabited by Native Americans, permanently at least 

in some cases. This occupation may have played a 

role in the distribution of tree species, some more 

demanding or more light-demanding coming to 

reoccupy plots cleared for agriculture. 

We must therefore conclude that, in regions where we 

just mentioned, forests at all times untouched by 

human activity are rare. The human occupation has 

left traces still identifiable on soil properties and 

composition of the herbaceous flora, probably also on 

the distribution of shrubs and trees. It is likely that the 

same applies in many areas where such signs are just 

waiting for the discoverers. 

Bibliography 

Dambrine E., Dupouey J.L., 2006: La mémoire des forêts. 

ONF, Rendez-vous techniques, n° 11, 45-50. 

Dambrine E. Dupouey J.L., Laut L., Humbert L., 

Thinon M., Beaufils T., Richard H., 2007: Present 

forest biodiversity patterns in France related to former 

roman agriculture. Ecology, 88 (6), 1430-1439. 

Dambrine E., Jérémie S., 2010: Groupe couac. – Une 

forêt vierge par nature La fin d’un mythe. In : La forêt 

de Guyane française. M. Bonneau, l’Harmattan, Paris, 

331 p. 

Jussy J.H., Körner W., Dambrine E., Dupouey J.L., 

2002: Benoît M. – Influence of former` agricultural land 

use on net nitrate production in forest soils. Euroean 

Journal of Soil Science, 53, 367-374. 

Prévosto B., Dambrine E., Moarès C., Curt T., 2004: 

Effects of volcanic ash chemistry and former agricultural 

use on the soil and vegetation of naturally regenerated 

woodlands. Catena, 56, 239-261. 

Abstract. 

Recent work in metropolitan France and in French Guiana shows that most of the forests were previously agricultural 

croplands or pastures. 

In the book of 1905, ‘Forest Soils’ of the pedologist Henry he states that ammonium nitrification was always zero in the 

forest. This statement would contradict the active nitrification found in the majority of research conducted in soils in the 

Vosges or the Massif Central. 

The answer to this problem was found in late 1980 when Etienne Dambrine discovered that stands unaffected by the drying 

(loss of their leaves or needles or yellowing) were located on plots of agricultural land previously used for crops or grazing 

animals. Moreover soils of these plots were the site of an active nitrification unlike areas where they found traces of human 

occupation. Subsequently, this was confirmed by laboratory incubation (Jassy, 2002). So Henry, a graduate of the Forest 

School of Nancy, used perfectly accurate methods to characterize the nitrates, but collected soil samples from stands of 

beech and fir and not spruce plantations installed on old agricultural plots in the second half of the nineteenth century with 

10,000 stems per hectare, which at that time were 20-30 years old. 

In these forests of beech and fir Henry (1905) as well as Dambriene Etienne (1980) found no nitrates. 

The same author, Etienne Dambriene using a Lidar device, loaded on a plane concluded that a large part of the grove of oak 

and hornbeam from Haye has been used extensively in the historical past by farmers. Soil analysis reveals a lower C / N 

ratio and is richer in phosphorus, the forests with agricultural use traces than in forests that have always existed. 

12


The same findings were made in the Massif Central, where numerous pastures, of the historic past have been afforested 

with spruce and Douglas or were recovered spontaneously by birch and Scots pine (Prevosto, 2004), awaiting resettlement 

of beech and fir. 

Also at Trancais in central France, were identified several locations of Roman occupation, observing that neutrophils 

species frequency or nitrogen demanding ones increased as it approached the old agricultural settlements. 

So, we may acknowledge that today's forests of France were occupied in the past by farmers, at a rate of 70-75%. Today 

there are in metropolitan France, 16 million hectares of forests, while at the end of the First Empire, the forest area was 

only of 7.8 million hectares as a result of deforestation during the Revolution, after the departure of nobles loyal to the king 

and following sale of church lands as national property. Thus, 8 million hectares of forests in France today are wooded 

farmland and the other half came from the 4th and 5th century. 

In French Guiana, research conducted by National Institute of Preventive Agricultural Research revealed numerous 

indications of the human presence in the forest considered virgin (Dambrine and Jeremie, 2010). Here soils are black and 

contain numerous fragments of pottery. They are the so called,, Terra Firma ", often encountered on the river banks by 

Francisca de Orellana, who dismounted in Amazoone in the sixteenth century and described the large establishments, 

which stretched for several kilometers, but quickly disappeared, the population being sold by the Portuguese and Spanish 

conquerors, or has been decimated by epidemics brought by Europeans. There were inventoried 1800 settlements inside the 

forests, evidenced by: the presence of wells, pillars, fragments of pottery, pieces of polished rocks, debris of tools 

workshops or processing animal pelts, the presence of permanent settlements surrounded by ditches. 

Thus was born the idea of permanently forests inhabited by Native Americans, who played a role in the distribution of tree 

species, more demanding or heliophilous who came to reoccupy areas cleared for cultivation. 

In conclusion, forests spared at all times by human activity are rare. Human occupations in forests have left traces still 

spotted on soil properties, on the composition of grass flora and likely on shrubs distribution. Probably in many areas 

indications are yet to be discovered. 

Keywords: occupation of forests, ammonium nitrification. 


13


Scientific Foundation for Creating Field Protection Forest Belts in the 

Banat Plain 

1. Introduction 

In the current conditions of reduction of the forest 

area and climate aridity (with trends of desertification 

in some areas), the field protection forest belts are 

again of interest in Romania. Their advantages are 

multiple. Among them we can list the following: wind 

speed slow down, with direct implications: 

evapotranspiration reduction; windblown snow 

accumulation; soil erosion reduction; crop damage 

reduction; agricultural production increase; local 

environment improvement; an additional contribution 

of wood to rural population; irrigation cost reduction; 

improvement of the habitat for game and birds useful 

to agriculture; landscape embellishment. 

In our country, a favorable opinion towards the field 

protection belts was emerging after the droughts 

1928-1929 and 1933-1935, when the first plantations 

in Bărăgan (Neşu 1999) started. Up to the land reform 

in 1945 there were created about 1100 ha of isolated 

forest belts, spread throughout the country. 

Nevertheless, their installation was made without 

having a systematic study as their basis. 

During the period 1943-1957 in the radius of ICAS 

Bărăgan, I.C.A.R. Mărculeşti and Mărculeşti 

Township there were created more consistent 

networks of forest belts. Subsequent preservation of 

these cultures was very limited (the same as in the 

case of forest belts created in certain areas of the 

Banat Plain), the majority of them having been 

deforested. The Bărăgan Forestry Experimental 

Station had as main objective the experimentation in 

the domain creation of field protection forest belts. 

The interest in installing field protection forest belts 

has increased significantly in recent years in Romania 

as well. The people has begun to realize their 

beneficial role, so many municipalities in Banat have 

started the installation of forest belts. Research on the 

beneficial role of field protection forest belts were 

made over time in different countries. Almost 

unanimously it was found that field protection forest 

belts create a good environment for crop development 

in the protected areas, therefore obtaining a crop 

growth compared with agricultural cultures in open 

field. 

In different countries the effect of the field protection 

Ioan Adam, Nicolae Cadar, Oliver Merce, Ilie Cântar 

. 

forest belts on different crops was studied, according 

to their interest, as follows: Germany (rye, wheat, 

barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets, cabbage etc.), 

United States (wheat, corn, alfalfa, and cotton), 

Canada (wheat, corn), Hungary (wheat, strawberries), 

The Netherlands (apples, pears, and rye), Czech 

Republic (wheat), Russia (rye, wheat, barley). In 

Canada such research were made over a period of 100 

years, their results being published in professional 

journals (Droze 1977, Easterling et al. 1997, 

Anonymous 2008). 

Other research focused on the effect of reducing wind 

speed by installing forest belts, such as those 

conducted in Russia (N.P. Adamov, A, Batsiev), 

Hungary (G. Marczel), Switzerland (W. Nageli), and 

Germany (Blenk). Studies that targeted modification 

of air temperature near the forest belt (Mitschelich / 

Germany, Van Eimern / The Netherlands), soil 

temperature (Jensen and Aslyng – Norway, 

Vanderberg / Russia) were also carried out. 

Certain countries (Canada, United States) have 

created centers that promote and offer technical 

assistance for the installation of field protection forest 

belts (Anonymous 1997, 2011, Brandle et al. 2000). 

2. Method 

In order to develop the paper, during the first stage 

there were collected a large number of data: climate 

(weather stations), water (Romanian Waters), soil 

(O.S.P.A. – Soil and Agrochemical Studies Office) 

and vegetation (D.S. Timiş, D.S. Caraş Severin, 

Agricultural University of Banat), and data from 

A.N.I.F. (National Agency for Land Development). 

Some aspects of these data were checked in the field. 

The Banat Plain is considered sub-humid zone. In 

order to determine the area of more accentuated 

drought specific to the Hungarian dry-plains, the 

drought index was calculated using three methods: 

1). The P.A.I. (Palfai Aridity Index) is a drought 

index used in the Pannonian Plain (Man 2007). The 

P.A.I. is obtained by multiplying the index P.A.I. 0 

with: 

- temperature correction coefficient; 

14

- correction factor of rainfall; 

- factor of influence of groundwater, where: 

tIV− 

VIII 

P. A. 

I. 

0 

= ⋅100 

PX 

−VIII 

[ o C/100 mm] , where 

t IV - VIII - average daily temperatures in the months IV 

- VIII [ 0 C] 

P X - VIII – monthly rainfall during the months X - VIII 

[mm] 

Precipitation values are multiplied by correction 

factors such as: 0.1 – for October; 0.4 – for 

November; 0.5 – for December to April; 0.8 – for 

May; 1.2 – for June; 0.6 – for July; 0.9 – for August. 

Below there are the correction coefficients of P.A.I.: 

a). for temperature the correction coefficient is 

calculated by: 

n + 1 

K = 6 t 

n + 1 , where 

n - number of days with temperatures ≥ 30 0 C during 

June-August 

n - the average "n" for a large number of years 

b). the correction coefficient for rainfall 

δ max 

K p 

= 

4 

δ 

δ 

max 

max 

, where: 

- longest period of rainfall between June-August 

[days] 

δ max 

- annual average of δ max . 

c).the correction coefficient for groundwater: 

H 

K gw 

= 

H , where: 

H - level (depth) of groundwater during November- 

August [m] 

H - annual average of "H" 

Thus, P.A.I. is given by: 

P . A. 

I. 

= Kt 

⋅ K 

p 

⋅ K 

gw 

⋅ P. 

A. 

I. 

o 

For P.A.I. values between: 

6 - 8 ===> moderate dryness; 

8 - 10 ===> dry 

10-12 ===> strong dryness 

> 12 ===> extreme dryness 

The two other drought indexes calculated (used in 

Romania) are: 

- the hydroclimatic index 

PVI− 

VIII 

I 

hc 

= 

ETPVI 

−VIII 

, where 

P VI-VIII – amount of rainfall during June-August 

ETP VI-VIII – potential evapotranspiration during June- 

August 

- the climate index 

PVI− 

VII 

IC 

= 

PVI− 

VII 

, where 

PVI 

− VII is the average monthly rainfall during June- 

August. 

Analyzing the determinant factors for the necessity of 

installing field protection forest belts in Banat Plain 

and their variation in different points, the areas were 

defined by emergency of placement. For the 

placement of the field protection forest belts were 

considered the directions of the wind in the Banat 

Plain and also the rich network of drainage and 

irrigation canals and the main access roads. 

3. Results 

3.1. The analysis of the determinant factors for 

installation of plain protection forest belts in 

Banat Plain 

Banat Plain is the largest form of relief of this region, 

placed from north to south, as a strip between the 

western border of Romania and the hilly area to the 

east (figure1). 

15

Fiure 1. Emergency placement of forest belts in the Banat Plain 

On the eastern side the plain penetrates inside the 

mountain in the shape of stripes of different sizes. The 

slope decreases from east to west, fact also 

demonstrated by the direction of the rivers flowing 

through it. 

Altitude generally ranges between 100 - 200 m, with 

lower altitudes on the western side (80 - 95m). The 

Banat Plain covers an area of high piedmont plain 

with altitudes between 125 - 190 m. 

The high piedmont plain comprises the plains Oraviţa, 

Socol Tormac, Gătaia and Vinga. The Banat Plain 

also includes an area of low subsidence and digression 

plain with altitudes ranging between 80 and 100 m 

that consists of the plains: Aranca, Teremia – Lovrin – 

Pesac, Cena – Ionel and Banloc. The hydrographic 

network is represented by rivers, lakes and a network 

of drainage and irrigation canals (fig. 2). To be 

mentioned in this respect that on the range of Timis 

county the secondary canals are of a total of 11.167 

km length and an area of 12.287 ha. This network 

(mostly non-functional at present) is managed by 

A.N.I.F. The network of flowing waters that cross the 

Banat Plain south of the Mures River belong to the 

Danube basin and are Tisa’s direct affluents (Aranca, 

Bega) or Danube’s (Timiş) and they collect their 

waters exclusively from Banat. 

The density of the hydrographic network in the 

mountain area is 0.56 – 0.62 km/km 2 , and it decreases 

gradually, thus in the lower plain area it is almost 

nonexistent (0.1-0.2 km/km 2 ). In this area the river 

network is complemented by a drainage and irrigation 

canals network grouped in complex hydroameliorative 

systems. The most important rivers in the 

Banat Plain, with well defined basins, are: Aranca, 

Beregsau, Bega, Timiş, Bârzava, Moraviţa and Caraş 

(fig. 1). In the low Banat Plain the much reduced 

water drainage slope (0.4-1.0 m/km) generates 

frequent digressions trends, therefore, forming ponds 

and marshes. After 1717, in order to drain and 

regulate the river flows, large hydro technical 

management works were executed on the lower and 

mid Bega and between Bega and Timiş. Also, there 

were organized drainage systems and dams on the 

lower Birzava and Orava. The Mures River slows 

down when it enters the Western Plain, forming a 

large cone of dejection and presenting a series of 

16

phenomena of digression. In the subsidence plains the 

pedophreatic layer is situated at depths between 0.5- 

5.0 m. This intervenes directly in the process of 

pedogenesis. The pedophreatic water regimen is 

influenced by damming and drainage. 

In the piedmont plains the groundwater has a 

maximum depth ranging from 5 to 10 m. 

The climatic factors are to a large extent determined 

by the geographical location of the place taken into 

consideration (latitude and longitude). For the plain 

the exposure is of little effect. 

The Banat territory is located between 44 0 27’ - 46 0 48’ 

north latitude and 20 0 15’- 22 0 52’ east longitude. For 

the area under study (fig.1) there could be defined, 

depending on thermal resource, the following altitude 

zones: 

- I. less than 100 m, average annual temperatures 

above 11.1 0 C; 

- II. 101-200 m, average annual temperatures between 

10.1 0 C-11.0 0 C. 

For the cold season (winter) must be noted that in the 

high plains (contact area between lowlands and hills), 

frosts are more severe than in the lowest parts of the 

plain of digression. The number of frost days is often 

less than 90 days in the Banat Plain. 

In the Banat Plain, the nightly thermal threshold of 

16 0 C is the limit at which the warmth-loving plants 

can optimally grow and develop. 

Rainfall is distributed differently on the surface under 

study, as shown in tab.1, and like in the case of the 

temperatures, there can be defined two altitudinal 

zones relative to the annual rainfall: 

- I. under 100 m, average annual rainfall under 600 

mm; 

- II. 101-200 m, average annual rainfall between 601- 

700 mm. 

The number of days with annual precipitation in the 

subsidence and digression plain ranges from 105 days 

at Denta and 133.3 days at Lugoj. In the high plain the 

number of days with annual precipitation ranges from 

110 at the subsidence contact area to 130 days at the 

connection with the piedmont hills (in the center part 

120 days were recorded). Generally, the average 

precipitation ranges between 550-600 mm in the plain 

area. The humidity deficit is of about 234 mm. The De 

Martonne indexes have values between 25-27 and 

even lower. 

The aridity indexes have aproximatively lower than 

30 values in the western side of the Banat Plain, 

direction Miniş (30.0), Timişoara (30.2), Denta (28.7). 

At Sinnicolaul Mare (25.8) and Jimbolia (27.2) they 

have lower values, and towards the hills area they 

have higher values (Făget 36.0, Caransebeş 36.3, 

Bocşa Montană 41.4 and Oraviţa 44.0). 

Yearly potential evapotranspiration calculated by the 

Thornthwaite method, for the period 1896-1955, is 

higher than the average annual precipitation at the 

following stations: Sânnicolaul Mare (P.m.a.-536; 

E.T.P.-696), Jimbolia (P.m.a.-569; E.T.P.-695), 

Timişoara (P.m.a.-570; E.T.P.-698) and Miniş 

(P.m.a.-632; E.T.P.-697) and lower at Lugoj (P.m.a.- 

605; E.T.P.-534). 

For the climate with a dry season, specific for the 

Banat Plain, the ground water reserves are being 

depleted gradually through evapotranspiration and its 

consumption by plants. The water loss is compensated 

by rainfall, but with the water supply depletion a net 

deficit of precipitation begins, the evapotranspirations 

consumes the current rainfall, leaving an extra 

demand of the atmosphere, unsatisfied by these 

precipitations. The precipitations deficit of this period 

compared to the evapotranspiration expresses 

quantitatively the dry character of the climate and soil, 

resulting in a need for crop irrigation. In the Banat 

Plain, an amount of rainfall during May, June and July 

that is lower than 100 mm leads to a compromise of 

the crops. The results of calculations by the three 

methods of drought indexes (Wehry) for a period of 4 

years are presented in Table 1. 

From these calculations it results that out of the four 

years analyzed, three are dry, among them 1992 being 

very dry. The results demonstrate the need for 

irrigation and of installation of field protection forest 

belts in this area. 

Thus the P.A.I. curve drawn by the Hungarian 

researchers for the dry part of Hungary includes the 

Banat Plain as well (as part of Pannonian Field). This 

is confirmed by the results of calculations made using 

the indexes used in Romania, as shown in Table 1. 

The specific aspects of the steppe formation 

phenomena that are characteristic to the Banat Plain 

are a consequence of the reduction, in recent times, of 

the amount of precipitations, in conjunction with the 

lowering of the groundwater from hydro ameliorative 

works (sometimes oversized) and of the alternation of 

the air masses from different directions (as we shall 

see below) which, at certain wind speeds, increase 

evapotranspiration. 

To characterize the movement of the air in the plain 

17

area, the following meteorological stations were 

chosen: Timişoara, Sânnicolau Mare, Banloc and 

Lugoj. Wind frequency analysis on the 8 directions 

shows that the main directions are S and SE as 

follows: Lugoj (23.7 % - SE), Banloc (17.8 % - S) and 

Sânnicolau Mare (16.7 % - S); on the other hand at 

Timişoara it is NW (13.0 %). The predominant 

direction (S) at Sânnicolau Mare and Banloc, indicates 

a southern circulation in the plain area of Banat, and 

the predominant direction at Lugoj (SE – 15.9 %) is 

explained by the placement of the village in the Timiş 

valley, which flows from SE to NW. The highest 

values for calm are recorded at Lugoj (44.9%) and 

Timişoara (40.7%), which may be explained by the 

placement of the stations. Thus, the Lugoj 

meteorological station is situated on the Timiş valley, 

surrounded by the hills of Lugoj and Buziaş. 

Timişoara meteorological station is located near a 

forest (eastern side) and is surrounded by buildings on 

the other sides. 

Table 1. Drought indexes for 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994 in different zones of the Banat Plain (by Wehry) 

P.A.I. Hydro climatic Index Climatic Index 

Crt. 

No. 

Year 

Kt Kp Kgw PAI0 PAI Characteristics Ich Characteristics Ic 

Characteristi 

cs 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 

Sânnicolau Mare 

1 1990 1.00 1.10 1.10 6.84 8.9 Dryness 24.1 Very large deficit 0.54 Extreme dryness 

2 1992 1.11 1.24 1.06 9.20 13.4 Extreme dryness 25.9 Very large deficit 0.54 Very dry 

3 1993 1.09 0.96 1.09 7.67 8.8 Moderate dryness 26.2 Large deficit 0.61 Very dry 

4 1994 1.11 1.02 1.11 5.98 7.5 --- 31.8 Large deficit 0.77 Dry 

Timişoara 

1 1990 1.00 1.10 1.07 5.21 6.1 Moderate dryness 43.9 Large deficit 0.94 Normal 

2 1992 1.10 1.22 0.84 6.84 7.7 Moderate dryness 36.5 Large deficit 0.87 Slight dryness 

3 1993 1.06 1.00 1.09 7.13 8.2 Dryness 30.0 Large deficit 0.67 Very dry 

4 1994 1.10 1.03 1.22 5.36 7.5 Moderate dryness 46.0 Large deficit 1.07 Normal 

Banloc 

1 1990 1.04 1.09 1.22 5.26 7.3 Moderate dryness 39.8 Large deficit 0.85 Slight dryness 

2 1992 1.09 1.20 1.14 7.07 10.5 Extreme dryness 30.0 Large deficit 0.71 Dry 

3 1993 1.08 0.91 1.14 5.77 6.5 Moderate dryness 33.1 Large deficit 0.73 Dry 

4 1994 1.10 0.97 1.20 4.19 5.8 --- 54.8 Moderate deficit 1.23 Humid 

Lugoj 

1 1990 1.00 1.12 1.01 4.63 5.2 --- 52.4 Moderate deficit 1.00 Normal 

2 1992 1.07 1.10 0.99 3.95 4.6 --- 54.9 Moderate deficit 1.13 

Moderate 

humidity 

3 1993 1.06 0.91 0.99 5.14 5.0 --- 35.4 Large deficit 0.69 Very humid 

4 1994 1.07 1.02 0.97 4.17 4.4 --- 52.3 Moderate deficit 1.04 Normal 

Berini 

1 1990 0.93 1.09 1.15 6.75 7.87 Moderate dryness 35 Large deficit 0.65 Very dry 

2 1992 1.09 1.23 1.32 9.10 16.10 Extreme dryness 24 Very large deficit 0.48 Extreme dryness 

3 1993 1.06 0.98 1.27 5.79 7.64 Moderate dryness 41 Moderate deficit 0.77 Dry 

4 1994 1.13 1.05 1.36 3.94 6.36 Moderate dryness 60 Moderate deficit 1.11 Normal 

From the analysis of the data on average speed by 

direction it results that in the plain zone, the highest 

speed is recorded at Banloc (4.6m/s), this station 

being located in the plain, without major obstacles, 

and the lowest value is at Lugoj (1.6 m/s). 

In the most western side, at Beba Veche, the most 

frequent winds blow from NE / SE on winter 

(frequency 15% and speed 4-6 m/s), and on summer 

and spring from SE / NW (frequency 5-10% and 

speed 4-6 m/s). To be mentioned as an example, that 

in this town there used to be a windmill producing 

flour and providing electricity for the mill and the 

owner’s household. 

The forest vegetation occupies small areas in the 

lowlands. Thus, in Timiş county it occupies 923.600 

ha, that is 11% of the county surface (the percentage 

of afforestation in the country is of about 27%, at 40% 

being considered optimal). 

Each inhabitant thus has 0.15 ha of forest; the 

nationwide average is 0.39 ha. 

Of the total county forests, forests in the plain are at 

only 9% (in the following forest districts: O.S. 

Timişoara - 9%, O.S. Lunca Timiş - 3%, and O.S. 

Lugoj - 12%). 

Out of this percentage, 5% is the plain mixed 

hardwood forests with grayish oak and common oak, 

2% mixed grayish oak and common oak, and 2% 

mixed grayish oak and downy oak. 

Considering the entire surface of the Banat Plain, 

18

forest vegetation is distributed in a differentiated 

manner, depending on the pedohydroclimatic 

conditions. 

Thus, in the piedmont plain, with flat, low and 

moderately wavy land, with rainfall between 600 - 

700 mm, the dominant vegetation is represented by 

mesoxerophilous forests of Turkey oak, Hungarian 

oak and lime. 

In the subsidence and digression plain, where the 

forests have disappeared almost completely, the forest 

vegetation is represented by forests of grayish oak and 

downy oak, in the form of clusters, within which often 

penetrate steppe elements, such as: associations of 

mesoxerophyte species (in wet areas) psammophyte 

(on sand) and halophyte (on salty soils). Closely 

related with the climate and vegetation variability, as 

well as with the diversity of the anthropogenic 

intervention, the soil in the Banat area has a high level 

of variability in type, subtype, variety, family and 

species. 

In the high sector of the Banat Plain (Vinga Plain, 

Gătaia Plain) have developed mollic clay-lessive 

brown soils, and on smaller surfaces, vertisoils. At 

the confluence between Nera and the Danube (west to 

the Locva Mountains) there are cambric chernozems, 

which formed on a high loess field. 

In the low plain of Banat, although it is uniform in 

terms of relief, there are a variety of soils caused by 

the diverse lithology and groundwater level. Thus, in 

the digression lowlands of the plain there are Humic 

Glay soils, gleyic soils and gleyied vertisoils mixed 

with halomorpheous soils. In the higher areas, covered 

with sandy deposits and loess material, have 

developed damp or gleyied chernozems. In the 

floodplain areas there are brown eu-mesobasic soils 

and alluvial soils, that are in different stages of 

gleyzation or swamp formation (which, following 

extensive improvement work in the area, are evolving 

away from the halomorpheous types). 

To be mentioned that the chernozems occupy the 

vastest agricultural surface in Banat. In the low plain, 

west of a Miniş - Timişoara – Denta direction, the 

chernozems occupy about 68% of the surface of the 

plain. In this area the soil water deficit ranges between 

100- 300 mm. 

It is characterized by a potential evapotranspiration 

between 670 - 730 mm, the annual precipitation 

deficit being of 100 - 300 mm. The aridity index is 

between 20-26. 

3.2. Delimitation of the zones by emergency of 

installation 

All the items listed above (temperature regimen, 

rainfall, wind, lack of forests, etc.) show the need to 

create field protection forest belts on the entire surface 

of the Banat Plain. 

Summarizing these considerations the following 

result: 

- the annual average temperatures are above 11.1 0 C in 

the low Banat Plain (below 100 m) and between 10.1- 

11.0 0 C in the high plain (101-200 m); 

- the annual average precipitations have values below 

600 mm in the low plain and between 601-700 mm in 

the high plain; 

- the aridity indexes have values lower than 30 in the 

western side of the Banat Plain on a Denta (28.7) 

Timişoara (30.2), Miniş (30.0) direction; 

- the drought indexes calculated by the three methods 

(P.A.I., I hc , I c ) characterize an area with stronger 

drought to the west of the Denta, Berini, Timişoara, 

Miniş direction; 

- the potential evapotranspiration is higher than the 

annual average precipitations wets of the Timişoara 

(P.m.a. - 570 mm, E.T.P. - 698 mm) – Miniş (P.m.a. - 

569 mm, E.T.P. - 695 mm) direction; 

- the chernozems occupy 68 % of the Banat Plain 

surface west of the Denta – Timişoara – Miniş 

direction; in this area the annual precipitations deficit 

ranges between 100 and 300 mm. 

Analysis of these factors leads to the conclusion that, 

as a first emergency, there is a need to install filed 

protection forest belts west to the Denta – Berini – 

Timişoara – Miniş direction (fig. 1). 

3.3. Planning and installation of the plain 

protection forest belts in the Banat Plain 

Protection forest belts planning involves considering 

the exiting requirements and the future needs. It has 

to take into account the positioning of the farms, the 

access roads, different types of terrain (marshes, etc.), 

railways, and country roads. 

Such a unitary planning gives a clear picture on the 

effect that protection forest belts can have and 

eliminates the possibility of subsequent installation of 

other forest belts of low efficiency. In this respect, 

cadastral maps with full details are necessary. 

As previously shown (3.1), in the Banat Plain, in the 

majority of the areas the winds blow from all 

19

directions. 

The Banat Plain is crossed by a complex network of 

irrigation and drainage canals (3.1), in the Timiş 

county the secondary canals total 11.167 km in length 

and 12.287 ha in surface. 

Thus, we consider as advisable the installation of field 

protection forest belts along main and secondary 

canals and along some roads, in a closed circuit to 

delineate a surface of about 200 – 300 ha and that can 

provide good protection against winds from any 

direction. 

Research in Hungary show that if the forest belts are 

installed in angles different to the main wind direction 

their effect remains strong. 

In this respect, the backbone of protection consists of 

the following protection forest belts: 

- protection forest belts along main and secondary 

canals, of varying widths. 

- protection forest belts along the main and access 

roads. 

The field protection forest belts that are installed 

along the canals have to reconcile two requirements: 

- to be as close to the canal as possible so that the 

roots can use the infiltration water and to protect 

water against evaporation; 

- to allow their maintenance. 

Note that A.N.I.F. only manages the land at a distance 

of 0.5 m from the edge of the canal, the rest belonging 

to the landowners. 

For a good protection, it is considered sufficient that 

the protection forest belts cover 2-3% of the 

agricultural terrain’s surface. 

4. Conclusions 

The Banat Plain stretches between the western border 

of Romania and the hilly area at the east, where in 

some places penetrates inside the mountains in the 

shape of stripes of different sizes. It is the largest 

form of relief of this region. The slope of the plain 

decreases from east to west, and the altitude generally 

ranges between 100-200 m, with lower altitudes on 

the western side (80-95 m). The Banat Plain covers an 

area of high piedmont plain with altitudes between 

125-190 m and an area of digression with lower 

altitudes (90-100 m). This difference (altitude) is 

manifested in terms of thermal resource and 

precipitations. 

The most important rivers in the Banat Plain (with 

well defined individual basins) are: Timis , Bega, 

Aranca, Beregsau, Bârzava, Moraviţa, and Caraş. The 

density of the hydrographic network is very low (0.1 – 

0.2km/km 2 ), which led to the creation of a network of 

drainage and irrigation canals that are grouped in 

hydro ameliorative complex systems. In Timiş county, 

the secondary canals totalize 11.167 km in length and 

12.287 ha in surface. 

The climatic factors have specific characteristics in 

the Banat Plain. 

The yearly average temperatures are above 11.1 0 C in 

the lower area of Banat (below 100 m) and between 

10.1 and 11.0 0 C in the high plain area (101-200 m). 

The average precipitations are between 550-700mm 

(below 600 mm in the lower plain area and between 

601-700 mm in the high plain). 

For the plain area, the overall moisture deficit is of 

about 234mm. 

The aridity indexes have values lower than 30 in the 

western side of the Banat Plain on a Miniş (30.0), 

Timişoara (30.2), Denta (28.7) direction. At 

Sânnicolaul Mare (25.8) and Jimbolia (27.2) they 

have lower values, and towards the hill zone they have 

higher values (Făget 36.0, Caransebeş 36.3, Bocşa 

Montană 41.4 and Oraviţa 44.0). 

The drought indexes calculated by the three methods 

(P.A.I., I hc 

, 

I c ) characterize a stronger drought area 

west of the Denta, Berini Timişoara, Miniş direction. 

The annual potential evapotranspiration calculated by 

the Thornthwaite method is higher than the annual 

average precipitations at the stations: Sânnicolaul 

Mare (P.m.a.-536; E.T.P.-696), Jimbolia (P.m.a.-569; 

E.T.P.-695), Timişoara (P.m.a.-570; E.T.P.-698) and 

Miniş (P.m.a.-632; E.T.P.-697) and lower at Lugoj 

(P.m.a.-605; E.T.P.-534). 

The specific aspects of the steppe formation 

phenomena that are characteristic to the Banat Plain 

are a consequence of the reduction, in recent times, of 

the amount of precipitations, in conjunction with the 

lowering of the groundwater from hydro ameliorative 

works, sometimes oversized and of the alternation of 

the air masses from different directions which, at 

certain wind speeds, increase evapotranspiration. The 

wind regime in the Banat Plain is determined by the 

peculiarities of the general circulation of the 

atmosphere and by the role of orographic barrier of 

the Banat Mountains. 

20

In Banat Plain winds blow from all directions but the 

main directions are: south and south-east (Lugoj 

23.7% SE, Banloc 17.8% S, Sânnicolaul Mare 16.0% 

S) or north-west (Timişoara 13.0% NW). 

The forest vegetation occupies small areas in the 

lowlands. Thus, Timiş county, which has a surface of 

923.600 ha, has an area covered by forest of 105.803 

ha, that is 11% of the total surface of the county (the 

percentage of afforestation in the country is of about 

27%, the optimum being considered 40%). Each 

inhabitant thus has 0.15 ha of forest; the nationwide 

average is 0.39 ha. 

The soils in the Banat Plain exhibit a great variability 

in type, subtype, variety and species. Note that 

chernozems occupy the largest agricultural area of 

Banat. On a chernozem surface the annual 

precipitation deficit is of 100-300 mm. 

All the items listed above (temperature regimen, 

rainfall, wind, lack of forests, etc.) show the need to 

create field protection forest belts on the entire surface 

of the Banat Plain. As a first emergency, there is a 

need to install filed protection forest belts west to the 

Miniş, Timişoara, Berini, Denta direction. As second 

urgency, field protection forest belts will be installed 

in the rest of the Banat Plain. Because in the Banat 

Plain the winds blow from all directions and because 

it is crossed by a complex network of irrigation and 

drainage canals, we consider as advisable the 

installation of field protection forest belts along main 

and secondary canals and along some roads, in a 

closed circuit to delineate a surface of about 200-300 

ha and that can provide good protection against winds 

from any direction. 

In this way high protection is provided by a forest belt 

which cover only 2-3 % of the agricultural land. 

Bibliography: 

Brandle J.R., Hodges L., Wight B., 2000: Windbreak 

Practices. North American Agroforestry: An integrated 

science and practice 4: 79-118. 

Droze W.H., 1977: Trees, Prairies, and Peple: A history of 

tree planting in the Plains States. USDA For.Serv. and 

Texas Woman’s Univ. Press, Denton, TX. 

Easterling W.E., Hays C.J., Easterling M.M., Brandle 

J.R., 1997: Modeling the effect of shelterbelts on maize 

productivity under climatic change. An application of the 

EPIC model. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 61: 163-176. 

Neşu I., 1999: Perdele forestiere de protecţie a câmpului. 

Ed. STARTIPP Slobozia. 

Rogobete Gh., Ţărău D., 1977: Solurile Banatului şi 

ameliorarea lor. Harta solurilor Banatului. Ed. Marineasa 

Timişoara. 

Man T. E., 2007: Hidroamelioraţii. Ed. Aprilia Print, 

Timişoara 

Wehry A., Man T. E., Orlescu M., Eles G., Teodorescu 

C., Udrişte N., 1997: Comparative analysis concerning 

the value for the aridity index using different methods, in 

the west part of Romania. In: Jaguer J.M. de, Vermes 

L.P., Ragab R. (eds). Actas del taller internac. De la 

ICID sobre el Riego Sostenible en Zonas de Escasez de 

Aqua y Sequía. Oxford England, 221-228. 

***, 1997: The effect of shelterbelts on Cropping and 

tillage practices. The Indian Head Agricultural Research 

Foundation. Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agri-Food 

Canada. www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca. 

***, 2008: Shelterbelt program. Fish and Wildlife Division 

IOWA, USA. www.iowadnr.gov. 

***, 2011: Planning farm shelterbelts. PFRA Shelterbelt 

Centre Publications. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 

www.4agr.gc.ca. 

Abstract 

Climatic and ecological data were collected and processed for scientific substantiation of the need to 

create field protection forest belts in the Banat Plain and establishing their emergency placement. Moisture deficit in the 

plains (ca. 234 mm), low aridity indexes and potential evapotranspiration greatly exceeding annual precipitation, lack 

of forests, lead to the conclusion that creation field protection forest belts all over the Banat Plain is needed. 

Following detailed analysis of the distribution of climate factors in the Banat Plain have emerged two distinct areas in 

terms of urgency for the installation of field protection forest belts. The area of first urgency includes the low plains of 

Banat, located west of the Denta - Timişoara – Miniş direction. Taking into account wind direction in the Banat 

Plain, complex network of irrigation and drainage canals, distribution of access roads, it was considered appropriate the 

installation of protection belts along the aforementioned, in closed circuit, to delineate 200 to 300 ha and that 

provide protection against winds from any direction. A network of forest belts covering 2-3% of the agricultural land is 

considered enough to protect the field. 

Kaywords: forest belts, Banat Plain, climate, drought index. 

Transated by: Roxana Gabriela Munteanu 

21


Installation of Protection Forest Belts in the Plain Area 

of Mehedinţi County 

Ioan Adam, Traian Ivanschi, Oliver Merce, Daniel Turcu, Nicolae Cadar, Ilie Cântar 


Successive deforestation over the past century in the 

lowlands of Mehedinţi County resulted in a forest 

share of 6% of the territory, well below the European 

average for such areas (15%). This led to droughts, 

which in recent decades have become – including as 

an effect of global climate change – more frequent 

and prolonged. 

Taking into account the role of forest vegetation in 

improving environmental conditions, and the radical 

changes in forest ecosystem structure, with 

installation of ecological imbalances difficult to 

control, there is an urgent need for ecological 

reconstruction measures. One of these measures is 

establishing a network of forest belts in the lowlands 

of the county for farmland protection, combating 

excessive droughts, lasting improvement of 

environmental conditions, etc. 

The protection forest belts have a multifunctional role, 

with favorable effects on temperature, humidity, soil 

and crops. In addition, they are sources of timber (in a 

region where forests are very rare or absent), 

industrial and food products (fruit, mushrooms, 

medicinal products and beekeeping, etc.), they 

improve living conditions (purified air, softened 

climate and beautified landscape) and increase the 

water regime. 

2. Materials and methods 

In order to draft the projects of protection forest belts 

installation in the plain area of Mehedinţi County first 

there were studied elements of natural environment – 

stationary. 

This, expressed by the environmental conditions for 

vegetation, generally includes elements of geological 

substrate, relief (geomorphologic), general- regional 

and topoclimate climatic conditions, influenced by 

terrain and rock, zonal vegetation as pedogenetic 

factor, existing floor of vegetation and the stationary 

as living environment - synthesis of the factors 

mentioned above. 

For the study of the natural environment was used, in 

the first phase, a series of works like Geographical 

Monograph of R.P.R. (Vol. 1), Geography Atlas, 

forest management plans, Soil Maps scale 1:200.000. 

During the field phase there was collected data from 

the meteorological stations, soil profiles were made 

(at 70-80 cm depth) in each area with a certain type of 

soil existing on the above mentioned map (2-3 profiles 

for each phytoclimatic zone). 

The soil samples were collected on diagnostic 

horizons establishing the soil type and sub-type with 

its limitative and compensative factors. 

During the laboratory phase (analysis were made at 

O.S.P.A. Timişoara) were determined: pH, humus 

content, carbonates, exchange bases (S B ), hydrolytic 

acidity (S H ), total nitrogen, soluble salts (chlorides, 

sulphates, sodium carbonate), and for some compact 

soils texture was determined (for the loose ones 

texture was determined organoleptically). During the 

office phase the data from the field and the laboratory 

was processed and the soil types and sub-types were 

defined. 

Analyzing stationary conditions that include edaphic 

and topoclimate conditions (influenced by relief in the 

case of the phytoclimatic floor) and the vegetation 

floors, stationary units were separated. The stationary 

units were designed as areas were stationary 

conditions are relatively uniform (vegetation floors, 

relief, micro relief, soil type and sub-type with all its 

attributes). 

An important role in establishing the stationary units 

have had the following limiting and compensatory 

stationary factors: summer soil humidity, trophicity, 

water retention capacity and compactness. In a 

stationary unit can be included several types of soil 

with some similar characteristics that will provide the 

same favorability for certain species. For the entire 

area of the Mehedinţi County provided with 

protection forest belts there were established 6 

stationary units. For their concise characterization it is 

indicated the form of relief, the soil type and sub-type, 

limiting and compensatory stationary factors and the 

favorability for certain species. 

For each stationary unit the afforestation compositions 

were established, recommending forest species 

according to their ecological requirements. The 

22


afforestation compositions were determined separately 

for the main and secondary forest belts. 

The main forest belts were designed perpendicular to 

prevailing wind direction. In areas were wind blows 

from one direction only there have not been installed 

protection forest belts. Distance between main forest 

belts was set at 250 m, except where in the area were 

investment objectives (canals, roads etc.), the forest 

belts being installed along them to avoid 

fragmentation of private property. The secondary 

forest belts (transversal) link the main ones, 

constituting together more or less regular geometrical 

shapes (fig. 1). 

The distance between the secondary forest belts was 

set at 500 m, except in the cases provided for the main 

ones. The protection forest belt network was designed 

by township. Measurements were made with G.P.S., 

and numbering was done at locality level, on each lot, 

starting with 1-n. The main forest belts are 10 m wide, 

and the secondary ones are 8 m wide. 

For the designed forest belts there were provided 

management plan markings which will be placed in 

the field 4 / forest belt. Numbering was made starting 

from the southern side to the northern side and from 

the eastern side to the western side. The markings 

carry the same numbers as the forest belts they were 

placed in. 

3. Results 

The natural environment as habitat for vegetation 

contains elements of geological substrate, relief 

(geomorphology), hydrology (water sources), 

edaphic conditions, general-zonal climate and 

topoclimate conditions influenced by relief and 

rock, vegetation as pedogenetic factor and the 

stationary – synthesis of the above mentioned 

factors. 

The territory that is subject o this project belongs 

to the great structural unit „Moesian Platform” 

(Prebalcanic Platform), which north of the 

Danube embraces the Romanian Plain (Blahniţa 

Plain), encompassing the mostly the Quaternary 

and less the Pliocene, represented by loess and 

sands. In the studied area the loess and the 

alluvial sands are predominant. 

Photo 1. Field protection forest belt network in the Cujmir 

and Salcia townships area 

As far as form of relief, the territory is located in the 

forest steppe and steppe floor (island, intrazonal), with 

a generally flat configuration, with slight bumps, but 

crossed by shallow valleys 2-3 m deep that meander 

mainly on the south-east to north-west direction. Also, 

in the forest steppe and steppe, on small surfaces, 

there are positive forms: stabilized dunes (wavy 

terrain due to wind) oriented as above, the majority of 

them made of sands and loess and here and there 

small portions of sands only. In terms of altitude the 

territory is located between 40 and 160 m, and the 

wavy relief does not exceed 5-10 m in height. 

The territory subject to installation of protection forest 

belts in the forest steppe area has a small 

hydrographic network represented by the Blahniţa 

River and its tributaries. The supply of humidity is 

due to the liquid and solid precipitation, with 

hydrological regime of precipitation H 1 . In 

conclusion, the terrain subject to this project is in an 

arid area where the installation of protection forest 

belts is justified. 

After the Geographical Monograph of Romania (Vol. 

1) the territory subject to this project is within the 

C.f.a.x. climate province with: 

- Average annual temperature: 11.6 0 C; 

23


- Average annual precipitation: 615.5 mm/year; 

- Potential evapotranspiration: 732.5 mm/year; 

- Potential humidity deficit 127.0 mm/year; 

- Strong tendency to reduce average annual 

precipitation in the last years; 

- During summer appear warm air masses from the 

south-west that accelerate evapotranspiration and 

produce a strong humidity deficit. 

In the forest steppe and steppe floor (island, 

intrazonal) predominate Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, 

common oak and mixed hardwood forests based 

mostly on Grayish oak, and in the intrazonal steppe 

the majority is represented by Turkey and Hungarian 

oak and less by common oak and Grayish oak. 

In the terrain subject to this project, the fundamental 

natural stands represent about 70 % and the artificial 

ones 30 % in the northern part of the area and a report 

almost opposite in the south. 

In the studied terrain the vegetation has poor growing 

conditions, hence the necessity of settling them in 

stationary that are favorable to their ecological needs. 

The following is a description of soil types identified 

in the field with the physic-chemical (variation limits) 

resulted from the laboratory tests. 

In the forest steppe and steppe area (island-intrazonal) 

the following types of soil have been identified: 

Cambic Phaeozem (cambic chernozem) with a Am- 

Bv-C profile, formed on loess, on flat or slightly 

depressing terrain, with pH = 7.06-7.28, with humus 

content on the 20 cm thickness of 2.00-2.54 %, 

medium supplied with total nitrogen (0.16-0.23 g %), 

mesobasic on surface (V = 80-84 %), medium 

edaphic, suitable for culture of Grayish oak, Turkey 

oak, Hungarian oak, lime, locust, Tartarian maple etc. 

Typical Phaeozem (typical chernozem) with a Am- 

Ac-C profile, formed on sands, on flat or slightly 

depressing terrain, it is basic with pH = 6.0-7.2 with 

humus content of 1.92-2.52 in the first 20 cm, medium 

to low supplied with total nitrogen (0.11-0.31 %) 

throughout the profile, the degree of base saturation V 

= 66-87 %, loamy to sandy-clay, medium-deep 

edaphic, suitable for culture of Turkey oak, Hungarian 

oak, locust, Turkestan elm, etc. 

Eutric Regosol (typical, sandy) with a Ao-C profile, 

formed on sands and loess, on flat terrain or old, low, 

stable dunes, it is slightly acid with pH = 6.72-7.00, 

low humus, medium supplied with total nitrogen at 

the surface (0.48), eubasic at surface and mesobasic in 

depth, with sandy-loamy texture on the surface and 

sandy-cohesive in depth, medium edaphic, suitable for 

culture of locust and honey locust (due to low water 

retention capacity and high evapotranspiration). 

In the forest plain area the following types of soils 

were identified: 

Psammyc Preluvosol (reddish brown clay-alluvial on 

sandy deposits) with a Ao-Bt-C profile, formed on 

sandy deposits, on flat or slightly depressing terrain, it 

is slightly acid with pH = 6.18-6.49, low content of 

humus on the 0-20 cm thickness of 1.26 %, low 

supplied with total nitrogen (0.19 %), mesobasic in 

Ao (63 %) and eubasic in Bt (75 %), sandy – loamy, 

medium edaphic, suitable for culture of Grayish oak, 

Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, locust, honey locust, field 

maple, lime, Tartarian maple, etc. 

Red Luvisol (reddish brown luvic typical), with a Ao- 

El-Bt-C profile, formed on loam and loess, on slightly 

depressing terrain, with pH = 6.0-7.6 , and humus 

content = 0.95-3.03 % on the 0-20 cm thickness, 

medium supplied with total nitrogen (0.18-0.39 g %) 

on the surface, mesobasic to eubasic, loamy to loamy 

– clay, medium edaphic, suitable for culture of 

Grayish oak, Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, ash, lime, 

elm, field maple, locust, honey locust, Tartarian 

maple, etc. 

Gleyic Cambic Chernozem (Humic glay soil) with a 

Am-Bv-Go-Gr profile, formed on loam and loess, on 

flat terrain, sometimes abandoned meadows, with 

ground water near the surface, it is neutral to 

moderately alkaline with pH = 8.04, moderate content 

of humus on the 20 cm thickness of 2.46 %, very well 

supplied with total nitrogen on the surface (0.30 %) 

eubasic, loamy to loamy-clay, medium edaphic, 

suitable for culture of Grayish oak, Turkey oak, 

Hungarian oak, ash, lime, field maple, locust, honey 

locust, Tartarian maple, etc. 

The following are the site units and the main and 

alternative afforestation compositions for the primary 

and secondary forest belts (Table 1). 

Stationary 

Units 

Table. 1 Site units 

Form of 

relief 

Soil types and 

sub-types 

Stationary factors 

– limiting and 

compensatory 

Composition of 

Surface 

afforestation - basic and 

alternative ha % 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

24


U.s. 1 

U.s. 2 

U.s. 3 

U.s. 4 

U.s. 5 

U.s. 6 

Flat or 

slightly 

depressing 

terrain 

Terrain 

with wavy 

relief 

Terrain 

with wavy 

relief 

Flat or 

slightly 

depressing 

terrain 

Terrain 

with wavy 

relief 

Flat or 

slightly 

depressing 

terrain 

- red luvisol 

- gleyic cambic 

chernozem 

- typical phaeozem 

-typical phaeozem 

- psammyc cambic 

phaeozem 

- weak moisture deficiency in 

summer 

- medium trophicity 

- high water retention capacity 

- moderate compactness 

- severe moisture deficiency 

in summer 

- medium-high trophicity 

- high water retention 

capacity 


- cambic phaeozem - severe moisture deficiency 

in summer 

- medium trophicity 

- high water retention 

capacity 

- low compactness 

- typical phaeozem - medium moisture 

deficiency in summer 

- medium-high trophicity 

- moderate water retention 

capacity 

- loose 

- cambic 

phaeozem 

-typical phaeozem 

- medium moisture 


-medium trophicity 


capacity 

- loose 

- very low moisture 


- high trophicity 


capacity 


Main forest belt, 10 m wide 

20 Stb (Ce, Gî) 30 Fr (Te, 

Ju) 50 Arb. 

Secondary forest belt, 8 m 

wide 

25 Stb 25 Fr (Te, Ju, Ult) 

50Arb. 


60 Sc (Gl) 20 Art (Ju, Cd, 

Zarz) 20 Arb. 


wide 50 Sc (Gl) 25 Art (Ju, 

Păr, Cd, Zarz) 25Arb. 


20 Ce (Gî, Gl) 25 Ult (Păr, 

Nun, Art) 50 Arb 


wide 25Ce (Gî, Gl) 25Ult 

(Păr, Nun, Art) 50 Arb 


20 Stb (Ce, Gî) 30 Te (Mj, 

Ju) 50 Arb. 


wide 25 Stb (Ce, Gî) 25 Fr 

(Te, Ju, Ult) 50 Arb. 


60 Sc (Gl) 20 Art (Ju, Cd, 

Zarz) 20 Arb 


wide 50 Sc (Gl) 25 Art (Ju, 

Păr, Cd, Zarz) 25Arb 


20 Stb (Ce, Gî) 30 Te (Mj, 

Ju) 50 Arb. 


wide 25Stb 25Fr (Te, Ju, 

432.74 35 

128.92 10 

296.91 24 

199.90 16 

110.78 9 

72.72 6 

Ult) 50 Arb. 

Total 1241.97 100 

Stb: Quercus peduinculiflora; Ce: Quercus cerris; Gî: Quercus frainetto; Fr: Fraxinus excelsior; Te: Tilia cordata; Ju: Acer 

campestre; Mj: Fraxinus ornus; Ult: Ulmus pumila; Păr: Pyrus pyraster; Sl: Eleagnus angustifolia; Gl: Gleditsia triacanthos; Art: 

Acer tataricum; Nun: Juglans nigra; Cd: Prunus cerasifera; Zarz: Prunus armeniaca; Arb.: shrub species 

Table 2 shows the distribution by townships of the 

actual surfaces with filed protection forest belts. The 

total area provided for forest belts throughout the 

county is of 1241.97 ha, of which 880.12 ha main 

forest belts and 361.85 ha secondary forest belts. 

Table 2. Distribution of actual surfaces with filed protection forest belts in Mehedinţi County 

Township 

Main forest belts 

[ha] 

Secondary forest belts 

[ha] 

Total 

[ha] 

Gogoşu 56.93 20.88 77.81 

Vratu 64.36 - 64.36 

Punghina 69.15 - 69.15 

Corlăţel 41.08 - 41.08 

Pristol 59.04 23.48 82.52 

Gruia 27.88 21.85 49.73 

Devesel 9.19 5.82 15.01 

Burila Mare 55.20 33.87 89.07 

Gîrla Mare 124.35 76.62 200.97 

Obârşia de Câmp 52.17 27.87 80.04 

Salcia 68.98 44.33 113.31 

Pătulele 114.74 58.27 173.01 

Jiana 4.68 2.06 6.74 

25


Vînători 67.38 - 67.38 

Dîrvari 13.62 8.46 22.08 

Cujmir 51.37 38.34 89.71 

Total 880.12 361.85 1241.97 

4. Conclusion 

Specific conditions in the plains Mehedinţi County 

have required the preparation of projects for the 

location of forest belts for farmland protection and 

improvement of environmental conditions. 

After a preliminary study of the natural environment 

(climatic conditions, soil map, forest planning) it was 

passed to the design phase, the first step being picking 

field data (analysis of soil, vegetation study, location 

of forest belts networks depending on wind direction, 

etc.). 

Depending on soil types and subtypes, on limiting and 

compensatory stationary factors, there have been 

Bibliography: 

Haralamb A., 1956. Cultura speciilor forestiere. Ed. Agrosilvică, 

Bucureşti. 

Stănescu V., Şofletea N., Popescu D., 1997. Flora 

forestieră lemnoasă a României. Ed. Ceres, Bucureşti. 

Tîrziu D., 1997. Pedologie şi staţiuni forestiere. Ed. Ceres, 

Bucureşti. 

established six stationary units. For each stationary 

unit there were established main and alternative 

afforestation compositions, based on each unit’s 

favorability for certain species. 

The designed forest belts networks total an actual area 

of 1242 ha in the county, of which 880 ha are main 

forest belts and 362 ha secondary forest belts. 

We believe that by installing these forest belts the 

agricultural production will increase; the local climate 

will improve and will benefit from other advantages 

that protection forest belts bring (additional 

contribution of wood to the population, reducing the 

cost of irrigation, improve habitat for game and birds 

useful to agriculture, etc.). 

***, 1968: Clima R.S.R II. Date climatologice. Comitetul 

de Stat al Apelor, Institutul Meteorologic, Bucureşti. 

***, 2000: 1. Norme tehnice privind compoziţii, scheme şi 

tehnologii de regenerare a pădurilor şi de împădurire a 

terenurilor degradate. MMAP, 2000. 

Abstract 

The low share of forests in Mehedinti County (6% of the territory), the increasing occurrence of prolonged droughts in the 

last decades impose the placement of networks of field protection forest belts to protect farmland and improve 

environmental conditions. 

In the drafting of the projects for placement of protection forest belts were studied, in a first stage, the natural environment 

elements. During the field works the study of vegetation was done, soil samples were collected for analysis, and 

measurements were made for mapping the networks of main and secondary protection forest belts by township (depending 

on the prevailing wind direction). 

During the office stage, after establishing the soil types and sub-types (indicating their favorability for some species) and 

the analysis of the limiting and compensatory stationary factors, 6 stationary units were established. These were outlined on 

the maps. 

For each stationary unit, based on their phytocenosis aptitude, main and alternative afforestation compositions were 

established for the main and the secondary forest belts. The forest belts networks were designed in the area of 16 

townships, 1242 ha in total, of which 880 ha main forest belts and 362 ha secondary forest belts. 

Keywords: forest belts, Mehedinţi Country, stationary factors 


26


Considerations on designing forest belts for the protection of fields and 

communication ways in Dobrogea and East Bărăgan 


Manole Greavu, Mihaela Mănescu, Salvatore Vals, Vildan Feta, 

Mariana Dogaru 

The present communication takes into account the fact 

that during 2005 – 2006 the Research Group of 

I.C.A.S. Tulcea elaborated the feasibility studies and 

technical project “Establishment of protection forest 

belts for communication ways (national roads and 

railways) in the counties of Brăila, Constanţa, Tulcea 

and Ialomiţa (2005)” and “Substantiating study for the 

necessity of setting field protection forest belts in 

Tulcea County” (2006). 

In developing the above studies the following were 

considered: the law 289/2002 on protection curtains, 

G.D. no. 548/2003 concerning duties of the Ministry 

for Agriculture, Food and Forestry as coordinator of 

the implementation of the national system of forest 

belts, O.M.A.A.P. no. 636/2002, Sylvic Technical 

Guidelines for establishment, maintenance and 

management of forest vegetation of forest belts, 

existing standards, technical notes of I.C.A.S. (Forest 

Research and Management Institute) etc. 

2. The design of forest belts for the 

protection of communication ways 

In the feasibility study have been covered 126.90 km 

of curtains located along the national roads in the 

counties of Brăila, Tulcea, Constanţa and 2.0 km 

along the railways in the counties of Constanţa and 

Ialomiţa. 

The forest belts position was established by G.D. no. 

994/2004 starting from the need to protect the most 

vulnerable areas. 

Compared to the length of the forest belts originally 

planned, in the field there were shorter belts due to the 

overlap with buildable terrain of some localities or the 

emergence of new vineyards, orchards, etc. 

Following the stationary mapping, 15 types of 

stationary units were identified for which the same 

technology of forest vegetation installation was used. 

The assessment of the materials costs, labor and 

equipment was made using existing normative acts in 

the forestry industry. 

The curtains has a total width of 30 m, they were 

placed at 20 m from the edge of the road, using a 

planting scheme of 2 x 1 m. 

A wide range of forest species was used: grayish oak 

(St.br – Quercus pedunculiflora), black locust (Sc – 

Robinia pseudoacacia), honey locust (glade) (Gl – 

Gleditsia triacanthos), black pine (Pin – Pinus nigra), 

Virginia juniper, Turkestan elm (Ul.t – Ulmus 

pumila), Tartar maple (Acer tataricum), sallow (Sl - 

Elaeagnus angustifolia), downy oak (St.p - Quercus 

pubescens), Wild Pear (Pr - Pyrus pyraster ), linden 

(Te.a – Tilia argentea), dog rose (Mc - Rosa canina), 

hawthorn (Pd – Crataegus sp.), wild privet (Lc - 

Ligustrum vulgare), smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria), 

hibiscus (Hibiscus sp.), spirit (Spiraea sp.) etc. 

3. The design of forest belts for the 

protection of fields 

The substantiation study had as objective the wide 

open fields, unprotected by the presence of vineyards, 

orchards or forests. 

All the curtains were considered main forest belts, 

with a width of 10 m. 

The existing operational roads around the lots were 

considered as location markers. 

No curtains have been placed on the sides adjacent of 

national, county or municipal roads. 

The total of field curtains expected to be installed in 

Tulcea is 1157 ha. The total number of belted lots is 

550 and they are situated in 35 administrative units 

(commune, city, municipality) out of a total of 51 

existing in the county. 

Assuming an average lot is about 40 ha (500 x 800 m) 

the total belted land has about 23000 ha, out of the 

246099 ha arable land, on the range of the 35 

administrative units. 

The placement of the curtains was made in the office 

based on the cadastral plans at scale 1 : 10.000; 1 : 

27


5.000 and 1 : 2.000, provided by O.C.O.T.A. and after 

revising the aerospace maps. 

It should be noted that, compared to the plot division 

used starting with 1991 (applying Law 18) there were 

some cases of total inconsistency with the recent 

satellite images, which led us to not placing of certain 

curtains, although the reality in the field would have 

requested it. 

Based on existing soil maps in this study were adapted 

three groups of measures (GM) to install curtains, 

overlapping three types of soil: chestnut steppe soil, 

typical chernozem, cambic chernozem (or argillic 

chernozem). 

The species used for the afforestation of the three 

types of soil are: 60 Sc, 20 Vi.t, 20 Pd on chernozem, 

60 Gl, 20 Ul.t, 20 Sl on chestnut steppe soil, 60 St. 

br, 20 Pr, 20 Mc on cambic chernozem (or argillic 

chernozem). 

For deep chernozem the black locust is preferred 

because, even is exploited according to the forestry 

regime or cut out of low, it has a high capacity to 

regenerate so the role of the curtain is fulfilled even 

the first years after exploitation. 

The honey locust (glad) and the Turkestan elm are 

proposed for afforestation of soils where the substrate 

consists of chestnut steppe soil with a high content 

of calcium carbonate present even in the A horizon. 

The plantations on lands with soils of cambic 

chernozem or argillic chernozem, situated in the 

grasslands and the transition to forest zone will have 

as main species the grayish oak or the downy oak 

together with secondary mixed stand species (Pr, Te.a, 

Ar.t) and shrubs (Mc). 

The planting scheme shall be 2 x 1 m with stem 

cutting-back of seedlings after planting. 

The beating up (filling the gaps) are expected to be of 

about 20 % in the first year and of 10 % in the second 

year, and maintenance will consist of soil mobilization 

for 3 years for the black locust / honey locust curtains 

and of a minimum of 5 years for the oak ones. 

There were planned 2-3 weedings and 3 defoliators’ 

control treatments. 

4. Implementation of protection forest 

belt for which the documentation was 

developed during 2005 - 2006 

In the case of both the forest belts for the protection of 

communication ways and the ones for the protection 

of fields, in order to relieve the planting effort the 

planting machines can be used as a measure balance 

the lack of labor force. 

The required seedlings can be produced locally, in the 

existing nurseries of the RNP-Romsilva forest districts 

but also by increasing the production capacity of the 

private nurseries that already exist. 

For the afforestation of areas for forest belt settlement 

and other compact areas in the region, in addition to 

the I.C.A.S. existing staff, the central authority in 

charged with forestry has certified individuals and 

companies to develop technical documentation 

(SF,PE, etc). 

For the execution of the works of land and soil 

preparation, planting, maintenance, pest control there 

are operators licensed by the ministry. 

Both in the present and in the future for a lot of the 

areas dedicated to the afforestation with protection 

belts, irrigation may be applicable. 

We consider there is now a chance that the National 

Program of Afforestation with Protective Forest Belts 

might be put into practice. 

At the time of this communication none of the 

seedlings planned in the 2005-2006 documentation 

was planted. The main cause of this failure as follows: 

the failure to identify and contact all owners or heirs 

for obtaining agreement to plant the forest belts. 

Together with the municipalities were drawn lists of 

1744 owners of the land designated for forest belts for 

the protection of communication ways and lists of 

24800 owners for the field protection forest belts. 

With significant demographic changes experienced by 

the population of Romania in recent years (about 3.0 

million Romanians working or living abroad) the 

project of afforestation was blocked at this phase. 

In all the years since the project was initiated many 

interventions to local and central authorities, to 

legislative bodies (Romanian parliament), academy 

(A.S.A.S.) or to various interested non-governmental 

organizations (Progresul Silvic) were made, with 

suggestions of ways to overcome this blockage. 

At present, the hope that the National Program of 

Afforestation with Protective Forest Belts will take 

effect is renewed. This expectation is related to the 

fact that on December 31st, 2011 parliament has 

28


modified the Forest Belts Law, clarifying all aspects 

of implementing the program, i.e., identifying and 

contacting landowners, setting the amount of 

compensation granted to citizens who do not accept 

the planting of forest belts, the expropriation to the 

benefit of the state procedure, etc. The only problem 

that remains is finding the funds for the project. 

Bibliography: 

Costăchescu C., Dănescu F., Mihăilă E., 2010: Perdele 

forestiere de protecţie. Ed. Tehnică, Bucureşti. 

Greavu M., Mănescu M., Vals S., Feta V., Dogaru M., 

2005: Studiul de fezabilitatea şi Proiectul tehnic pentru 

„Înfiinţarea perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a căilor de 

comunicaţie în judeţele Brăila, Constanţa, Tulcea şi 

Ialomiţa”. ICAS/MAPDR. 

Greavu M., Mănescu M., Vals S., Feta V., Dogaru M., 

2006: Studiu de fundamentare a necesităţii instalării 

perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a câmpului din jud. 

Tulcea. ICAS/MAPDR. 

Târziu D., Spârchez Gh., Dincă L., 2002: Solurile 

României. Ed. Pentru viaţă, Braşov. 

***, 1991: Legea 18. Legea fondului funciar (republicată 

1998). 

***, 2002: O.M.A.A.P. nr. 636. 

***, 2002: Legea 289 privind perdelele forestiere de 

protecţie Monitorul Oficial al României (MO), Partea I: 

382. 

***, 2003: Ord. MAAP nr. 636/2002 privind aprobarea 

Îndrumărilor tehnice silvice pentru înfiinţarea, îngrijirea şi 

conducerea vegetaţiei forestiere din perdelele forestiere de 

protecţie, MO, I: 104. 

***, 2003: HG nr. 548 privind atribuţiile Ministerului 

Agriculturii Alimentaţiei şi Pădurilor ca minister 

coordonator al programului de realizare a sistemului 

naţional al perdelelor forestiere de protecţie. MO, Partea I, 

365. 

***, 2004: HG nr. 994. 

***, 2010: Programul Naţional de Împădurire. MMP. 

***, 2011: Legea 213 pentru modificarea şi completarea 

Legii 289/2002 privind perdelele forestiere de protecţie. 

MO, I: 825. 

Abstract 

At present, the hope that the National Program of Afforestation with Protective Forest Belts will take effect is renewed. 

This expectation is related to the fact that on December 31st, 2011 the modified version of the Forest Belts Law took effect. 

This version clarifies all aspects of implementing the National Program of Afforestation with Protective Forest Belts, i.e., 

identifying and contacting landowners, setting the amount of compensation granted to citizens who do not accept the 

planting of forest belts, the expropriation to the benefit of the state procedure, etc. 

The only problem that remains is finding the funds for the project 

Keywords: forest belts, protection of fields and communication ways, Dobrogea, East Bărăgan. 

Tranlated by: Roxana Gabriela Munteanu 

29

FORESTRY BELTS SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETIC REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Principles of creating the communication ways protection forest belts 

and their implementation in the current design practice 


Ilie Muşat 

The communication ways protection forest belts (we 

will call them hereinafter snow protection forest belts) 

form a separate chapter in the domain of protection 

forest belts. 

Their main characteristic is the great economic role 

which they play, they have to ensure unimpeded 

movement of vehicles, whether road or rail, heavy 

snow falls involving enormous expenditures for 

removing their consequences, consequences that may 

include even loss of lives. Hence the clear 

implications that lies in the appropriate design of this 

type of belts. 

In terms of weather, in a paper of 2006 I stated that 

heavy snow falls the most powerful and most 

frequently occur in the case of the combination of 

height the so called blizzards, when the snow 

transport takes place during its falling, with blizzards 

when it surface does not snows but, at wind speeds 

exceeding 4 m/s (the phenomenon reaches maximum 

intensity at speeds of 6-7 m/s), the already fallen snow 

is engaged and moved to the surface. Note that the 

involvement of the already fallen snow can occur even 

in clear but dry weather. Accumulation takes place in 

compact layers with high specific gravity. Once an 

obstacle is met deposit as drifts occurs. Their shape is 

characterized by asymmetry of slopes, more steep in 

the lee of the obstacle, the slope being more 

pronounced the more the obstacle, in our case the 

forest belt, will be wider. 

Between the width of the forest belt and the amount of 

snow retained there is, as expected, a close 

connection. Thus, if at a forest belt width of 30 m 

there is a deposit of up to 50 m 3 of snow at linear 

meter length, at a blizzard of the same strength, a 

forest belt of 70 m wide holds over 300 m 3 /m. 

Therefore for the design it is necessary to know, first, 

the amount of snow that can accumulate on the 

section of the studied passageway. For this, the 

authorities of our country that manage the various 

types of roads have maps of heavy snow falls on those 

roads. 

It should be noted, however that is not considered 

justified taking into account as an element of 

assessment of the width of the forest belt the 

maximum possible height of drifts. Such a solution 

would lead to production of large-scale snow breaks 

inside of the forest belt. To reduce, perhaps avoid this 

danger, it is recommended to consider the so-called 

"working height" regarded as being the one that does 

not lead to snow breaks within the forest belt. 

Research has concluded that the most intense snow 

breaks occur at a height over 3 m of the drifts at the 

age of 8-10 years of the of the forest belt. 

I.Z. Lupe considers necessary to be taken into account 

the elements of wind, namely his strength and speed. 

Another element that must necessarily be taken into 

account is the transverse profile of the passageway. 

From this point of view, various authors (Bodrov 

V.A., Sus N.I.) distinguish three categories of 

snowcapped routes: 

I - cuttings with a depth of 0.4 to 8.5 m, railway 

stations, land with quota 0 compared to the 

passageway, but located on plateaus. 

II - cuttings with depth below 0.4 m and land with 

quota 0. 

III - embankments with heights below 1.0 m and 

highland areas with height up to 1.0 m. 

Other categories of land can be considered not 

snowcapped. We must draw attention that currently 

there are many roads that have on the edge shrub and 

even tree vegetation, which changes the profile of the 

passageway and can build snow. It should also be 

considered the depth of the fallen snow that is evenly 

accumulated in the area and that changes the 

difference in level between the passageway’s platform 

and the neighboring land. 

2. Width of snow protection forest belts 

The lack of special research in our country (though 

belts snow protection forests were planted in 1914- 

1916 and then again after the World War I); require 

the use of the same data of the mentioned foreign 

authors. According to our theme the width of the 

forest belt is determined by the ratio between the 

recorded maximum transverse surface of the drifts in 

30


the area given and working height. The working 

height depends on the conditions of vegetation, being 

reduced by the extent of their worsening. It is 

generally 2-3m. 

In the case when the calculated width exceeds 50 m 

(width less than 40 m are allowed only for sections 

with low snow falls), it is recommended the adoption 

of the system with two forest belts combined with an 

empty interval between them. Of the two forest belts, 

the one located towards the field (opposite the 

passageway) is wider (20 m), followed by an empty 

interval of variable width, then the forest belt next the 

passageway will be 10 m wide. Reduced width of both 

forest belts eliminates the danger of snow breaks. 

Note that the width of the interval between the two 

forest belts, variable as shown, depends on vegetation 

conditions, increasing by the extent of the worsening 

of these conditions, the interval serving as a source of 

improved soil moisture because the maximum snow 

accumulation occurs therein. 

Details concerning the influence of vegetation 

conditions on the width of the forest belts indicate the 

need for detailed soil surveys to locate areas for their 

installation. 

It is also necessary to specify that for the highways 

may be adopted smaller widths than for railways, 

since in their case the transverse profile it is often 

close to the 0 quota of the land. 

3. Installation of snow protection forest 

belts 

I 

n agreement with foreign authors, I.Z. Lupe 

recommended the construction of impervious snow 

protection forest belts by creating a hedge on the field 

side that consists of two rows of small shrubs, 

preferably thorny, followed by two rows of higher 

size shrubs, of snow break resistant species, and then 

a second row of shrubs (5th from the edge from the 

field) high sized that can serve as help species (of 

thrust) for mixed or main species. 

In the interior are used shrub species good protectors 

of soil against weeds, also resistant to snow breaks. 

In the upper floors may be permitted a partial 

penetrability, creating is three-tiered profile of the 

forest belt. 

4. Species assortment 

Without going into details on the assortment of 

species, which varies widely depending on concrete 

conditions of vegetation, various authors (Bodrov, 

Discuţeanu, Lupe, Rubţov, Sus) make a series of 

recommendations to be taken into account. Thus, 

there is a general discussion on the use of oak (in 

favorable conditions) or locust. As mentioned 

disadvantage of oak is the slow growth and poor 

quality of supplied wood. As the main advantage is 

mentioned the longevity, plus the resistance to 

blizzard. For conditions generally of steppe there is no 

question of use of common oak but only of grayish 

oak. 

In regards to the locust, it is stressed that the rapid 

growth is an advantage, allowing the functionality of 

the forest belt shortly after planting. Reduced 

longevity (are recommended two courses of 20 years 

followed by clearing and replanting), is considered to 

be compensated by providing valuable timber for the 

southern territories of the country. 

Locust’s adversaries complain about: 

-late leafing; 

- rare and therefore poor foliage protection of soil 

against weeds, in addition, not forming a rich litter it 

does not improve the soil; 

- allows drying of soil; 

- high capacity of suckering, so not suitable for 

narrow forest belts (the case of plantations with two 

belts with empty interval between them); 

- is less resistant to snow breaks than oak; 

- favoring the spread of crop pests. 

There are contraindications as well on other species. 

So, for example, I.Z. Lupe does not recommend the 

introduction in the assortment of species of barberry 

and spindle-tree, although good species for soil 

protection, for marginal rows, because it favors 

propagation of wheat fungus it is also not 

recommended red dogwood (green lice host), warty 

spindle-tree (sugar beet lice host), and hawthorn 

where fruit tree species are grown. Species with high 

suckering capacity (black locust, tree of heaven, field 

elm, etc.) as well as the ones with rich lateral 

spreading roots (honey locust, indigo bush, etc.) that 

dry the soil around the forest belt should be avoided in 

marginal rows. 

In regards to the mixture of species, Şt. Rubţov does 

not recommend mixing black locust with honey locust 

and honey locust with elm. 

31


The increasing development of tourism raises 

particular problems to forestry vegetation along traffic 

routes, being called to contribute to the radical 

improvement of landscape given by each passageway 

from an aesthetic and touristic point of view. Because, 

man spends many hours a day on various roads, these 

should meet the requirements not only of modern 

technology but also of spiritual demands of the driver. 

From here a new concept "the road must serve first 

the man and then the car." Roads must help man to 

know nature. In addition, forest vegetation along the 

passageways must ensure masking different 

unpleasant looking places (deposits of various 

materials, abandoned construction debris etc) dressing 

the slopes of bridges embankments at crossings (see 

bridges of the A -1) etc. It is necessary to pursue 

enrichment and emphasizing edge contours, creating 

beautiful compositions, greater choice of colors to 

eliminate monotonous appearance of outskirts. 

Hence the need for foresters to broaden concerns in 

planting along traffic routes (both auto and rail), 

giving more attention to the choice of species for 

snow protection forest belts by considering: foliage 

appearance, manner of branching, size, resistance to 

blizzard (including to snow breaks), melliferous 

potential, fruit production, therapeutic products, etc. 

It should be noted that these issues were considered 

by our predecessors, for example I.Z. Lupe since 1952 

recommended the introduction of melliferous and fruit 

species among marginal rows of forest belts. 

5. Preparing ground for planting forest 

snow protection forest belts 

All authors referred to, without exception, recommend 

careful preparation of the ground before planting, 

preparation which must be all the more thorough with 

how much vegetation conditions, general of the area 

and particular of the planted section, are more 

difficult. The need for a proper preparation was 

underlined since 1937 C.D. Chiriţă and M.Petcuţ, and 

I.Z. Lupe (1952) considers preparing the ground 

before planting as a base operation on which depends 

the success and further development of the forest belt. 

He believes that the preparation technique depends on 

the ground configuration, its condition before the 

work starts, on previous usage and it recommends: 

I – on abandoned land, fallow land, leashes with 

brush, pastures, land invaded by weeds, land occupied 

by ancient forest cultures in a very advanced state of 

degradation: 

- cleaning ground of weeds, brush, wild sprouts etc; 

- clearing with plow if necessary; 

- deep-plowing (without removing the surface 

carbonates when present); 

-heavy harrowing with the heavy harrow; 

-black field in summer (July-August) with repeated 

harrowing, which will bring to the surface residue and 

roots of weeds to be destroyed by heat; weed seeds 

left in the ground will germinate towards fall but will 

not start to fructify and will be destroyed by deep 

plowing in fall; 

- in fall, deep plowing (35-40 cm) with plow with 

jointer. 

In the absence of weeds black field is no longer 

necessary, after removal of brush and grubbing, 

passing to plowing in fall. 

II – on land with a lot of couch-grass: 

- agricultural crops for 1-2 years, followed by 1 year 

black field (both for destruction of weeds and for 

accumulation of moisture in the soil). 

III – on destructured, dusty land: 

- 2-3 years with mixed cultivation of legumes and 

perennial grasses (70-30/100 proportion) 

-cultivation for a year of 2-3 rows on each side of the 

future forest belt with high agricultural plants (corn, 

sunflower, etc.) whose stems are not cut during the 

winter (for both snow accumulation to increase 

reserve of soil humidity and to reduce the danger of 

snow accumulation of the passageway until planting 

the forest belt; 

- drawing on both sides of the future forest belt of 2-3 

deep overlapping furrows, for additional accumulation 

of moisture for the future forest belt (the accumulation 

of snow in the ditches) and as a protection measure for 

the forest belt; 

- deep autumn plowing, desirable with plow for great 

depths (50 cm.). 

In all instances care should be taken in the case of pest 

infestation of the ground (larvae of beetles, etc.). 

6. Maintenance of snow protection 

forest belts 

It should be noted first that the maintenance of forest 

belts after planting is not confined to mobilizing the 

soil a certain number of years. Thus, the same Lupe 

recommends cultivation on spaces between rows, for 

2-3 years after planting, of 2-3 rows of large 

agricultural plants to reduce the influence of dry 

winds on the development of seedlings and to protect 

the passageway until the start of the functionality of 

the forest belt. In case of manual planting, the same 

32


author recommends, immediately after planting, 

mobilizing the soil between rows by light harrowing. 

An extremely useful recommendation makes Sus N.I. 

to increase the forest belt density and speed its entry 

into action namely: 

- cutting-back shrubs during the first 2 years after 

planting, especially the least developed specimens; 

- formation, after 2-3 years after planting, of the 

crown of main species, by practicing regular artificial 

pruning to: 

- removal of too developed lateral branches suffering 

a lot because of snow breaks; 

- improve growth and development of species; 

-gradual transition of rapidly growing aid species 

from the first floor to the second, after closing the 

mountain, for growth and development of key species 

and for height adjustment of snowdrifts; 

-immediate restoration of existing forest belts in the 

area, which are in a degraded state, on this occasion it 

will also be considered the introduction in their 

composition of fruit tree and decorative species 

(without resorting to some exotic species which may 

become a challenge on adaptation and maintenance). 

7. Regarding some design work on 

planting or restoration of snow 

protection forest belts 

The presented facts on the principles of creating 

communication ways protection forest belts do not 

exhaust the requirements posed by this type of forest 

belt to the business of design in this field. Although 

many of these principles are found, as shown, in the 

literature developed by reputed Romanian specialists, 

they are practically not found in the solutions 

contained in projects developed lately in this domain. 

Thus, there is no justification for forest belt widths 

adopted and, especially, there is no justification for 

the different widths adopted for sections close to the 

roads, the differences being sometimes significant. 

There is no justification for the distance of location of 

the forest belt compared to the limit of the 

passageway. It not shown is the situation before and 

after sections of the areas the studied since the 

intervals with length less than 300 m between two 

designed forest belts should be also set for planting. 

Although the micro relief of the land is a key element 

that determines the snow accumulation, no evidence is 

presented, but at most it is shown "easy cut" or, of its 

depth depends the degree of snow accumulation 

phenomenon. 

Characterization of stationary conditions is, in some 

cases, absolutely general, without any link with the 

subject of the project. Thus, for a section located in 

the area of Slobozia chemical unit, so south of the 

river Ialomiţa, it is located in the Călmăţui river 

valley, north of Ialomiţa and being part in fact of 

Buzău basin and not Ialomiţa. From many projects 

lacks specific analysis of soil conditions in the section 

itself, being presented the main characteristics of soil 

types and subtypes of the general physical and 

geographical area, or presenting variations of soil type 

on a stretch of only 200 m in length. It cannot fail to 

arouse surprise the statement on the presence of "weak 

to moderate" erosion in conditions of a "horizontalplane 

land" relief. 

Although it is hard to accept even low erosion under 

the conditions of such a relief, it is well known that 

the moderate erosion involves washing a layer 25- 

50% thick of the humus horizon, i.e. 50-100% of the 

horizon A. 

The same absolutely general presentation of the 

natural environment is made for a section located in 

the city Slobozia ring (although then mentioned 

"Slobozia railway station"), being presented the Buzău 

river hydrology. 

In regards to the construction of forest belts, contrary 

to recommendations on the composition of marginal 

rows of snow protection forest belts, in some projects 

it is provided for the introduction of mixed and even 

main species in marginal rows. No attention is paid to 

the use of fruit tree and ornamental species (in thcase 

of the section provided to be planted along the 

city ring of Slobozia, county residence, it is provided . 

pure white poplar plantation, although soils are 

presented as cambic, alluvial, and typical chernozem). 

8. Instead of conclusions 

The forest belts for protection of communication ways 

against heavy snow falls are of major economic and 

social importance in the life of the country. 

Installation and maintenance investments are very 

large (in the any case, much lower than the costs for 

clearing snow every year). This requires a competent, 

responsible, very careful approach. 

"... The lack of documentation and incompetence can 

forever compromise the idea ..." 

33


Bibliography: 

Drăcea M., 1937: Perdelele forestiere de protecţie pentru 

propăşirea populaţiei din ţinuturile de stepă şi antestepă. 

Cuvântare la sărbătorirea centenarului Soc. Progresul 

Silvic. 

Lupe I, 1947: Experienţe cu perdele forestiere în România 

în perioada 1937-1945. Referate şi Comunicări Institutul 

de Cercetări Forestiere al României. Seria II-a, nr 68. 

Lupe I., 1952: Perdele forestiere de protecţie şi cultura lor 

în câmpiile Republicii Populare Române. Ed. Academiei 

Republicii Populare Române. 

Lupe I., 1953: Perdele forestiere de protecţie a câmpului. 

ICES, Îndrumări tehnice, Seria III, nr. 43. 

Muşat I., 1998: Înzăpezirea căilor de comunicaţie nu este o 

fatalitate. Economistul, nr. 244 (1270). 

Muşat I., Guiman Gh., 2006: Perdelele forestiere-mijloc 

sigur de protecţie a căilorde comunicaţie împotriva 

înzăpezirilor. Rev. Pădurilor, 1, 121. 

Petcuţ M., Chiriţă C.D., 1937: Împăduririle în sprijinul 

agriculturii în Sudul Basarabiei. ICEF, Seria II, nr 17. 

Rubţov St., 1947: Contribuţiuni la problema perdelelor 

forestiere în România. Tg. Mureş. 

Sus N.I., 1956: Agrolesomelioraţia. Selhozgizdat. 

***, 1961: Îndrumări tehnice pentru îngrijirea şi 

conducerea perdelelor de protecţie. Min. Agric., EAS. 

Abstract 

The forest belts for protection of communication ways against heavy snow falls are of major economic and social 

importance in the life of the country. Installation and maintenance investments are very large (in the any case, much lower 

than the costs for clearing snow every year). This requires a competent, responsible, very careful approach. 

Keywords: ways protection forest belts, Principles of creating, implementation in practice. 


34

FORESTRY BELTS SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Research on the behavior of some species of trees and shrubs used in 

the composition of protection forest belts in South-Eastern Romania 

Cristinel Constandache, Sanda Nistor, Emil Untaru 


In Romania, the first preoccupations on installation of 

protection forest belts have existed since the XIX th 

century. Ion Ghica, minister of interior in 1860, has 

promoted a law project on afforestation of parts of the 

public domain land in the Ialomiţa and Brăila counties 

(steppe zone in East Danube Plain – Bărăgan Field). 

The first protection forest belts were created in 1880 in 

Ialomiţa, then in 1884 began the fixation of the sands in 

Oltenia (West Danube Plain) with black locust (Neşu, 

1999). 

In 1904, the forester D.R. Rusescu, concerned about the 

insecurity of the crops in Bărăgan, prepares the first 

detailed study on the causes and measures for obtaining 

stable and increased agricultural crops. After the 

disasters caused by the droughts in 1929, 1933-1935, 

the opinion in favor of the protection forest belts in 

Bărăgan was unanimous, but mass actions were taken 

during 1937-1944. The works were executed without a 

scientific study; in the most cases the black locust being 

used. 

Research conducted by I. Lupe and I. Catrina, especially 

during 1950-1954, were focused on quantifying the 

influence of protection forest belts on agricultural 

production (Neşu, 1999). Unfortunately, these forest 

belts were not allowed to fulfill their functional role, in 

1961 being cleared. The concerns for the installation 

and preservation of these crops were further reduced, 

leading to their deterioration, most of them being 

cleared under the communist regime under the pretext 

of increasing arable land. 

The research contributed to the establishment of species 

to have as main purpose the protection of agricultural 

crops against drought and less a role against the erosion 

or the protection of the communication paths (road / 

railway). Among the culture methods, the most often 

used was the corridor (pure lines of oak flanked by fast 

growing species). Subsequently, the scheme with 

principal and secondary forest belts was used in the 

most cases. I. Lupe (1953) mentions that choosing wood 

species resistant to limiting climate conditions is a 

concern especially in the steppe and forest steppe zones. 

He also recommended the results based on national 

experiments rather than recommendations of foreign 

literature which are contradictory and do not frequently 

meet the Romanian site conditions. 

Former national research projects have not definitively 

resolved the issue of the assortment of species, planting 

device and maintenance work, and especially the 

aspects of management, regeneration and restoring or 

improvement of the damaged forest belts structure, so 

they can meet to the fullest their protective role. 

The objective of the present research was to know the 

behavior and evolution of species in different forest 

belts previously installed in the south-east region of 

Romania, in various site conditions, in order to improve 

the belt installation and rehabilitation technologies 

(Order MAAP no. 636/2002). 

2. Method 

In various forest belts, have been recorded observations 

on the following aspects: behavior and efficiency of the 

existing forest belts; species used and their behavior and 

state of vegetation; land and soil preparation works; 

tending operations; relationship between species and 

individuals; and measurements the biometric elements. 

Supplementary, on diverse itinerary, data on the site 

conditions, efficiency of the forest belts, etc. were 

collected. 

Territorial surveys were conducted in southeastern 

counties (Călăraşi, Brăila, Buzău, Vrancea, Galaţi, and 

Vaslui). 

In order to survey the behavior and time evolution of 

the forest species and main protection forest belts types 

of various ages, made by applying different installation, 

care and management technologies, over 20 

experimental blocks have been placed in: 

- Field protection forest belts (Garoafa, Tătăranu and 

Măicăneşti–Vrancea; ICAS Bărăganu station– Călăraşi; 

Râmnicelu–Brăila); 

- Erosion protection forest belts (CCDCES Perieni– 

Bârlad); 

35


- Communication (road / railway) protection forest belts 

(Mărăşeşti-Putna Seacă - Vrancea, Balta Albă–Buzău, 

Lacu Sărat-Făurei-Brăila interval). 

For covering a large number of species in different site 

conditions (a total of 39 species of trees and shrubs), the 

itinerary research were extended to 30 more different 

forest belts (in Vrancea, Galaţi, Brăila, Vaslui, and 

Buzău counties). Information on the behavior of the 

main forest species in different types and compositions 

of protective forest belts, installed in various site 

conditions, have been completed and compared, 

whenever necessary, with data from literature. 

3. Results 

The management on ecological basis of the protection 

forest belts should be based on good knowledge of the 

forest species and sites, knowledge and application of 

the laws governing the lives of these ecosystems, the 

multiple relationships between human communities and 

their natural environment. 

The successful installation of the protection forest belts 

needs, on one hand, a careful choice of species of trees 

and shrubs and their judicious grouping in mixing 

formulas and schemes, and on the other hand – adopting 

of techniques appropriate to the local conditions. 

Action to install protection forest belts in the past had 

mostly the desired effect and a multitude of the species 

introduced at the time vegetate quite well compared to 

the conditions of vegetation (black locust, oleaster, wild 

cherry, dog rose, etc.). Research on behavior and 

evolution of species have led to the conclusion that the 

installation of protection forest belts should impose the 

introduction of a diverse assortment of forest species, 

both trees and shrubs, with a high resistance to drought 

during summer, and that in the shortest time can reach 

dense stand closure. 

Photo 1. Soil protection forest belts, Perieni - Bârlad 

Photo 2. Field protection forest belts, Focşani 

Carrying out the protection function with maximum 

efficiency is conditioned by their composition, structure 

and placement on terrain and by the natural factors in 

the analyzed region (Photo 1, 2). 

The main results of research on the behavior of forest 

species used in the composition of the analyzed 

protection forest belts are presented below. 

Greyish oak (Quercus pedunculiflora) was used as 

main species in the field protection belts installed at 

Bărăganu Station (Călăraşi County), in the erosion 

protection forest belts at Perieni Research Station 

(Vaslui County) as well as in the railways protection 

forest belts (Balta Albă – Buzău County, Traian Sat – 

Brăila County), in their central corridor, in intimate 

mixture with field elm, Norway maple, ash, Tartarian 

maple, field maple and shrubs (Photo 3, 4). Considering 

the climatic conditions, it proves to be resistant to soil 

and atmosphere dryness, being adapted to the moderate 

dry climate of the forest steppe, but more demanding to 

the edaphic conditions, vegetating well especially on 

cambic and clay chernozems of the forest steppe. 

It shows slow growth in the first years after planting, 

which becomes more active after reaching dense state. 

(7-10 years). At Perieni, in the erosion protection forest 

36


belts, in forest steppe site with cambic chernozem, aged 

over 50 years, greyish oak reached 40-50 cm diameter 

and approx. 22 m height. At Bărăgan Station (Călăraşi), 

on typical chernozem, mixed with lime, Norway maple, 

Tartarian maple, field maple and shrubs (privet, red 

dogwood), on 50-55 years it reached diameters between 

18 and 48 cm (on average 28 cm) and heights of 20-21 

m; but on 12-13 years, diameter of 14-20 cm and height 

of 8-9 m. Mixed with ash, which proved a strong 

competitor to the oak, both the maintaining and sizes 

were lower. Good results have been recorded in the 

railways protection forest belts (Traian Sat, Balta Albă), 

on typical chernozem, where aged over 50 years, 

grayish oak mixed with field elm reached diameter of 

30-40 cm and height of over 20 (24.5) m. The efficiency 

of forest belts with oak is high reaching a semipenetrable 

structure, determined by the large number of 

specimens and species and by their various dimensions. 

The species in the composition provide a high 

consistency regenerating naturally. 

Particularly valuable species from an economic point of 

view (the most valuable native tree in the forest steppe), 

of great longevity, its use in the protection forest belts is 

recommended especially in the case of cambic and clay 

chernozems, mainly in the central corridor of the field, 

communication paths and erosion protection forest 

belts. It has tap-root, using well the whole soil reserves. 

Photo 3. Greyish oak at the core of the soil protection 

forest belt (Perieni, Vaslui County - cambic chernozem, in 

forest steppe) 

Photo 4. Greyish oak mixed with field elm in the central 

corridor of the railway protection forest belt, on typical 

chernozem, in forest steppe (Balta Albă, Buzău County 

Black locust (Robinia pseudacacia) was the most used 

species in the field, erosion and road protection forest 

belts in the analyzed territory. Its shade-endurance is 

mainly of light. Its vigorous and rapid growth has led, in 

favorable vegetation conditions (in forest steppe stations 

with non-calcareous chernozem soils or with low carbon 

content) to achieve heights of approx. 5 m, at age 4-5 

years and the early exercise of the protective function 

(80% of the proposed parameters), in the case of snow 

protection belts. 

In the field belts (in Vrancea County at Tătăranu, 

Măicăneşti and Garoafa, and in Vaslui County at Fălciu 

37


and Găgeşti), in site conditions similar to the 

aforementioned, black locust reached height of approx. 

10 m, at age 9-15 years and a functionality of approx. 

70% of the proposed parameters (due to the absence of 

help species and shrubs on marginal lines). In favorable 

sites its growth is very active. Maximum diameter and 

volume increment is between 12 and 20 years (in the 

same site conditions, aged 25 years its production is 

similar to the oak’s aged 40 years). Its longevity is over 

100 years, but after age 35-40 years, vitality weakening, 

drying and culture thinning was noticed (Photo 5). 

It sprouts and suckers strongly. It has lateral spreading 

roots on shallow soils, and tap-lateral spreading on deep 

soils, capitalizing very well the soil. 

The field protection belts installed after 1989, especially 

in the Siret Plain (at Măicăneşti, Tătăranu, Garoafa and 

Doaga—Vrancea County), width of 8-12 m, were 

usually made of black locust, in the central corridor (2 x 

2 m scheme) and black locust, oleaster and dog rose (in 

equal proportions), in the outer lines (at 1 m/line). After 

the age of 10 years these forest belts become thin and 

very penetrable (Photo 6), oleaster and dog rose (in the 

outer lines) are invaded by the black locust and even 

disappear, and the oleaster bends down a lot (4-6 m) 

disrupting neighboring crops. 

Photo 5. 50 years old Black locust, Perieni - Bârlad 

Photo 6. Black locust forest belt on cambic chernozem in 

silvosteppe, rare in lower part due to lack of bush and 

secondary species (Garoafa, Vrancea) 

Consequently, since the black locust plantations grow 

thin and open with age, it is necessary on the outer lines 

locust no longer be used, but at most, some second size 

species (osage-orange, cherry-plum, Tartarian maple, 

field maple, oleaster, etc.), mixed with shrubs 

(hawthorn, dog rose, elder, red dogwood, privet, etc.). 

These may ensure regulation of the forest belt‘s 

penetrability and the soil’s protection. In this way it is 

also ensured both the belt protection against animals 

and the limitation of the locust’s and oleaster’s 

expansion / impact in the agricultural field. The shrubs 

gradually expand through natural regeneration within 

the forest belt (under locust), with increasing degree of 

illumination at ground level with age. 

On compact, heavy or clay soils, or having a high 

content of calcium carbonate, those with temporary 

flood water, or salty soils, black locust did not give 

satisfactory results. 

Honey locust (Gleditschia triacanthos), was commonly 

used for the field and road protection belts, especially in 

the pre-marginal lines. Like the black locust, it has a 

pronounced open character. Although it prefers loose, 

wet soils, it grows satisfactorily on compact soils with 

calcium carbonates and even on those with a low degree 

of salinization (Photo 7). It led to good results on 

alluvial soils or protosoils, supporting well short floods. 

Its growth is rapid, although the first two years it is 

affected by sprout biting off produced by hare. 

38


Although it sprouts quite well (by cutting them one can 

make hedges impenetrable for animals), unlike the black 

locust it does not sucker, which is an advantage worthy 

of consideration, especially for field protection forest 

belts. Note its very good behavior in the forest belts 

with mixed role: erosion and field protection at Fălciu, 

Vaslui County. Here there were designed and installed 

with good results forest belts of 18 m width and 9 lines: 

five rows of locust in the central corridor of the forest 

belt, planted at 2x1 m scheme, one row of honey locust 

each (the post marginal row) and one of oleaster 

(marginal), at the same scheme on each side of the 

forest belt. 

Photo 7.Honey locust in pre-marginal rows, Tătăranu 

Vrancea 

Photo 8. Ash at the core of the forest belt, Bărăganu 

Station 

It has tap-lateral spreading roots, quite deep, 

capitalizing well the depth of soil. 

The longevity of this species is of over 100 years. 

Research has shown that over 40 years old it has a very 

active state of vegetation, maintaining their functional 

effectiveness. Compared to black locust, its growth is 

slower in the first 2-3 years after plantation, after which 

it becomes very active, reaching at 15 years old 

diameter of 10-14 cm and height of 9-10 m (Tătăranu - 

Vrancea) and at 40-45 years old 38-46 cm thick and 

approx. 20 m high (in the railway protection forest belt - 

Traian Sat-Lacu Sărat interval, Brăila County). 

Field Elm (Ulmus campestris) was used in the central 

corridor of the communication belts, mixed with grayish 

oak, field maple, Tartarian maple, and shrubs (Photo 4). 

Its temperament is moderately open, and it can resist in 

slight shadow when young and on fertile soil. Quite 

resistant to drought and late frost, it presents a great 

adaptability to soil humidity. It proves very demanding 

in edaphic conditions, vegetating well on chernozem 

soils. Under favorable conditions its growth is quite 

robust, at 5 years old making the average height of 5 m. 

At Balta Albă in the cambic chernozem forest steppe 

site, mixed with grayish oak and other species, after age 

50 it reached diameter between 30 and 60 cm and height 

of over 22 m. It has tap-roots the first 10-15 years after 

39


which they spread laterally, showing numerous 

superficial fascicular roots when mature. 

It is very sensitive to the attacks of the cryptogamic 

agents, especially to the elm fungus (Ophiostoma ulmi, 

O. novo-ulmi). It sprouts and suckers quite weakly. 

Although it is an economically valuable species, 

because of the low resistance to Dutch elm disease, its 

use in protection belts developed in the forest steppe 

zones should be considered with caution. 

Turkestan Elm (Ulmus pumila var. pinnato-ramosa) 

was used mainly in the communication ways protection 

belts in the study area, but also in the central part of the 

field belts (Bărăganu Station), intimately mixed with 

shrubs or tree species like Tartarian maple, field maple, 

flowering ash, cherry-plum and even black locust. Its 

temperament is moderately open. Being resistant to 

drought and frost and having large amplitude of 

adaptation to edaphic conditions led to good results on 

heavy, compact soils, on soils with high content of 

calcium carbonates and even on those with a lower 

degree of salinization. 

It sprouts but does not suckers. When young, its growth 

is very fast (almost twice as fast as the growth of the 

field elm). Thus, in steppe stations on typical 

chernozem (Bărăganu Station), at 15 years old it reaches 

height of 12-13 m and core diameter between 12 and 24 

cm and at 55 years old, it reaches height of 17-18 m and 

diameter between 30 and 52 cm (Traian Sat – Brăila, 

Balta Albă – Buzău). 

Its roots are tap-lateral spread, very well developed, 

both laterally and in depth, capitalizing well the soil. 

The crown is rich, with dense and regular branches that 

protect the soil and prevent grassing. An important 

quality is that it does not suffer from the Dutch elm 

disease. 

Being quite resistant to both site conditions and pests, it 

is recommended for field and communication protection 

belts, in arid vegetation conditions and even on salty 

soils. 

Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) was used frequently 

in the road or field protection belts (Bărăganu Station), 

in their inner corridor, intimately mixed with shrubs or 

tree species (Photo 8). It shows great adaptability to 

climatic conditions but is demanding to edaphic 

characteristics, vegetating well on chernozem soils. 

When young, on fertile soils, it manifests as a shade 

species, but when mature it becomes very sensitive to 

shading, which puts it among the trees with an open 

temperament. 

Ash was invaded in the interior rows when mixed with 

elm, black locust, maple and oleaster (at 13 years old– 

Bărăganu Station), maintaining better on the postmarginal 

rows. When the oak was planted in the central 

rows and the ash in the post-marginal ones, at ages over 

50 years, the ash achieved a better resistance and greater 

dimensions than oak (core diameter up to 40 cm and 

height up to 20-22 m), especially on the northern side of 

the forest belt (Bărăganu Station). 

It is sensitive to frost and insect outbreaks (Lytta 

vesicatoria, which causes defoliation, and Zeuzera 

pyrina, which attacks the sprouts and the young stems). 

It shows slow growth the first two years after plantation 

(cca. 20 cm high), after which it becomes more active 

(over 0.5 m/year), achieving the maximum between 30 

and 40 years old. It sprouts strongly. 

Although the most active growths are carried out in 

floodplains with fertile, eutrophic, slightly or 

moderately moist to humid soils, deep, permeable and 

loose soils, ash also has an active vegetative state on 

less humid plain soils (argillic chernozem). 

Common ash is resistant to flooding and even stagnant 

water; it vegetates satisfactory on alluvial and even 

gleyied and pseudo-gleyied soils. It is one of the 

enduring species (over 200 years). 

The roots are strong, well branched and deep, with a 

dense network of shallow thin roots that capitalize 

strongly the soil and dry its upper horizons. Because of 

this, if intimately mixed with oak, the latter is strongly 

challenged by the highly efficient rooting of the ash. 

Particularly valuable species from an economical point 

of view, its use in the protection forest belts is 

recommended especially on soils well supplied with 

water, mainly in the central part of the field and road / 

railway protection forest belts. 

Pennsylvania ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) was found 

in the alluvial soils floodplains areas, in the central 

corridor of the river banks and road protection belts, 

intimately mixed with shrubs and tree species. Being a 

rustic species with high adaptability, less demanding to 

edaphic conditions, resistant to frost and drought, and 

supporting satisfactory the floods, it gave good results 

on protocols and alluvial soils. It is less demanding to 

the fertility and soil humidity than the common ash. 

40


Its growth is quite rapid when young but weakens with 

age. It sprouts well. The roots are mainly shallow, and 

can be grown with grayish oak. 

Although it has a lower economic value, its use in the 

protection forest belts is indicated mainly in poor 

alluvial soils and protocols, in the central corridor of the 

road / railway belts. 

Norway maple (Acer platanoides) was used less, 

especially in the erosion protection belts, intimately 

mixed with shrubs or tree species, with an average open 

temperament. It is resistant to drought and frost, but 

very demanding to the edaphic conditions, developing 

well on cambic and argillic chernozems. 

It has tap-spreading roots that are shallower than the ash 

ones; it mixes well oak. It is quite resistant to fungi and 

insect attacks. Its temperament to light is medium. 

Its growth is quite rapid (3-4 m height in 5 years), 

which maintains for a long time - at Perieni, in cambic 

chernozem forest steppe site, mixed with grayish oak 

and other species, after 50 years it achieved diameter of 

30-40 cm and height of over 20 m. It sprouts well. 

Norway maple is recommended for use in the forest 

steppe and the hilly forest area, as a mixing species, in 

the central part of the field / road protection belts. 

Tartarian maple (Acer tataricum) and field maple 

(Acer campestre) were used mainly in the 

communication and anti-erosion belts, both in the 

central corridor and the periphery, intimately mixed 

with shrubs and other tree species (oak, ash, etc.). 

Being resistant to drought and frost and having large 

amplitude of adaptation to edaphic conditions, they had 

good results on heavy compact soils, on those with 

calcium carbonate and even on those with a lower 

degree of salinization. Their growth is quite vigorous in 

youth, but longevity is reduced. They sprout well and 

have spreading roots, richly fascicular, teaming well 

with oak. 

They are quite resistant to pests, being frequently used 

in the field and road belts, in arid conditions of 

vegetation. Having mostly a shade temperament, they 

are indicated as support species in the oak forest belts, 

as it protects well the soil. 

Ash-leaf maple (Acer negundo) was used in the road 

protection belts. Being resistant to drought and having 

large amplitude of adaptation to edaphic conditions it 

led to good results on calcium carbonate compact soils, 

but preferring the light slightly moist soils. 

Growth is very active in youth, but longevity is reduced, 

rarely reaching 100 years old. It sprouts well. As a 

invasive plant, it has a remarkable capacity for natural 

expansion, through seeds, in the neighboring areas, but 

its crown is rather thin and suffering from breakage 

under the snow. It is heavily affected by the insects’ 

attacks (caterpillars). 

In the absence of more valuable species it can be used in 

the communication belts on soils well supplied with 

water. 

Cherry-plum (Prunus cerasifera) was used mainly in 

the road belts, in the marginal and post marginal rows, 

but also in the central corridors, intimately mixed with 

shrubs and tree species like ash, elm, oak, Tartarian 

maple, field maple, flowering ash, honey locust, black 

locust, pea-tree, privet, dog rose, etc. 

Although it has an open temperament, it grew quite well 

in dense mixtures with other species. It achieves 

vigorous growth even on dry, poor soils, having deep 

roots, with many side branches and strong sprouts. 

Being resistant to drought and frost and having large 

amplitude of adaptation to edaphic conditions cherryplum 

had good results on heavy, compact soils and on 

those with calcium carbonate. 

Prunus cerasifera is also quite resistant to pests, which 

recommends it for field and road / railway protection 

forest belts, in arid vegetative conditions and on soils 

with high content of calcium carbonate, compressed and 

dry. For the fruit production, it may be used as marginal 

– post marginal species, increasing interest among the 

landowners towards the installation of protection belts. 

Wild cherry (Prunus avium) was used in small 

proportion in the field protection belts (Tataranu– 

Vrancea), in the marginal and post marginal rows, 

having an open temperament. It proved less demanding 

to edaphic conditions, supporting well heavy soils with 

calcium carbonate content. It is a heat and atmospheric 

humidity loving species that resists well to frost. Its 

growth is active in youth. It has tap-spreading roots, 

with long lateral branches, deeply rooted in the soil. It 

sprouts quite well. Its longevity rarely goes over 100 

years. Wild cherry use is recommended mainly in the 

case of soils well provided with water, mixed with 

shrubs, in the post marginal rows of the field and road 

protection forest belts. 

Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb) was used in the 

marginal and post marginal rows of the communication 

belts. It has an open temperament. Being less 

41


demanding to the edaphic conditions, it grows well on 

dry, shallow soils with high content of calcium 

carbonate; it shows resistance to drought and frost. It 

needs intensive summer heat. Growth is active in youth, 

at 5 years achieving heights of 2-3 m, but weakens with 

age. It has tap-spreading roots, with long lateral 

branches, deeply rooted, that are deeper and richer than 

the cherry’s. It sprouts and suckers weakly. Its use is 

recommended mainly in the case of shallow, coarse 

soils, with high content of calcium carbonate, in the 

marginal and post marginal rows of the field and road 

protection belts. 

White mulberry (Morus alba) was used in the railway 

protection belts (Brăila and Galalţi counties), intimately 

mixed with shrubs and tree species; it has a medium 

open temperament. Being resistant to drought and 

winter frosts, it sometimes suffers because of the early 

frosts. It shows modest to edaphic conditions, growing 

even on compressed soils, having good results 

especially on cambic, argillic chernozems and alluvial 

soils. Mulberry resists rather well to insects and very 

well on fungi attacks. Growth is slow in the first year, 

then very active, at age 5 years achieving height of 2-3 

m, and its longevity is of approx. 150 years. It has tapspreading 

roots; it sprouts weakly. It reacts well to 

pruning, so it can be used to form hedges. It may be 

used in the steppe and forest steppe, in the central part 

of the field and communication protection belts. 

Osage-orange (Maclura aurantiaca), although this is 

an exotic species, was frequently used in the railway 

belts installed during 1950-1960, mainly in the marginal 

and post marginal rows, having a mid-shade 

temperament. Resistant to drought, it develops well on 

fertile soils, but it also led to good results on alluvial 

soils (Photo 9). It sprouts abundantly and it suckers 

well. It shows a dense crown, with rich foliage, which is 

particularly important to its use in the snow protection 

forest belts. Growth is quite rapid. It has deep, richly 

branched roots, being an option for the border of 

communication protection belts. 

Oleaster (Elaegnus angustifolia) was used mainly in 

the field and anti-erosion belts, in the marginal rows, 

having an open temperament. It has a large ecological 

amplitude and grows quite actively even on salty soils, 

but the best on more humid soils. It shows a great 

resistance to frost, but prefers a climate with warm 

summers. 

Its particular rusticity confers its quality of species 

recommended to hard situations of installation of forest 

vegetation, with poor soils (alluvial protosols and salty, 

but not too dry soils). 

Under favorable vegetative conditions, growth is very 

active (it reaches 2-3 m height three years after 

plantation - Vulturu-Vrancea experimental block). It has 

spreading roots; it sprouts and suckers. 

Research has shown that its introduction in black locust 

based field protection forest belts, in the outer rows, on 

chernozem soils, had poor results. Due to its strong 

open temperament and active growth, on the northern 

side of the forest belts, searching for light, oleaster 

developed asymmetrically (baggy), towards the exterior 

of the forest belt. 

Under the aforementioned conditions, in winters with 

abundant precipitation, snow crown accumulation has 

produced serious sharp bending and breakage of trunk 

and branches. 

On the other hand, its thin and flabby crown ensures a 

weak contribution to density regulation (i.e. to create a 

reduced penetration in the road protection belts), and 

hinders the development of tree species in the 

immediate vicinity. Better results were obtained by 

using osage-orange or honey locust in similar site 

conditions. 

With all the disadvantages mentioned, oleaster is 

recommended for use in all types of protection forest 

belts, in hard to extreme site conditions, on poor and 

even salty soils, on marginal and post marginal rows, 

mixed with shrubs (Photo10). 

Common walnut (Juglans regia) was analyzed based 

on research on some alignments installed along the 

roads (Mărăşeşti, Focşani) and on field protection forest 

belts (Bărăganu Station) or roadside (Suraia). 

Planted on chernozem soils and deep coluvisoils, 

strongly humiferous, walnut shows a good vegetative 

state, growth being active. It has tap, strongly developed 

roots and sprouts quite vigorously. 

However it was noted that where planting distance 

between trees was less than 5-6 m, their crowns show an 

asymmetric development, branches do not overlap but 

derange each other and fructification is weak. 

Furthermore, the sanitary cuts made in the crown have 

not led to expected effects, emphasizing their 

asymmetry. Instead, trees located at 8-10 m have a 

much better crown and trunk conformation, and a good 

fructification, due to walnut pronounced open 

temperament. 

42


In favorable vegetative conditions, growth is very rapid, 

at 10 years it can achieve 8-10 m height and 20 cm 

diameter, respectively 18-20 m / over 40 cm at over 40- 

50 years. 

Both the observations and experience show planting 

walnuts in alignments, at 6 m or less distance, even if it 

leads to the development of functional field protection 

forest belts (alley type), does not provide optimum fruit 

production or superior wood quality. Therefore, 

continuation of research for determination the most 

appropriate technical solutions to develop walnut based 

protection belts, in combination with other tree species 

or shrubs, and implementation in parallel of an optimal 

functionality of the forest belts and good fruit and 

veneer wood production is necessary. 

Photo 9. Marginal area of the railway protection forest belt, 

with osage-orange predominance, on forest steppe alluvial soil, 

(Putna Seacă, Vrancea County) 

Photo 10. Oleaster marginal area of the Balta Albă 

(Buzău) forest belt, on salty soils 

Black pine (Pinus nigra) is a species less demanding to 

soil features. It thrives in conditions of hot summers and 

dry climate, on medium deep soil, compact, with 

limestone bedrock or having a high content of calcium 

carbonate, having reduced demands to soil humidity. 

Due to its decorative quality, pine may be introduced, 

mixed with ornamental shrubs, in the marginal area of 

the road belt. 

Virginia juniper (Juniperus virginiana) is also a 

species less demanding to site conditions, developing 

well in dry climate with hot summers. Being a 

decorative species quality, juniper is used to border the 

road belt. 

Japanese acacia (Sophora japonica) was found in the 

Traian Village (Brăila County) area. Just like black 

locust, it has a pronounced open temperament. Acacia 

prefers warmer stations, protected from frost, with 

loose, deep, fertile and slightly humid soils. It led to 

good results on cambic, sandy-clay to clay chernozems. 

Its growth is slow in the early years. It has fairly deep 

roots, sprouts well, but does not sucker. Due to its 

decorative tree quality, it can be introduced, same as the 

black pine and Virginia juniper, in the marginal area of 

the road belts, but only in conditions favorable to its 

development, that is on fertile, light soils (cambic and 

alluvial chernozems with sandy-clay to clay texture). 

Nettle-tree (Celtis australis) was found in the 

composition of the Bărăganu Station forest belts, 

introduced in the outer rows mixed with mahaleb 

cherry, field maple, Tratarian maple and shrubs. It is 

resistant to drought, on poor, sandy, salty soils, having a 

vigorous growth and forming fairly regular and rich 

crowns. These qualities recommend it for the protection 

forest belts in difficult site conditions. 

Shrubs species used for the road/railway protection 

belts that have been analyzed were: privet, red 

dogwood, hawthorn, dog rose, smoke tree, elder, 

spindle-tree, pea-tree, indigo bush, jasmine, etc. (Photo 

11–12). They serve primly to protect soil and adjust 

penetrability, to ensure an optimal functionality of these 

forest belts. The shrubs that were introduced in the 

43


marginal and post marginal rows (on the side of the 

road) with dual role of protection and landscape were: 

elm leaved spirea, fly honeysuckle, lilac, jasmine, and 

smoke tree. In the field belts the shrubs used were dog 

rose and hawthorn. Their behavior in different situations 

(types and composition of protection forest belts) is 

summarized below. 

Privet (Lygustrum vulgare) has been used mainly in the 

road belts, in marginal and post marginal rows, but in 

the central part as well, intimately mixed with principal 

tree species - oaks, maples, ashes. It develops well on a 

wide range of soils from chrnozems to alluvial soils, 

having an active growth. It forms rich shrubs that cover 

well the soil and contributes substantially to the 

adjustment of the penetrability of the forest belts. It has 

shallow roots, with many thin branches. This species 

sprouts, suckers and layer. With large ecological 

amplitude, resistant to drought and shade, it is the most 

recommended shrub species for the field and 

communication forest belts, especially in their central 

core. 

Red dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) was used mainly in 

the communication paths and field protection belts at 

Bărăganu Station, showing similar qualities to privet. It 

forms rich shrubs that cover well the soil and 

contributes substantially to the adjustment of the 

penetrability of the forest belts. It has shallow roots, 

with many thin branches. It sprouts and suckers. 

Supporting well the shading, it may be planted on the 

inner rows of the protection belts used in forest - steppe 

and forest zones. 

Photo 11.Călăraşi Red dogwood and privet in the marginal 

rows of the protection forest belts –Bărăganu Station, Călăraşi 

Photo 12. Red dogwood and privet in the marginal rows of 

the protection forest belts – Lacu Sărat, Brăila 

Cornel-tree (Cornus mas) was used rather rarely in the 

road protection belts, showing similar qualities to privet. 

It needs more heat and is more resistant to drought than 

privet, but it has a more open temperament than the 

latter. Its growth is very slow and it has very strong 

roots. It forms rich shrubs that cover well the soil and 

contributes substantially to the adjustment of the 

penetrability of the forest belts. It sprouts vigorously 

and it suckers. Being a fructiferous species, it is 

recommended to be planted in the marginal and post 

marginal rows of the protection belts settled in forest 

steppe and forest area. 

Elder (Sambucus nigra) was used mainly in the road 

protection belts, in their central part, mixed with tree 

species (black locust). It develops well on chernozems, 

forming thinner shrubs than privet or red dogwood. It 

has deep and strong roots, reaching up to 8 m sideways; 

it sprouts well. Its mid-open temperament (less resistant 

to shading than privet and red dogwood), limits its use 

in the marginal, more open areas of the protection forest 

belts dominated by locust. 

Spindle tree (Euonimus europaeus) was also used in 

the communication protection belts, in their central 

corridor, mixed with the main tree species. It develops 

well on different soils, ranging from chernozems to 

44


alluvial soils. It forms rich shrubs that cover well the 

soil and contributes substantially to the adjustment of 

the penetrability of the forest belts. It has tap-spreading 

roots; it suckers vigorously. Having a large ecological 

amplitude, it is resistant to droughts, but more sensitive 

to shading than privet and red dogwood, being usefully 

in the border of the protection forest belts. 

Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) was used 

mainly in the road protection belts, in their marginal and 

post marginal rows. Being an unpretentious species to 

soil and climate, it develops well on chernozem soils, 

being resistant to drought, frost and smoke. It has a 

rather demanding temperament towards light. It forms 

rich shrubs that cover well the soil and contributes 

substantially to the adjustment of the penetrability of the 

forest belts. It has shallow roots, with many thin 

branches; it sprouts, suckers and layer. Due to the rich 

shrubs and decorative aspect, it can be used in the outer, 

brighter part of the road belts. 

Indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa) was used in the 

communication belts, in their marginal and post 

marginal rows, developing well on chernozems, alluvial 

soils and slopes. Having large ecological amplitude, it 

resists quite well to drought, preferring warmer stations, 

with a long vegetative season. It forms rich shrubs that 

cover well the soil and contributes substantially to the 

adjustment of the penetrability of the forest belts. It has 

strongly developed roots, with many side branches; it 

sprouts and suckers abundantly, invading neighboring 

lands. Due to its ornamental aspect, in absence of more 

valuable shrubs, it can be used in the marginal, more 

bright areas (as it has an open temperament) of the 

communication belts, and due to its sucker capacity in 

the anti-erosion belts. 

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) was found in the marginal 

rows of the road/railway protection belts, or on their 

slopes, generally occurred in a natural way. Being a 

xerophilous species, resistant to frost and less 

demanding to edaphic conditions, it develops well on 

dry, compact soils. Due to its high suckering capacity, it 

invades the abandoned, uncultivated lands, forming 

impenetrable thickets. Its rich shrubs cover well the soil 

and contribute substantially to the adjustment of the 

penetrability of the forest belts. It has deep roots, with 

many side branches, and its growth is slow; it suckers 

strongly. Supporting less shading, it is recommended for 

use in the marginal rows of communication and antierosion 

belts. 

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) was mainly used in 

the road protection belts. Being a species less 

demanding to soil and climate, it develops well on a 

diverse range of soils, to the most dry and compact 

ones, improving soil through its rich litter. Growth is 

slow and rooting is deep and highly developed, with 

many side branches. Having a relatively demanding 

temperament to light, it is recommended its planting 

especially in the border rows of the communication and 

anti-erosion belts. 

Dog rose (Rosa canina) was used mainly in the field 

protection belts, but also in the marginal rows of the 

railways belts. Being a species less demanding to soil 

and climate, it develops well on heavier, compact soils 

(degraded soils), improving it through its rich litter. It 

shows a demanding temperament to light, being 

recommended in the forest belt border. 

Pea-tree (Caragana arborescens) has large edaphic 

amplitude, developing well on chernozems, dry and 

even salty soils. Its growth is quite rapid in youth. It has 

well developed roots, in dry steppe soils exceeding 2 m 

in depth. It sprouts, but does not sucker, having as well 

the quality of improving the soil through symbiosis with 

nitrogen fixing bacteria. It supports well shading, being 

found even within the forest belts, under massif (Traian 

Sat–Lacu Sărat interval). It is recommended in the outer 

rows of the protection forest belts. 

Five stamen tamarisk (Tamarix ramosisima) was used 

mainly in the communication protection belts. Being a 

species less demanding to soil and climate, it develops 

well on a wide range of soils to dry, compact and salty 

soils. It has roots well developed in depth. It has an 

open temperament and its growth is quite slow, being 

usefully to be planted in the exterior part of the forest 

belts. 

Gărdurariţa (Lycium halimifolium) was found in the 

outer rows of the communication protection belts, 

probably occurred in a natural way. In the railway belt 

at Ianca it formed on some portions a very compact 

border line of 2-4 m width and 2-3 m height. Being a 

xerophyte species, resistant to frost and less demanding 

to edaphic conditions, it develops well on dry soils, but 

poorly on the compact ones. Due to its high suckering 

capacity and active growth it expands on the 

neighboring lands, forming impenetrable thickets. It 

does not support shading, being recommended for use 

only in the outer part of the protection belts, in the cases 

where it can not cause damage to the neighboring 

agricultural land through its expansion by suckering. 

45


Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is resistant to frost and grows 

on soils with high calcium carbonate content, suckering 

strongly. Taking into account the especially decorative 

aspect and the dense shrubs, it is recommended to be 

planted on the side of the road belts. 

Smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) develops very well on 

dry soils and even on limestone substrates. Although it 

supports shading fairly well, it is recommended mainly 

for the marginal rows of the forest belts, having an 

especially decorative aspect. 

Elm leaved spiraea (Spiraea x vanhouttei) was used in 

the marginal and post marginal rows of the road belts. It 

is not demanding to soils and it is resistant to frost, 

developing well especially on chernozems and alluvial 

soils. It shows an open temperament. Due to its dense 

shrubs and ornamental aspect, it may be planted in 

marginal brighter areas (having an open temperament) 

of the communication belts. 

Jasmin (Philadelphus coronarius) was used with good 

results in the marginal and post marginal rows of the 

road belts. It developed well on chernozems and alluvial 

soils. It is not demanding to soil, with the condition that 

it is not too dry. It resists well to frost. Being a dense 

ornamental shrub, it is usefully for the outer part of the 

communication paths protection forest belts. 


- Protection forest belts express their multiple influences 

on the environment by reducing wind speed, 

temperature amplitudes decrease, reducing 

evapotranspiration, precipitation water accumulation, 

improved soil fertility and conservation, earlier entry 

into vegetation of crops, providing wood to the 

population in the area, providing berries, beekeeping 

development, increase of game, creating better working 

conditions, agricultural production increase, etc. 

- Carrying out with maximum efficiency of the forest 

belts’ protection function is determined by the 

composition, structure and their installation on the land, 

elements that are conditioned, in their turn, by the 

natural circumstances in the region: general physicgeographical 

and phytoclimatic conditions and the 

intensity and direction of action of the harmful factors 

or climate adversity over which the forest belts act; at 

the same time, while exercising multiple functions: 

ecological, social and educational, when properly cared 

for and managed, they represent a renewable source of 

wood, berries, herbs and more. 

- Field, communication paths and anti-erosion 

protection forest belts show, for the most part, a good 

vegetative state and have a special role in reducing 

harmful of wind speed, increasing soil humidity in the 

agricultural land and protecting crops from frost. These 

forest belts were made, both in the past and in recent 

years, mostly of black locust; for the forest belts with 

dual protection role (field and anti-erosion) were used as 

main species: grayish oak, Norway maple and field elm. 

- In the field protection belts development of the 

oleaster and dog rose was strongly constrained by black 

locust; in order to confer a proper structure and 

efficiency to the forest belts it is necessary to use only 

helping species in the marginal rows (Tartarian maple, 

Turkestan elm, cherry-plum, osage-orange, etc.) and 

shrubs (dog rose, hawthorn), black locust should be 

introduced in the interior rows (central core of the forest 

belt). 

- Communication protection belts were installed after 

1940 by using a rich assortment of species, depending 

on site conditions; tree species most frequently used 

were: field elm, Turkestan elm, ash, grayish oak, 

Norway maple, black locust, honey locust, mulberry, 

cherry-plum, Tartarian maple, ash-leaf maple, field 

maple, mahaleb cherry, osage-orange. Shrub species 

most frequently used were: hawthorn, dog rose, indigo 

bush, pea-tree, red dogwood, spindle-tree, Tartarian 

honeysuckle, blackthorn, privet, five stamen tamarisk, 

etc. In the border rows, towards the roads, ornamental 

shrub species were used, such as: lilac, elm leaved 

spiraea and jasmin. 

- Protection forest belts of communication paths against 

heavy snows, by their exceptional functional value but 

also their richness and floristic diversity, even as they 

are now in an advanced state of decay, are of a special 

ecological, social and economical importance, which 

requires, case by case, for the most par of them, urgent 

measures of improvement or rehabilitation. 

- Analyzed anti-erosion protection forest belts have a 

good crop development and have a special role in 

dissipating surface leakage, increase infiltration of water 

in the soil and prevent soil erosion. These forest belts 

were made with basic species: grayish oak or black 

locust; mixture and help species: Norway maple, field 

elm, wild cherry field maple, Tartarian maple (and in 

the marginal rows cherry-plum); shrubs: hawthorn, dog 

rose, indigo bush, red dogwood. 

- For optimum efficiency throughout the entire period of 

their evolution, protection forest belts require close 

46


monitoring and interfering with specific forest works, in 

relation with their stage of evolution, species and site 

conditions in which they evolve. 

5. Recommendations 

Based on the results obtained there were formulated 

technical recommendations for the installation of 

protection forest belts, summarized below: 

- Introduction in the composition of species with 

multiple uses: (meliferous, fructiferous, medicinal, 

wood, etc.); 

- Rapidly growing species with shading form and rich 

roots shall not be planted in close proximity to the 

valuable species with slower growth, not to be invaded; 

- To increase forest belt resistance, lateral spreading 

roots species and tap-roots species shall be alternating. 

In the marginal rows planting of species with lateral 

spreading roots shall be avoided; on these rows shall be 

planted species with tap roots and more grouped 

fascicular roots in order to ensure increased resistance to 

wind; 

- Marginal rows shall be made of thorn species (honey 

locust, osage-orange, oleaster, dog rose, hawthorn, 

Christ’s thorn, etc.), to provide a shield against grazing 

or other illegal acts; 

- Suckering power of the trees and shrubs shall be taken 

into account, mixing species so as to better use all the 

layers of the soil; 

- Avoid introduction in the forest belt composition of 

tree species and shrubs which shelter pests of other 

forest or agricultural (crop, orchard, vineyard) species. 

For determining the composition of the protective forest 

belts, based on phytoclimatic and soil conditions, were 

recommended: 

1). Afforestation compositions based on oak mixing, 

help species, (elm, Norway maple, Tartarian maple, 

field maple) and shrubs: 

- Compositions with grayish oak, in the lowlands forest, 

forest steppe, on cambic argillic chernozem; 

- Compositions with common oak, in the lowlands 

forest area, or sessile oak in the lower hills area (more 

humid), on ash chernozem soils, clay soils (reddish 

brown etc.) and fertile alluvial soils without salts. 

2). Afforestation compositions with main species (black 

locust or honey locust), mixing species (field maple, 

Tartarian maple, pair, cherry-plum, osage-orange, and 

oleaster) and shrubs (hawthorn, dog rose, smoke tree, 

privet, pea-tree, lilac, blackthorn), respectively: 

- Black locust in the lower hills – forest steppe areas 

(steppe) on light soils (chernozems, psammosoils) 

reduced carbon content; 

- Honey locust, in the forest steppe, steppe, lower hills 

areas on whitish soils, carbon chernozems and other 

heavy soils; 

3). Afforestation compositions based on elm (on carbon 

chernozems, light alluvial soils) or Turkestan elm (on 

poor, heavy soils with carbon and salts), from the steppe 

area to the forest; 

4). Afforestation compositions based on ash 

(Pennsylvania ash) in floodplains on alluvial soils, 

forest area and forest steppe Humic Glay soils; 

5). Afforestation compositions based on Turkestan elm, 

Simon poplar (Populus simonii) or oleaster on salty 

alluvial soils from the steppe to the forest area. 

Forest species that should be given further attention to 

be included into the composition of the field protection 

forest belts are: oaks, Norway maple, ash, walnut, wild 

cherry, flowering ash, elms, field maple, Tartarian 

maple, honey locust, osage-orange, cherry-plum, and of 

the shrubs: cornel-tree, red dogwood, hawthorn, 

blackthorn, red dogwood. 

A special economical interest, for all protection forest 

belt types, presents the introduction in their composition 

of fructiferous species like: walnut, wild cherry, wild 

apple and pear, sour cherry, mahaleb cherry, black 

cherry, cherry-plum, cornel-tree, hawthorn, black 

currant, golden currant, dog rose, blackthorn which, in 

order to bear fruits, have to be planted in the marginal 

rows of the forest belts. To these can be added the 

meliferous species like black locust, linden, oleaster, 

etc. 

Introduction of fructiferous and meliferous species in 

the protection forest belts would increase considerably 

their economical value contributing to the interest of 

small landowners to install and protect against damage 

the protection forest belts in the plain area. 

47


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perdelelor forestiere de protecţie. În Giurgiu V. (ed.) 

Compoziţii optime pentru pădurile României, Ed. Ceres, 

Bucureşti, 193 – 197. 

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ţării. Contract 1996 / 2004 – RELANSIN, Rapoarte de 

cercetare, ICAS. 

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sud-estul ţării. Lucrările sesiunii ştiinţifice bienale cu 

participare internaţională, publicate în Volumul “Pădurea şi 

dezvoltarea durabilă”, Universitatea “Transilvania” din 

Braşov, 385-390. 

Constandache C., Untaru E., 2008: Prevenirea şi 

combaterea eroziunii solului cu ajutorul culturilor şi 

perdelelor forestiere antierozionale. Dezbaterea 

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protecţie în contextul schimbărilor climatice” 22-23 mai, 

ASAS, Bucureşti. 

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forestiere de protecţie. Ed. Silvică, Bucureşti, 261 p. 

Ianculescu M., 2006: Perdelele forestiere de protecţie în 

contextul majorării suprafeţei pădurilor şi al modificărilor 

climatice. În: Pădurea şi modificările de mediu, Silvologie, 

vol. IVA, Ed. Academiei Române, 201 – 223. 

Ianculescu M., 2008: Dezbaterea transfrontalieră de interes 

regional pe tema ,,Perdelele forestiere de protecţie în 

contextul schimbărilor climatice”, Revista pădurilor, 3: 43- 

50. 

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forestiere de protecţie. Experienţe şi rezultate în România. 

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Naţional de Dezvoltare Rurală 2007-2013 privind 

îmbunătăţirea mediului şi a spaţiului rural”, DADR Vaslui. 

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instalare a culturilor forestiere de protecţie pentru teritoriul 

dintre Ialomiţa şi Siret. Seria Studii şi Cercetări, sub 

îndrumarea dr.ing. I.Lupe, Institutul de Cercetări Silvice, 

Bucureşti. 

Lupe I., 1953: Perdele forestiere de protecţie a câmpului. 

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Bucureşti. 

Lupe I., Rădulescu M., Voinea Fl., 1959: Tipuri de culturi 

forestiere pentru stepă şi silvostepă. Ed. Agro-Silvică de 

Stat, Bucureşti. 

Lupe I., 1981: Perdelele forestiere de protecţie. În Pădurile 

României, Ed.Academiei, Bucureşti; 

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protecţie a căilor de comunicaţie împotriva înzăpezirilor. 

Revista pădurilor nr. 1 / 2006. 

Neşu I., 1999: Perdele forestiere de protecţie a câmpului. Ed. 

Star Tipp, Slobozia. 

Popa N., Nistor D., 2005: Amenajarea si exploatarea 

terenurilor agricole degradate prin eroziune. Ghid practic, 

MAPDR, Tipografia Moldova, Iaşi. 

Popescu N. E., 2001: Consideraţii asupra istoriei perdelelor 

forestiere de protecţie în România în perioada 1960-2001. 

Revista de Silvicultură nr. 13-14, Braşov. 

Popescu F., Popescu N. E.: Contribuţia perdelelor forestiere 

de protecţie la ameliorarea mediului înconjurător. Sesiunea 

ştiinţifică “Pădurile şi protecţia Mediului”, Universitatea 

Transilvania Braşov 

Rusescu D.R., 1906: Chestiunea împăduririlor artificiale în 

România. SOCEC et CO, Bucureşti. 

Untaru E., Constandache C., 2008: Perdelele forestiere de 

protecţie a căilor de comunicaţie şi plantaţiile destinate 

consolidării taluzurilor. Dezbaterea transfrontalieră de 

interes regional „Perdelele forestiere de protecţie în 

contextul schimbărilor climatice” 22-23 mai, ASAS, 

Bucureşti. 

*** Anexa la Ord. MAAP nr. 636/2002: Norme tehnice 

silvice pentru înfiinţarea, îngrijirea şi conducerea vegetaţiei 

forestiere din perdelele forestiere de protecţie. 

*** Legea 289/2002 privind perdelele forestiere de protecţie, 

Monitorul Oficial al României, partea I, nr. 338. 

*** H.G. 548/2003 privind atribuţiile Ministerului 

Agriculturii, Alimentaţiei şi Pădurilor ca minister 

coordonator al Programului de realizare a Sistemului 

naţional al perdelelor forestiere de protecţie şi componenţa, 

modul de funcţionare şi atribuţiile comandamentelor 

judeţene de analiză a programului anual de înfiinţare a 

perdelelor forestiere de protecţie. 

*** H.G. 994/2004 pentru aprobarea înfiinţării perdelelor 

forestiere a căilor de comunicaţie împotriva înzăpezirii în 

toate zonele ţării, în conformitate cu Programul de 

înfiinţare a perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a căilor de 

comunicaţie împotriva înzăpezirii şi pentru aprobarea 

Studiului de fundamentare a necesităţii înfiinţării unei 

reţele de perdele forestiere de protecţie în judeţele 

Mehedinţi, Dolj, Olt şi Teleorman şi pe terenurile unităţilor 

de creştere şi exploatare a cailor de rasă, Monitorul Oficial 

al României, partea I, nr. 648. 

Abstract 

Research has been conducted as part of the research project „Technologies of Installation and Rehabilitation of the Protection 

Forest Belts in the South-East of the Country”, funded by Relansin Program (contract 1996/2004), aimed at solving issues 

determining the afforestation compositions (species assortments, planting device) for the installation and rehabilitation of 

protection forest belts. The research has followed the behavior and evolution of the forest species in the existing protection 

48


forest belts, in relation to the composition, manner of association of the species, executed works, but as well with the stationary 

conditions in which they vegetate. There were also discussed aspects of management, regeneration and restoring or improving 

the structure of degraded forest belts, so that they can fulfill their protective role. 

Based on the research results there were developed technical guidance on the composition and mixing schemes for the 

protection forest belts in the South- East area of the country. 

Carrying out with maximum efficiency of the forest belts’ protection function is determined by the composition, structure and 

their installation on the land, and these are determined by knowledge of the region’s natural factors. Forest Species are chosen 

and associated by case, taking into account their bioecological peculiarities, their demands to the stationary conditions, aiming 

to achieve the maximum protective effect in the shortest time and for the longest period of time. 

Keywords: protection forest belts, forest species, composition, mixing scheme 


49


Technical solutions to set up networks of forest shelterbelts for farmland 

protection in the Plain and the Dobrogea Plateau 

Cornel Costăchescu, Florin Dănescu, Marian Ianculescu, Elena Mihăilă, Dan Niţu 


As signatory of “Convention for Desertification 

Combat” from 1994, Romania should contribute to 

achieving its main objective of “combating 

desertification and mitigating the effects of drought in 

countries with serious problems of drought and/or 

desertification through efficient actions at all levels, in 

order to contribute to achieving sustainable 

development in the affected areas”. 

Romania is part of the 110 countries around the globe 

where there are potential affected areas by 

desertification, as a result of frequent long-lasting and 

severe droughtness periods, mainly due to the 

imbalanced climatic characteristics, as well as severe 

reduction of the area covered with forest vegetation in 

the plains and low hilly regions. 

It is estimated that desertification, droughtness and 

aridity have a temporary and spatial determination, 

being mainly caused by the climatic variations and 

human activity. As a result, desertification or longlasting 

severe droughtness are accompanied by land, 

soil, vegetation and hydrological resources 

degradation processes, even in the dry sub-humid 

areas. 

The forest crops and the forest shelterbelts, as 

defensive methods against climatic specific 

adversities, as soil protection methods against erosion 

and landslides, as protection methods of socioeconomical 

objectives and communication ways were 

and are presently monitored by all agricultural 

developed countries where the crops, the soil and the 

dwellings suffer more or less of the harmful winds 

influence, droughtness and surface erosion 

(Ianculescu, 2005, 2007, 2008). 

Forest shelterbelts are forest vegetation structures, of 

different lengths and relatively narrow widths, located 

at a certain distance from each other or against a 

certain objective, aiming to protect against the effects 

of harmful factors, whose effects are manifested more 

intensely in terms of their integration into a much 

extended network. 

Are generally known the beneficial influences of those 

forest shelterbelts on crops and agricultural and 

zootechny production, on soil and water, useful fauna, 

people’s health and human settlements, in brief on 

environment in the areas where they are installed. 

In summary, the main ecological, social and 

economical effects of forest shelterbelts establishment 

consist of (Lupe, 1952, 1953; Popescu, 1954; 

Costăchescu et al., 2005): 

- improving the microclimatic conditions modifying 

the albedo, decreasing the air diurnal amplitude 

temperature by 1-4 0C and the annual one by 1-2 0C, 

decreasing the wind speed by 31-55% in the sheltered 

side and by 10-15% in the exposed side, reducing the 

unproductive evapo-transpiration by up to 30%, 

increasing the air humidity at the soil surface by 3- 

5%; 

- improving growth and development conditions of 

agricultural adjacent crops to a distance of 20-30 

times of the shelterbelt height at the leeward 

(sheltered) and by 5-12 times of the shelterbelt height 

in the wind one (exposed); 

- improving the fertility conditions and the soil 

conservation, reducing erosion and slopes runoff up to 

total stopping, increasing soil moisture, enriching the 

soil content in humus and other nutrients, and 

modifying the soil pH due to the organic matter 

excess produced by leaves and roots; 

-increasing the wood biomass and accessory products; 

- increasing the areas covered with forest vegetation; 

-protecting socio-economical objectives and 

communication ways; 

-creating favourable conditions for the local fauna 

development; 

- increasing the regional biodiversity; 

- improving carbon stock; 

- reconstruction and improvement of the landscape. 

Therefore, the achievement of the forest shelterbelts 

networks has consequences not only for protecting 

and preserving environmental conditions, but also for 

increasing agricultural productions, or at least, 

maintaining them at a relatively constant level even 

under significant fluctuating climatic conditions. 

The necessity of forest shelterbelts has been revealed 

since 1860 by Ion Ionescu de la Brad, who achieved 

the first “wind overshadowing plantations” during 

1870-1872.


Although at the beginning of the 20th century our 

country, through the shelterbelt programme for 

Bărăgan, Ialomiţa and Brăila regions, was first 

worldwide ranked in this domain, after 1962, the 

political regime of that period decided to cut off most 

of forest shelterbelts. Only the forest shelterbelts 

established by the Romanian foresters in the 

Cadrilater (Southern part of the Dobrogea, ceded to 

Bulgaria in 1940), in the interwar period, have been 

maintained and remain functional. 

The question of forest shelterbelts in Romania was 

returned after 1989, and the Law no. 289/2002 create 

the legal frame for their establishment (Ianculescu, 

2001; ***, 2002a; ***, 2002b). 

The paper represents a synthesis of the research 

outcomes gathered in the field of the forest 

shelterbelts, of the gained experience also of 

designing and implementation of the forest 

shelterbelts, and has prevalently approached the 

Danube Plain and the Dobrogea Plateau, because in 

these regions there are signals of degrading processes 

of environmental conditions, especially the drying 

aspect (Costăchescu and Dănescu, 2005, 2006; 

Mihăilă, 2006; Dănescu and Costăchescu, 2009). 

This paper addresses to the experts in agriculture and 

silviculture, the institutions responsible for fundament 

agriculture and forestry policies, and physical and 

juridical person wishing to establish forest 

shelterbelts, presenting available solutions to achieve 

the forest shelterbelts networks at territorialadministrative 

level, based on current conditions: 

environmental, land use and land register. 

2. Materials and methods 

To establish the forest shelterbelts network at the level 

of geographical units discussed (the Danube Plain and 

Dobrogea), based on the results of the previous 

research studies that became official by technical 

norms, only arable lands and pastures were considered 

(by orthophotomaps vectorization at 1:5000 scale), 

being excluded from the beginning the orchards, 

vineyards, built settlements and, of course, the lands 

covered by forest vegetation. Therefore, it resulted the 

total infield area considered for establishment of the 

forest shelterbelts network (2.806.989 ha in the 

Danube Plain and 679.958 ha in Dobrogea). 

2.1. Theoretical location of the forest shelterbelts 

network in the Danube Plain and Dobrogea 

In order to adopt the technical solutions to establish 

the shelterbelts, it was necessary to framing the 

ecological site conditions of the analyzed territory. 

During this stage an important phase was the 

establishment of the dominant soil types in all 

localities, mentioning that the preliminary 

classification was made based on the information 

provided by the pedological map scale 1:200 000, 

carried out by the RIPA (Research Institute of 

Pedology and Agrochemistry) (***, 1963-1986), over 

which were overlapped administrative boundaries of 

localities. For this purpose it was necessary the 

preliminary geo-reference of the soil map, using ortorectified 

aerial images. 

The afforestation solutions were established by soil 

types and soil types groups ecologically similar, 

linking the ecological requirements of species with the 

ecological soils characteristics. Transfer the 

afforestation solutions on the plans was, therefore, 

carried out by their association with the soils already 

highlighted on the working maps. 

Over these layers of diverse information 

(geographical, hydrological, pedological, afforestation 

solutions, administrative, infrastructure, etc.), was 

established the theoretical network of forest 

shelterbelts (Figure 1). The network consists of the 

main shelterbelts spaced at 600 m and secondary 

shelterbelts that intersect the main shelterbelts at a 

distance of 1200 m (this being the most frequent size 

of agriculture plots). 

Considering the direction and frequency of the 

prevailing winds, the main shelterbelts were northsouth 

oriented. For reasons related to the necessity to 

compensate the protective effect reduction due to the 

increasing distances between the shelterbelts (to 

distance optimal considered –1000 m x 500 m) by 

increasing the width of the secondary shelterbelts, and 

the necessity to simplify the design and subsequent 

establishment of the network shelterbelts, for the 

shelterbelts a unique width of 10 m was adopted. 

The theoretical network of shelterbelts was interrupted 

in the crossing points with the main communication 

ways (railways, highways, national roads and county 

roads) and with the waters (rivers, lakes, ponds). 

The network shelterbelts area of localities, land use 

categories and afforestation solutions were resulted of 

overlapping that network over the above-mentioned 

information layers, on that basis being further 

determined also the required quantity of afforestation 

stock. 

51


To achieve the GIS analysis of the existent 

information in order to assess the area to be planted 

with forest shelterbelts for field protection, but, also, 

to identify the corresponding areas for different 

afforestation solutions, the following information 

sources (data) were used: 

• Geomorphological map included in the atlas of 

Romania (Institute of Geography), printed in 1976, 

has been used to delineate the two geographical units 

(the Danube Plain and Dobrogea), carrying out the 

layers of polygons that highlights the two regions. 

• Ortophotoplans were used to accurately identify the 

arable land and pastures. On the ortophotoplans the 

outlines of arable lands and pastures were vectorized, 

to which was assigned the appropriate code (arable 

land or pasture). Through this operation the areas 

which are not subject to the establishment of the forest 

shelterbelts network for field protection, have been 

eliminated from the very beginning (orchards, 

vineyards, social-economic objectives, built 

settlements, forest areas etc.). 

• Administrative maps at county level scale 1:100.000 

were scanned, georeferenced and used to vectorize the 

joint limits. After their vectorization corresponding 

attributes (commune name, Siruta code, and the 

county they belong to) have been introduced. 

Therefore, resulted the polygon layer with 

administrative units (communes, counties). 

• Soil maps 1:200.000 made by the Institute of 

Geology in 1969 have been scanned, georeferenced, 

and then vectorized, introducing the corresponding 

characteristics of each soil type and resulting thus a 

GIS data base of the studied area soils. 

At this stage, using the pedological criteria, the 

floodplains areas with alluvial soils (usually sandy) 

have been delineated, that have not been taken into 

consideration, because they are considered as 

wetlands and the necessity of establishing forest 

shelterbelts is lower (also questionable) and also such 

areas show a low productive potential to agriculture 

(being more suitable for larger-scale afforestation). 

• GPS data were collected through field visits 

conducted in the sandy soil areas identified in the 

above-mentioned data base. Visiting some of such 

areas it was observed the fact that they have extended 

and their extending boundaries were marked (by 

points or continuously) using GPS Trimble equipment 

class GIS type GeoXT and Geo XM and the Trimble 

TerraSync software. For an easier identification georeferenced 

images were used (ortophotoplans with the 

limits of the sandy areas or the topographic maps) 

uploaded in the GPS. 

The GPS data were downloaded and processed at the 

office stage by the Trimble Pathfinder Office software 

and finally were integrated in the GIS system. 

Using the GPS data and the existent pedological data, 

has been assessed an estimation of the extension of 

the sandy soils areas and it has been materialized in 

this extended database. 

Based on this estimation, the areas with sands and 

sandy soils were delineated, that also were not taken 

into consideration, requiring a specific approach, 

different from the one used for the field forest 

shelterbelts, due to the low agricultural productivity 

and to the additional aridity determined by the 

extended sands. 

2.2. Generation of shelterbelts network and 

GIS analysis 

• The network of forest shelterbelts with theoretical 

dimensions of 600 m x 1200 m has been automatically 

generated for the entire country area, following that 

after the clipp type GIS analysis only the area which is 

the objective of this stage. 

• GIS Analysis. Finally, by using the GIS data layers 

could be carried out the specific spatial analysis. In 

pursuance of the spatial analysis have resulted the GIS 

data necessary to establish the areas corresponding to 

the afforestation solutions, on geographical units, land 

use categories and administrative-territorial units. For 

this purpose the GIS ArcGIS 9.2 software has been 

used. 

The main factors that have to be taken into account in 

the settlement or distribution of the forest shelterbelts 

on the administrative area of the localities in case of 

design the shelterbelts network at the localities level 

are: topography, surface shape, climate, soil and 

bedrock, hydrologic conditions of the region 

(represented by groundwater, surface waters courses 

and the irrigation canals network), spontaneous and 

cultivated woody vegetation, the work methods and 

the machinery used in agriculture, as well as the 

railways, highway and roads of general use network. 

Depending on these factors the necessary basic 

elements for shelterbelts establishment are 

determined, as following: orientation, distance, width 

and openings between shelterbelts. 

For knowing of the land shape the localities 

topographical plans at 1:10000 or 1:5000 scale are 

used, obtained from the specialised units (National 

Agency of Cadastre or county land registration 

offices). 

52


Apart of the land boundaries, several necessary details 

for forest shelterbelts settlement of these plans are 

used, such as: 

-watercourses, canals, ponds, polders, springs, 

(existent) retention basins; 

-terrain differentiation by land use (agriculture, 

forests, forest shelterbelts, tree clumps, orchards and 

. 

vineyards) and highlighting cadastral units (plots, 

parcels); 

-built settlements areas and various social and 

economical objectives; 

-railways, highways, communal roads, plot roads, 

aerial lines (telephone, electric) 

Fig. 1. Different information layers overlapped in 

the GIS analysis framework 

After obtaining the topographic plan, it is compulsory 

a preliminary land recognition in order to collect the 

general data, taking into consideration the followings: 

- soil data (identifying the type and the general 

characteristics); 

- data regarding the forms, degrees and extension 

erosion process on the corresponding territory; 

- data regarding the trees and shrubs forest species 

existent in the region (insisting on the vegetation 

status and the productivity achieved by the forest tree 

species); 

- data regarding the local possibilities to produce 

necessary seedlings for forest shelterbelts 

establishment; 

- data regarding the existent hydrological network and 

the waterground availability. 

3. Results and discussion 

3.1. Recommended afforestation solutions under 

the soil and ecological site conditions reflected by 

the existent information 

The distribution and the combination method of the 

ecological site factors within the Danube Plain and 

Dobrogea, determine also the diversity of 

afforestation solutions suitable for establishing the 

forest shelterbelts. 

To implement the technical solutions for shelterbelts 

achievement, it is necessary a general framing of 

ecological site conditions for the analyzed area, 

starting with the assumption that the soil type is a 

good enough indicator to frame it in the bioclimatic 

zonality. At this stage an important phase is to 

establish the dominant soil types at the level of all the 

administrative-territorial units (based on the 

information provided by the pedological map scale 

1:200000, carried out by the Research Institute for 

Pedology and Agrochemistry). 

The afforestation solutions are determined on soil 

types and soil types groups ecologically similar, 

linking the ecological requirements of species with 

the ecological soils characteristics, but taking also into 

consideration the fact that by their location in the open 

field and by their reduced dimensions the forest 

53


shelterbelts will not benefit from the forest 

microclimate, the component species being forced to 

grow in more severe aridity conditions than those 

normally reflected by the forest vegetation in the 

region (Chiriţă et al., 1977; Geambaşu and Dănescu, 

2004; Stănescu et al., 1997). To establish the 

afforestation compositions, the technical norms have 

been taken into consideration (***, 2000). 

Therefore, in case of forest shelterbelts, the species 

choice and their participation proportion for different 

types of afforestation solutions are made according to 

the bioclimatic framing and the corresponding soil 

and ecological site conditions (Antonescu et al., 1969; 

Coteţ, 1973; Mihăilescu, 1969; ***, 2005), taking into 

consideration especially the basic indigenous and 

representative species that are part of fundamental 

natural forest types in these areas (pubescent oak – 

Quercus pubescens, greyish oak – Quercus 

pedunculiflora, common oak – Quercus robur, 

Turkish oak – Quercus cerris, Hungarian oak – 

Quercus frainetto), as well as other indigenous species 

(silver lime – Tilia tomentosa, plane maple – Acer 

platanoides, hedge maple – Acer campestre, manna 

ash – Fraxinus ornus, pear tree – Pirus pyraster, 

cherry plum – Prunus cerasifera, different shrubs) or 

even exotical (Turkestan elm – Ulmus pumila, 

Russian olive – Eleagnus angustifolia), well known as 

drought-resistant. 

In the Danube Plain and Dobrogea, the variation of 

the ecological site conditions (soil and climate) within 

the territory allows the identification (differentiation) 

of eight soil and site situations to which the following 

afforestation compositions correspond: 

In Dobrogea 

I. Areas with kastanozioms (kastanozems – WRB – 

SR, 1998) in the steppe area 

In order to fit into an appropriate ecological site the 

areas covered with kastanozioms in which will be 

placed forest shelterbelts the following site type is 

recommended: „Dobrogean plain steppe (Quercus 

pubescens ± Quercus pedunculiflora), low 

productivity, long low inclined slopes, blunt tops of 

the hill or flat lands, kastanozioms, highly edaphic 

volumes, physiologically shallow-medium deep“. 

For the afore-mentioned ecological site situation the 

use of the following afforestation composition is 

recommended: 40Stp 20Ult 20Sl 20arb. 

II. Areas with calcaric and typical chernozems 

(calcaro-calcic and calcic chernozems – WRB – SR, 

1998) in the steppe area 

The steppe areas with chernozems can be framed 

under the following ecological site type: ”Dobrogean 

plain steppe (Quercus pedunculiflora, Quercus 

pubescens), low productivity, long low inclined 

slopes, blunt tops of the hill or flat lands, calcaric and 

typical chernozems, high edaphic volumes, 

physiologically medium deep”. The following 

afforestation composition is recommended: 20Stb 

20Stp 20Ult 20Sl 20arb. 

III. Areas with cambic chernozems (haplic 

chernozems – WRB – SR, 1998) in the silvosteppe 

area (plain) and depressions in the steppe area 

(saucers, very large saucers) 

To frame into ecological forest site the areas of steppe 

and silvosteppe with cambic cernozioms the following 

ecological site type is recommended: ”Dobrogean 

plain silvosteppe and depressions in the steppe 

(Quercus pedunculiflora - Quercus pubescens), 

medium to low productivity, long and slight slopes, 

blunt tops of the hill, flat terrains and depression 

zones, cambic chernozems, slightly decarbonated, 

highly edaphic, physiologically medium deep”. In this 

situation the following afforestation composition is 

recommended: 40Stb 20Mj(Pă) 20Sl 20arb. 

In the Danube Plain 

IV. Areas with calcaric and typical chernozems 

(calcaro-calcic and calcic chernozems – WRB – SR, 

1998) and kastanozioms (kastanozems – WRB – SR, 

1998) in the external silvosteppe and medium 

silvosteppe 

These areas are recommended to be framed in the 

following ecological forest site type: ”External and 

medium silvosteppe, medium productivity (Quercus 

pedunculiflora), calcaric and typical chernozems and 

kastanozioms on loess substatum, physiologically 

medium deep to shallow, highly edaphic, loamy, 

medium humus content, with carbonates in the first 50 

cm, rarely carbonatic under 50 cm (with Cca horizon 

under the depth of 50-70 cm)”. 

Recommended composition: 40Stb 20Ult 20Sl 20arb. 

V. Areas with cambic chernozems (haplic chernozems 

– WRB – SR, 1998) in the middle silvosteppe The 

following ecological forest site is recommended for 

framing this areas: ”Medium silvosteppe, mediumhigh 

productivity (Quercus pedunculiflora), cambic 

chernozems on loess substratum, physiologically very 

deep (rare deep), high edaphic volume, loamy - 

clayey-loamy to maximum clayey-loamy soils (rare 

entirely loamy), moderate content in humus (rare 

medium to weak humiferous), without carbonates in 

the first 70 cm”. 

54


In this situation the following composition is 

recommended: 40Stb 20Ult(Tea) 20Pă 20arb. 

VI. Areas with argic faeozioms and argic chernozems 

(luvic phaeozems and luvic chernozems – WRB – SR, 

1998) in the internal silvosteppe. 

In order to fit these areas into a ecological site 

framework it is recommended the following 

ecological site type: ”Internal silvosteppe, high 

productivity (Quercus pedunculiflora), argic 

faeozioms and argic chernozems on loessoid 

substratum, high edaphic volume, physiologically 

very deep, loamy to clayey-loamy soils, moderate 

humus content. 

Recommended composition: 40Stb 20Tea(Ju) 20Pă 

20arb. 

VII. Areas with typical preluvosols (haplic luvisols – 

WRB – SR, 1998), reddish preluvosols (chromic 

luvisols), reddish luvosols (chromic luvisols), typical 

luvosols (haplic luvisols) and albic luvosols (albic 

luvisols) from the forest plain. 

These areas can be framed in the following ecological 

forest site type: ”Forest plain, medium-high 

productivity (Quercus pedunculiflora, Quercus 

robur), typical preluvosols, reddish preluvosols, 

reddish luvosols, typical luvosols and albic luvosols 

on loamy or clayey-loamy substratum (± loessoid), 

physiologically very deep, high edaphic volume, 

loamy to clayey-loamy texture, low to moderate 

humus content”. 

According to this type of ecological forest site, the 

recommended composition is the following: 40Stb(St) 

20Pa(Tea) 20Cd 20arb. 

VIII. Areas with vertic preluvosols (vertic luvisols – 

WRB – SR, 1998) and reddish-vertic preluvosols 

(vertic-chromic luvisols) in complex with argic-vertic 

phaeozioms (verti-luvic phaeozems), vertic luvosols 

(vertic luvisols), albic-vertic luvosols (verti-albic 

luvisols), typical and vertic planosols (haplic and 

vertic planosols) and vertosols (vertisols) on clayed 

substratum (± loessoid) in the forest plain 

The type of ecological site that fits these areas is 

”Forest plain, medium-low up to low productivity 

(Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto), vertic preluvosols 

and reddish-vertic preluvosols in complex with argicvertic 

phaeozioms, vertic luvosols, albic-vertic 

luvosols, typical and vertic planosols and vertosols on 

clayed substratum (± loessoid), physiologically 

medium deep, with high edaphic volume, clayey 

texture, moderate humus content, compact to very 

compact soils”. 

Recommended composition: 40Ce(Gî) 30Pă 30arb. 

The significance of symbols used for the 

recommended forest species in the afforestation 

composition is the following: St – Quercus robur, 

Stb – Quercus pedunculiflora, Stp – Quercus 

pubescens, Ce – Quercus cerris, Gî – Quercus 

frainetto, Tea – Tilia tomentosa, Ju – Acer campestre, 

Pa – Acer platanoides, Ult – Ulmus pumila, Sl – 

Eleagnus angustifolia, Mj – Fraxinus ornus, Pă – 

Pirus pyraster, Cd – Prunus cerasifera, arb – shrubs. 

Setting up these types of soil and ecological forest site 

situations is being done by taking into consideration 

the principle of mutual partial compensation of the 

ecological factors. 

The presented afforestation solutions are basic 

solutions for establishing the forest shelterbelts in the 

Danube Plain and Dobrogea. 

For practical considerations, alternative solutions are 

required, which should be adopted only in the 

following situations: 

- lack or insufficient quantity of seedlings required by 

the basic solution, in the situation in which the 

execution stage is due to start soon; 

- decision (in case of state-owned lands) or expressed 

wish (in case of privately-owned lands) to benefit as 

quickly as possible from the protective effect of the 

shelterbelts. 

For the alternative solutions the main recommended 

species are black locust (on the noncarbonatic soils in 

the forest plain and in the sylvosteppe) and honey 

locust (on the carbonatic soils in the sylvosteppe and 

steppe). The species that are part of these alternative 

solutions should be chosen by taking into 

consideration the following criteria: quick growth, 

abundance of afforestation material, as well as the 

drought resistance. These main species shall be 

accompanied by other species such as: Turkestan elm, 

nettle tree, cherry plum, Russian olive, shrubs. 

3.2. Establishing the necessary of forest shelterbelts 

and network location on land use categories 

(arable or pasture) 

As previously mentioned the field forest shelterbelts 

network resulted from overlapping the theoretical 

model (600 m x 1200 m) over the surface already 

vectorized of the two categories of agricultural land 

under study (arable land and pastures). 

Therefore is resulted the forest shelterbelts network 

corresponding to the two land use categories and 

55


taking into consideration the fact that the width 

established for the shelterbelts is of 10 m, the area 

covered with forest shelterbelts was determined within 

the two land use categories. Thanks to the GIS work 

technique being applied, within the two geographical 

units the area corresponding to each land use category 

was divided by solution types, counties and 

administrative-territorial units, the results being 

presented in tables. 

It must be reminded the fact that during this stage the 

land with sands and sandy soils also the alluvial soils 

(generally sandy) within the two geographical units 

were not analyzed because they required a different 

approach. Based on punctual field investigations 

carried out, it resulted that the surface of terrains with 

sands and sandy soils which in the actual records 

represent approximately 135000 ha, is in reality much 

higher – approximately 255000 ha – resulting an 

extension of 47%, that imposes the necessity to 

establish more precise (by modern methods applied in 

the field) the areas occupied by those. Regarding the 

alluvial soils, they cover an area of 640000 ha in the 

Danube Plain while in the Dobrogea the covered area 

is 92000 ha, totalizing an area of 732000 ha. 

Danube Plain 

In the Danube Plain resulted a total area of forest 

shelterbelts network of 70226 ha (2.5 %), which 

protects a total area of agricultural land of 2806989 

ha. The network that protects the arable land has 

67366 ha (2.5 % of the total of 2693655 ha), while the 

network that protects the permanent pastures has 2860 

ha (2.52 % of the total of 113334 ha). 

The surface covered by the network, its percentage 

and the total area protected within the permanent 

pasture land use category, on the five solution types, 

is the following (Table 1): 

Table 1. Permanent pastures – area covered by the network of forest shelterbelts on solution types 

Solution type Network area - ha Total area - ha % 

IV 1.071,1481 42.630,8877 2,51 

V 643,1144 25.639,6133 2,51 

VI 133,7481 5.097,3864 2,62 

VII 893,6654 35.127,8903 2,54 

VIII 118,3502 4.838,1973 2,45 

The area covered by the network, its percentage and 

the total protected area within the arable land use 

category, on the five solution types, is the following 

(Table 2): 

Table 2. Arable terrain – area covered by the network of forest shelterbelts on solution types 


4. 20.947,7488 835.797,4286 2,51 

5. 22.846,0206 915.369,083 2,50 

6. 6.027,2343 240.411,6749 2,51 

7. 14.281,5658 571.079,6509 2,50 

8. 3.263,1243 130.996,7334 2,49 

Within the permanent pasture land use category the 

distribution of the area of shelterbelts network at the 

county level reflects a variation ranging from under 50 

ha (Vrancea) up to over 240 ha (Galaţi). 

Within the arable land use category the distribution of 

the area of shelterbelts network at the county level 

reflects a variation ranging from under 1300 ha 

(Vrancea) up to over 8000 ha (Călăraşi). 

Dobrogea 

In Dobrogea resulted a total area of forest shelterbelts 

network having 16986 ha (2.5 %), that protects a total 

area of agriculture land of 679958 ha. The network 

that protects the arable land has 14998 ha (2.5 % of 

the total of 600109 ha), while the network that 

protects the permanent pastures has 1988 ha (2.49 % 

of the total of 79849 ha). 


the total protected area under the permanent pastures 

land use category, on the three solution types, is the 

following (Table 3): 

Table 3. Permanent pastures – area covered by the network of forest shelterbelts, on solution types 


I 488,3249 19.754,4540 2,47 

56


II 1.255,5915 50.267,1768 2,50 

III 244,3954 9.827,3362 2,49 


the total protected area within the arable land use 

category, on the three solution types, is the following 

(Table 4): 

Table 4. Arable land – area covered by the network of forest shelterbelts, on solution types 


I 3.915,2717 156.450,0458 2,50 

II 9.301,5302 372.673,1402 2,50 

III 1.781,2027 70.986,2658 2,51 

Within the permanent pastures land use category, the 

distribution of the area of shelterbelt network at the 

county level reflects a variation ranging from 800 ha 

(Tulcea) up to 1190 ha (Constanţa). 

Within the arable land land use category the 

distribution of the area of forest shelterbelt network at 

the county level reflects a variation ranging from 

under 4600 ha (Tulcea) up to above 10400 ha 

(Constanţa). 

From the distribution of the forest shelterbelt network 

by counties, localities and land use categories, in the 

Danube Plain and Dobrogea, it can be noticed the fact 

that in the Danube Plain, in case of arable land use 

category, the localities with the largest network areas 

are Perişoru (443 ha) and Dragalina (398 ha) in 

Călăraşi county. In Dobrogea, within the same land 

use category, the localities with the largest network 

area are Casimcea (357 ha) in Tulcea county, and 

Cobadin (322 ha) in Constanţa county. 

In case of pasture land use category, in the Danube 

Plain, the localities with the largest network area are 

Smârdan (65 ha) in Galaţi county, and Ianca (26 ha) in 

Brăila county. In Dobrogea, within the same land use 

category the localities having the largest network area 

are Lipniţa (84 ha) in Constanţa county, and Cerna (76 

ha) in Tulcea county. 

3.3. Establishing the necessary seedling stock for 

setting up the forest shelterbelts in order to adjust 

the production capacity of the afforestation stock 

and its phasing 

Given data obtained relating to the areas covered with 

forest shelterbelts up to detail level, as well as the data 

regarding the shelterbelts characteristics (composition, 

schemas and densities) were used to assess the 

necessary afforestation stock on solution types, 

totalized and differentiated by species, both at a local 

level and at county ones, presented in a table form. 

Danube Plain 

In the Danube Plain resulted a total number of 

351128600 seedlings required to establish the network 

of forest shelterbelts, of which the basic species 

(greyish oak) represents almost 40%. The 

differentiation of this total required of seedlings by the 

two land use categories is as follows: arable land – 

336828468 seedlings (of which the basic species 

represents approximately 40%); permanent pastures – 

14300131 seedlings (of which the main species 

represents approximately 40%). 

The total number of seedlings necessary for setting up 

the network of shelterbelts within the permanent 

pasture land use, on the five solution types, is the 


Table 5. Permanent pastures – required quantity of seedlings to set up the network of forest shelterbelts on solution 

types 

Solution type Total seedlings Basic species (Quercus sp.) 

IV 535.5741 2.142.296 

V 321.5572 1.286.229 

VI 668.741 267.496 

VII 4.468.327 1.787.331 

VIII 591.751 236.700 

The total number of seedlings required to establish the 

network of shelterbelts within the arable land use 

category, by the five solution types, is the following 

(Table 6): 

57


Table 6. Arable land – required quantity of seedling to set up the network of forest shelterbelts on solution types 


IV 104.738.744 41.895.498 

V 114.230.103 45.692.041 

VI 30.136.171 12.054.468 

VII 71.407.829 28.563.132 

VIII 16.315.621 6.526.248 

Within the permanent pasture land use category, the 

distribution of the total seedling stock at the county 

level reflects a variation ranging from approximately 

240000 pieces (Vrancea) up to approximately 

2280000 pieces (Teleorman). 

Within the arable land use category, the distribution of 

the total seedling stock at the county level reflects a 

variation ranging from approximately 6600000 pieces 

(Vrancea) up to approximately 51300000 pieces 

(Teleorman). 

Dobrogea 

In Dobrogea the total number of seedlings required to 

establish the forest shelterbelts network was of 

84931581, of which the basic species (greyish oak) 

represents approximately 40%. The differentiation of 

this total required quantity on the two land use 

categories is the following: arable land – 74990023 

seedlings (of which the basic species represents 

approximately 40%); permanent pastures – 9941559 

seedlings (of which the basic species represents 

approximately 40%). 

The total number of seedlings required for 

establishing the network of shelterbelts within the 

permanent pasture land use category, on the three 

solution types, is the following (table 7): 

Table 7. Permanent pastures – required number of seedlings to set up the network of forest shelterbelts on solution types 


I 2.441.624 976.650 

II 6.277.957 2.511.182 

III 1.221.977 488.791 

The total number of seedlings required to complete 

the forest shelterbelts network within the arable land 

use category, on the three solution types, is the 


Table 8. Arable land – required number of seedlings to set up the network of forest shelterbelt 

on solution types 


I 19.576.359 7.830.544 

II 46.507.651 18.603.060 

III 8.906.013 3.562.405 

Within the permanent pasture land use category the 

distribution of the total number of seedlings at the 

county level reflects a variation ranging from 

approximately 4000000 pieces (Tulcea) up to 

approximately 5930000 pieces (Constanţa). 

Within the arable land use category the distribution of 

the total number of seedlings at the county level 

reflects a variation ranging from approximately 

22980000 pieces (Tulcea) up to approximately 

52000000 pieces (Constanţa). 

According to the distribution of the network of forest 

shelterbelts by counties, localities and land use 

categories, in the Danube Plain and the Dobrogea, it 

can be noticed that in the Danube Plain in case of the 

arable land use category, the localities with the largest 

required quantity of seedlings are Perişoru (2215000 

seedlings) and Dragalina (1990000 seedlings), in 

Călăraşi county. In Dobrogea, within the same land 

use category, the localities with the largest required 

quantity of seedlings are Casimcea (1785000 

seedlings), in Tulcea county, and Cobadin (1610000 

seedlings), in Constanţa county. 

In case of the pasture land use category, in the 

Danube Plain, the localities with the largest required 

quantity of seedlings are Smârdan (325000 seedlings), 

in the Galaţi county, and Ianca (130000 seedlings), in 

Brăila county. In Dobrogea, within the same land use 

category the localities with the largest required 

quantity of seedlings are Lipniţa (420000 seedlings), 

in Constanţa county, and Cerna (380000 seedlings), in 

Tulcea county. 

58



Consequently, in order to set up the forest shelterbelts 

network at the level of the two main geographical 

units (totalizing 87212 ha and protecting a 3486947 ha 

area of agricultural land) a quantity of 436000000 

seedlings is required. Even if the value has an 

orientation character (safe estimation) so far and is 

due to be finalised within the feasibility study stages 

and technical project, this is useful for the 

dimensioning and scheduling the production 

capacity of the afforestation stock. 

Taking into consideration the very large area subject 

to the afforestation work, the highly scattered 

character of works, and the very large quantity of 

afforestation stock which is required to be produced, 

such work is appreciated to be scheduled on a 

minimum 10 year period of time. Considering the 

above mentioned values regarding the area of the 

shelterbelts network, the total quantity of required 

seedlings, as well as this minimum time period for 

producing the afforestation stock, and for carrying out 

the work, it results the fact that the production of 

necessary afforestation seedlings can be finalized on 

a nursery surface of approximately 145 ha, that has to 

be available at least one year before the start of the 

setup works and has to be distributed relatively 

uniform at the level of the 19 involved county, 

proportionally with the shelterbelt area corresponding 

to each county. 

Accordingly, for producing the afforestation stock 

required by the setup of the forest shelterbelt network 

for field protection, the nursery area required at the 

county level has an average of approximately 7.6 ha. 

Bibliography: 

Antonescu C., Călinescu R., Bănărescu P., Botoşeneanu 

L, Coteţ P., Decu V., Doniţă N., Negrea Şt., Pleşa C, 

Tălpeanu M., 1969: Biogeografia României. Editura 

Ştiinţifică, Bucureşti. 

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Iancu I., 1977: Staţiuni forestiere. Ed. Academiei RSR, 

Bucureşti. 

Păunescu C., Pătrăşcoiu N., Roşu C., Iancu I., 1977: 

Staţiuni forestiere. Ed. Academiei RSR, Bucureşti. 

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(SF şi PT). Manuscris I.C.A.S. Bucureşti. 

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Bucureşti. Dănescu F., Costăchescu C., 2009. Cercetări 

privind protecţia mediului în zone cu risc accentuat de 

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vegetaţiei forestiere. Manuscris I.C.A.S. Bucureşti. 

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în România şi pentru asigurarea unui echilibru stabil la 

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contextulmajorării suprafeţei pădurilor şi al atenuării 

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climatice”. Revista pădurilor, nr. 3. 


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instalării perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a câmpului din 

judeţul Ilfov. Manuscris I.C.A.S. Bucureşti. 

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instalare a perdelelor forestiere de protecţie a câmpului în 

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Române. 

59


Abstract 

Although its long tradition in Romania, the activity of setting up forest shelterbelts has been neglected in the last four 

decades, due to circumstantial situations. By the Law no. 289 (May, 2002) concerning the establishments of forest 

shelterbelts, some premises have been created for a national system of forest shelterbelts to protect the agricultural lands in 

the areas frequently affected by drought. 

The present paper addresses the aspect of designing the forest shelterbelts, starting with the location compulsory 

information and thus from the main factors that depend the location or the distribution of the forest shelterbelts on a certain 

area, determine the basic elements necessary to establish these protective cultivations: orientation, distance, width and the 

shelterbelts openings. 

The paper presents a brief characterization of specific ecological site conditions of two geographical units, because the 

distribution and the combination way of ecological site conditions factors within the Romanian Plain and Dobrogea 

determine the afforestation diversity solutions recommended for the establishment of forest shelterbelts. 

Regarding the installation of forest filed shelterbelts, the present paper sets the ecological site conditions on which the 

shelterbelts are required (using systematic review of ecological forest sites in the Romanian Plain and Dobrogea) and 

recommends the tree and shrub species that can be included in the forest shelterbelts composition, the main features of 

forest shelterbelts (field location, orientation, width, distances, recommended species, planting drawing) and the 

afforestation solutions in the existent ecological site and soil conditions. 

The paper main objectives aimed on the theoretical location of the field forest shelterbelts network in the Romanian Plain 

and Dobrogea, the settlement of the compulsory forest shelterbelts and the location of that network by land use categories 

(arable or pasture) and the estimation of the seedling stock needed to achieve these shelterbelts. The resulting information 

are useful for sizing and for timing of the afforestation stock production and they presently have only a background 

character at the regional level. 

Key words: forest shelterbelts network, crops protection, ecological site conditions, afforestation compositions. 


60


Crops protection forest belts - a necessity 

Abstract 

Ioan Neşu 

It is important for this period that Law no. 289/2002 of the 

forest belts, republished in 2011, with all its pluses and 

minuses begins its function. 

What happened in the southeast of the country in February 

2012 should not be repeated. Because the fault was not the 

amount of snow that fell, but it’s engaging by wind and 

storage at the edge of the villages, where the houses have 

acted as protection belts. 

Keywords: forest belts, necessity, crops protection. 


61



Mihăilă Elena, Costăchescu Corneliu, Dănescu Florin 


Although agroforestry systems refer to widespread 

and long applied practices, the science, the research 

regarding this is relatively new, the main boost being 

given by the presentation in 1977 of the study "Trees, 

food and people" by JG Bene, H.W. Beall and A. 

Cote, which emphasized the importance of research 

for improving agroforestry systems. A first and 

immediate result of the debate on this research was 

the establishment of the International Council for 

Research on Agroforestry Systems (ICRAF), based in 

Nairobi, Kenya (MacDicken and Vergara, 1990). 

Specifically, agroforestry systems include all land use 

systems in which forest species are deliberately 

maintained or introduced into agricultural or livestock 

production to benefit from the environmental and 

economic interaction result. It is therefore a broad 

concept, which includes all forms of association 

between trees and / or shrubs, on the one hand, and 

crops and / or animals, on the other hand. 

Agroforestry systems integrate trees with different 

crops and / or animals, with the main objective to 

reduce the possibility of certain risks (desertification, 

land degradation, etc.) and to increase total 

production. Increased production (predictable) is a 

major goal for rural developers, but it is not the only 

expected benefit of agroforestry systems. 

In our country, the term agroforestry systems is a new 

concept, and often used with partial and inconclusive 

meaning, although the association of trees and / or 

shrubs with agricultural crops, pastures, animals has 

been practiced for a long time and in different ways. 

Associating components from different areas (forestry 

and agriculture) an interdisciplinary field is being 

shaped, divided equally between foresters and 

agronomists. Thus, agroforestry systems must be 

analyzed each time, in two senses. The main purpose 

for which such agroforestry systems are established is 

getting additional productivity, diversified, of quality, 

and in terms of ensuring a high environmental and 

economic stability. The interest shown is due to the 

effects of climate change and the degradation of 

ecosystems, agroforestry systems ensuring long-term 

increase of environmental quality and conservation of 

natural resources. In short term, they can maintain 

balance and ecosystem functionality, may increase 

their diversity, can mitigate greenhouse gas (by 

storing carbon) and have favorable socio-economic 

effects (providing jobs, varied production and of 

quality etc.). 

Therefore, in the current context agroforestry systems 

are not intended to replace stable, specialized and 

productive systems, but to improve those undergoing 

degradation, unstable, in areas affected by drought, 

aridity etc. By integrating trees into agricultural 

systems it is ensured a more efficient use of light, 

water and nutrients than is generally possible in pure 

crops. 

Although the experience of other countries in the 

adoption of agroforestry systems cannot be accepted a 

priori, although the benefits of the association of 

forest and agricultural crops are evident, they may be 

at least a boost in the application of certain types of 

agroforestry systems in our country. 

2. Possibilities of associating forest 

vegetation with agricultural crops and / 

or animals 

In agroforestry systems there are three categories of 

items or components: woody species (trees and 

shrubs), herbaceous species (crops and forage 

species) and animals. In any agroforestry system there 

must be the forest component (woody species - trees, 

bushes), without which there is no discussion about 

an agroforestry system. 

Forest vegetation association with agricultural crops 

and / or animals shall be different resulting in various 

agroforestry systems that can be classified in different 

ways. The main feature of agroforestry systems is that 

the combination of components is made 

simultaneously on the same field (Fig. 1). 

62


Agricultură 

(culturi agricole, animale) 

Agrosilvicultură 

Silvicultură 

(arbori, arbuşti) 

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of agroforestry systems 

Agroforestry systems specific to agrosylviculture are composed of crops, animals and trees, bushes, which are associated 

on the same field at the same time. 

Table. 1. Main criteria for the classification of agroforestry systems and major agroforestry systems 

(adapted from Nair, 1985 cited by MacDicken and Vergara, 1990) 

Structure and function of agroforestry systems 

Spread and organization 

Structure 

(nature and arrangement of components, especially 

of wood component) 

Nature of components 


(crops and trees / shrubs) 

Forest-pastoral systems 

(pasture / animals and 

trees) 

Agroforestry pastoral 

systems (crops, pasture / 

animals and trees) 

Other systems (multi 

functional clusters of trees, 

apiculture with trees etc.) 

Way of placement of 

components 

IN SPACE (SPACE) 

Dense mixed agroforestry 

systems (intimately mixed 

culture) 

Thin mixed agroforestry 

systems (grassland with trees) 

Agroforestry systems in strips 

(protection forest belts, 

intercropping) 

Agroforestry systems with 

milestone trees (trees on the 

edge of plots or fields) 

IN TIME (TIME) 

Identical, common 

(intercropping, protection 

forest belts) 

Partially overlapping, crossed 

(intimately mixed culture) 

Consecutive (cyclic cultures to 

improve soil fertility) 

Function 

(role and / or benefits 

of components) 

PRODUCTIVE 

FUNCTION 

Food (intercropping) 

Forage (pasture with trees ) 

Firewood (mixed cultures 

intimately, intercropping) 

Adjacent wood products 

(protection forest belts) 

Other products 

PROTECTIVE 

FUNCTION 

Against winds (protection 

forest belts) 

Shelter (protection forest 

belts) 

Soil conservation (grassland 

with trees , protection forest 

belts) 

Moisture conservation 

(protection forest belts) 

Shade for crops, animals 

and humans (protection 

forest belts, grassland with 

trees ) 

Land fund use 

IN THE FOREST 

FUND 

Intimately mixed cultures 

Sylvicultural access 

corridors - a source of 

forage mass 

IN AGRICULTURAL 

FUND 

Intercropping 

Protection forest belts 

Pasture with trees 

Agroforestry pastoral 

systems 

Socio-economic and 

management level 

BASED ON THE 

DEGREE OF 

EXISTING 

TECHNOLOGIZATION 

Low productivity 

Average productivity 

High productivity 

BASED ON SOCIO- 

ECONOMIC ASPECTS 

Commercial 

Intermediate 

Subsistence 

The simplest and most general classification based on 

the three components is as follows: i) agroforestry 

systems in which forestry species are cultivated with 

agricultural species, ii) forest-pastoral systems that 

combine trees with forage species or animals; iii) 

agroforestry-pastoral systems in which forest species 

are associated both with animals and agricultural 

species. 

More specific classifications result if we take into 

account the structural characteristics of these 

associations (spatial and temporal arrangement of 

system components, main functions performed by 

63


system components, organization, socio-economic 

level and management) (Table 1). 

Land use is a classification criterion determined by 

use categories specific to our country and the type of 

management different in one category of use or the 

other. According to this criterion agroforestry systems 

are classified in: I) agroforestry systems in the forest 

fund, classified themselves in: i) intimately mixed 

cultures; ii) forestry corridors - source of animal feed 

mass; II) agroforestry systems in the agricultural 

fund, classified in: i) intercropping; ii) field protection 

forest belts, water course protection forest belts; iii) 

forest-pastoral systems (pastures with trees); iv) 

agroforestry-pastoral systems. This classification 

takes into account the different environmental 

conditions and priority production, forestry in the first 

case and agricultural in the second. The mentioned 

agroforestry systems are also the most common 

combinations of the three components. Some of 

them have been practiced in our country over 

time and continue to be practiced, although in a 

less organized manner, others, such as forestry 

corridors - source of animal feed mass and 

intercropping in agroforestry sense, are news for 

our country. 

3. Characteristics of the main 

agroforestry systems 

3.1. Intimately mixed cultures 

Intimately mixed cultures are agroforestry systems, 

which consist of agricultural species growing among 

forest species rows of young plantations in order to 

achieve maintenance, diversification of production 

and improve soil properties (fig. 1). Therefore, in long 

term, the main objective of this agroforestry system is 

achieving timber production in less time and of better 

quality. 

Through the maintenance of crops forest cultures 

benefit from more maintenance than usual and, in 

some cases even additional water intake (when crops 

are irrigated). Also, by maintaining crops within the 

system and implicitly the forest cultures is resolved 

the issue of labor in forestry, difficult to procure for 

forestry work. Crop yields that are obtained in this 

agroforestry system can compensate labor costs, but 

also contributes to increasing rural incomes. 

Fig. 2. Eeuramerican poplar culture in intimate mixture with corn 

installed at D.S. Brăila (Mihăilă et al., 2010) 

Combination of agricultural species and the forest 

cultures is done from plantation installation until the 

latter reach their massive state. It is done in forest 

plantations installed in large planting schemes (from 

2.00 x 1.00 m to 7.00 x 7.00 m) to enable the 

mechanization of maintenance and / or harvesting of 

crops. 

64


The most effective and sustainable intimately mixed 

cultures are the ones that optimize space requirements 

and resources by avoiding competition between the 

two parts - trees and crops. It is necessary to consider 

the challenges involved in intimately mixed cultures: 

identification of installation difficulties and finding 

better ways to set up these agroforestry systems, using 

the most suitable compositions, namely the use of 

those agricultural species that are less competitive for 

forest cultures species than are weeds, knowledge of 

dynamics of plants in crop intimately mixed etc. 

Stationary conditions (soil and climate) may be 

limiting factors in achieving the intimate mixture of 

cultures. For example, in areas with depleted soil is 

not practiced this system, primarily because 

agricultural species contribute to a more pronounced 

depletion of the soil, then because forest species will 

be installed with difficulty in terms of competition 

with agricultural species. 

Forest species preferred for association with the 

agricultural ones this agroforestry system are usually 

the fast growing ones such as: hybrid poplars, black 

locust, Paulownia, but you can use also moderate 

growing species such as ash, walnut or even slow 

paced growing (oak species). 

Agricultural species used in this agroforestry system 

are: corn, sunflower, soybean, and medicinal herbs 

(lavender, mint, fennel etc.), species of vegetables etc. 

3.2. Intercropping 

Intercropping is another type of agroforestry 

system in which crops shall be installed and develop 

between the bands (strips) of trees and / or shrubs 

(composed of one or two lines), situated at distances 

determined by the main production goals of the 

system (Fig. 3). The distance between the bands varies 

therefore depending on the objectives and priorities 

established within the agroforestry system, being 

equal to the multiple of the width of machines used in 

maintenance and harvesting of crops (over 12 m 

distance). Distance between trees on the row ranges, 

at planting, from 0.75 m, if they have as their primary 

function protection against soil erosion, and 2 m, if it 

seeks production of wood or fruit. 

Fig. 3. Intercropping euramerican poplar - wheat. 

Experiment conducted in the European project SAFE 

(Sylvoarable Agroforestry for Europe). Vezenobres, 

France (Eichhorn et al., 2006) 

The purpose of achieving this system is to increase 

production of the main compound, which is the 

agricultural one, to diversify the overall production of 

the system (both long and short term) and to improve 

its quality. 

The presence of trees in agricultural crops contributes 

to soil stabilization, by stopping erosion and reducing 

landslides helping soil water infiltration. Trees crowns 

protect crops against winds and reduce the effect of 

heavy rains. Moreover, the presence of trees aims to 

improve the circulation of nutrients, enhance 

diversity, and beautify landscape. 

Under this agroforestry system crops coexist with 

trees simultaneously, the first providing annual 

production, while the trees grow, develop and mature 

in a longer period of time. Thus, it is diversified 

production on the same land area and therefore 

income, which can come both from crops and from 

forestry. The presence of trees in the intercropping 

system may prevent any loss of production due to 

climatic excesses (heavy rain, strong winds etc.). 

Forest species used in intercropping are fruit trees, 

poplar, oak, ash, cherry, chestnut, pine, paulownia, 

walnut. To achieve a stable sustainable agroforestry 

system forest species must meet certain conditions, as 

follows: i) to be adapted to environmental and soil 

conditions where they are to be planted; ii) to be in 

relationships of low competitiveness with agricultural 

species; iii) to provide one or more high quality 

products (wood, bark, resin, leaves, flowers, fruit, 

tannins, etc..), and these products to be sold; iv) to be 

65


fast growers (there can be used trees with an average 

growth rate, but high value), so that they exercise as 

soon as possible production and protection functions; 

v) to present an optimal degree of shading of crops, so 

that their production does not reduce; vi) to have a 

root system developed in depth and less developed 

sidewise to facilitate nutrient flow, thus avoiding 

competition with species of agricultural crops; vii) not 

to produce chemicals inhibiting of crops growth and 

development; viii) to attract and host species of birds / 

insectivorous and predators mammals useful to 

biological combat of agricultural pests, but not 

intermediate hosts of harmful crop pests and diseases. 

The categories of crops that can be used in 

intercropping are: i) basic crops - cereals, technical, 

vegetables (corn, wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, 

potatoes, beans, peas); ii) forage grasses belonging to 

(wild oats, cocksfoot, fescue, obsiga, smooth, 

ryegrass, field grass, couch-grass, etc.) and legumes 

(clover, alfalfa, sainfoin, trefoil, melilot, etc..) (many 

feed species give high yields on shade of the trees in 

the intercropping system); iii) specialized crops 

(ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees, medicinal 

species like ginseng, etc.); iv) energy crops for 

biomass production (herbaceous species like Phalaris, 

Miscanthus, etc.). 

As with all agroforestry systems, the most effective 

and sustainable intercropping are those which avoid 

competition between the two parts - trees and crops. 

Intercropping system is a type of agroforestry system 

of less prevalence and, to some extent a novelty. 

However, where such cultures were installed they 

were an innovative method of land use. Achieving 

these cultures, respecting the management plan 

resulted in crop protection, diversification, and thus in 

obtaining additional income. Experiments showed that 

this agroforestry system provides multiple benefits in 

terms of natural resources conservation. 

In our country there are no such cultures, although 

geographical conditions do not limit their installation. 

Restrictive factors, which have "prevented" their 

installation, are: (i) lack of information on 

intercropping; (ii) lack of projects in this area; (iii) 

lack of funds for implementation of this agroforestry 

system. 

3.3 Field protection forest belts 

Field protection forest belts are forest formations 

(strips of trees and / or shrubs) with relatively narrow 

widths and lengths, placed at some distance from each 

other or against a target in order to protect against the 

effects of harmful factors and improve the state of that 

objective (Fig. 4.). 

It represents one of the most popular types of 

agroforestry systems, in temperate zones. 

Fig. 4. Agricultural land protected by protection forest 

belts (Manole et al., 2008) 

In addition to the protective function they hold 

(especially that of reduce wind speed) field protection 

forest belts improve crops growth and development 

conditions and hence agricultural production, while 

ensuring good quality forestry production (wood, 

accessories). 

The presence of trees in agricultural crops, in the form 

of protection forest belts leads to a number of 

advantages, presented in summary, below (Lupe 1952, 

Costăchescu et al. 2010), that translate into: i) 

improving the microclimate by changing albedo, 

reducing the amplitude of diurnal air temperature by 1 

- 40C and the annual by 1 - 20C, reducing wind speed 

by 31-55% on the sheltered side and 10 to 15% on the 

exposed one, retaining snow, reducing unproductive 

evapotranspiration up to 30%, increasing humidity at 

the soil surface with 3-5%; ii) increasing conditions of 

soil fertility and conservation, reducing erosion and 

runoff on slopes, reducing to a halt deflation, 

increasing soil moisture, enriching soil in humus and 

other nutrients and changing its pH, by decomposition 

of organic matter of leaves and roots; iii) improving 

conditions for growth and development of adjacent 

crop (reducing transpiration in plants, avoid 

uncovered crops and avoid dust storms), up to a 

distance of 20-30 times the height of the curtain, in 

the leeward (sheltered side) and 5-12 times the height 

of the curtain, in the upper wind (exposed one); iv) 

reducing water losses at soil surface, watercourses, 

lakes, ponds, etc.) v) increasing production of wood 

66


products and accessories; vi) increasing the surface 

area covered by forest; vii) economic and social 

protecting objectives and ways of communication 

(forest belts prevent the heavy snow falls by 

accumulation of snow in and near them); viii) creating 

favorable conditions for development of wildlife; ix) 

enhancing regional biodiversity; x) improving carbon 

stock; xi) conserving energy; xii) rebuilding and 

improving landscape. 

To achieve protection forest belts in order to result in 

a stable and sustainable agroforestry system there are 

some technical elements to be observed. Thus, the 

distance between forest belts should be 35 times the 

maximum height of tree species, averaging from 150 

to 150 m if necessary. For the effect of protection 

forest belts to be maximized it will be placed 

perpendicular to the main damaging winds. Protection 

forest belts width varies from 5-7 rows, when placed 

to improve microclimatic conditions, 7-8 (10) rows in 

areas with strong and dry winds, 4-5 lines in areas 

with less strong winds which have the role of snow 

accumulation and distribution (Lupe, 1952). Planting 

distance between rows of trees will be on average 2 

m, and between trees on the line will be 1 m. For 

maximum efficiency of the forest belt, its 

uninterrupted length should exceed the height, the 

ratio being at least 10: 1. In this way the influence of 

turbulence on its end it's reduced. Its continuity also 

influences the degree to which it shall function. 

Species that make up forest belts must meet at least 

three conditions, namely: i) should be resistant to 

adverse stationary conditions (climate, soil, and 

groundwater); ii) should have high growth; iii) should 

ensure longevity of protection forest belt. For higher 

ameliorative effect, forest belts are composed of 

several species of trees and shrubs, arranged in a 

specific order to be as resistant as possible to various 

pests agents (wind, heat and / or excessive cold, etc.) 

and produce as many resources (wood and 

accessories). 

Species of trees that make up a protection forest belt 

may be: i) main or basic species, trees that can reach 

large heights and diameters such as species of oak, 

black locust, honey locust, ash, elm, poplar, etc.; ii) 

secondary or help species, having a smaller size than 

the basic ones such as maple, field maple, lime, pear, 

flowering ash, Turkish cherry, etc.; iii) shrubs, small 

wood species, used for shading and soil protection, 

protection against the wind, soil improvement through 

litter they give, such as privet, hawthorn, blackthorn, 

oleaster, red dogwood, wild rose, smoke tree pea-tree, 

five stamen tamarisk etc. 

Although the main role of forest belts is the protection 

of crops, the resulting agroforestry system presents 

some important economic benefits, such as: i) 

increasing agricultural production and improving its 

quality; ii) diversification of production on the same 

land area and therefore income diversification, which 

may originate from both crops and from the forest; iii) 

ensuring the sustainability of agricultural systems, by 

creating stable cultures in time and avoiding any loss 

of production. 

3.4. Water courses protection forest belts 

Water courses, lakes and ponds protection forest 

belts, are strips of trees of certain widths, which are 

planted between agricultural fields, pastures and water 

surface, or between existing levees along watercourses 

and surface for water quality protection, for the 

stabilization of banks and for flood prevention or 

mitigation, for improving the quality of agricultural 

land and adjacent pastures (Fig. 5). 

In general, concerns about water protection forest 

belts were entered in the general issues related to 

forest belts. But watercourses forest belts protection 

have some characteristic features that distinguish them 

from other groups of forest belts, namely: i) 

watercourses protection forest belts extend over tens 

or even hundreds of kilometers, crossing and thus 

serving much larger areas than field protection forest 

belts; ii) width of these forest belts is usually much 

greater than the field protection forest belts; it can 

vary between 30 and 300 m and can be made from one 

or more bands, up to 100 m wide, alternating with 

open corridors (Ionescu et al. 1960). 

Fig. 5. Watercourses and field protection forest belts 

(Bentrup, 2008) 

67


Making watercourses protection forest belts should be 

a priority in our country due to systematic removal of 

existing forest vegetation along watercourses, around 

lakes or ponds and land use for agricultural land 

expansion or for community development. Along the 

main rivers, the area occupied by forest, on a corridor 

of 1.5 km on either side, range from 10.21% for the 

Siret River to 26.77% for Jiu River (Mihăilă et al. 

2010). Lack of vegetation adjacent to such waters 

increased risk of flooding and favored discharge of 

many residues in the water, erosion of banks, 

degradation of aquatic habitats and acceleration of 

sediment deposition in streams, lakes and ponds. 

Watercourses protection forest belts perform multiple 

functions, mainly of protection: (i) drought and 

erosion protection; (ii) reduction in wind erosion; (iii) 

fixing of banks; (iv) reduction in evaporation of water 

from rivers; (v) ensuring as steady flow rates as 

possible; (vi) curb the strong air currents (extremely 

harmful), such as those that cause dust storms; (vii) 

moistening slopes, by accumulating large amounts of 

water and snow precipitation, by promoting 

infiltration and supplying underground leakage; (viii) 

reduce flood damage; (ix) protecting dams during 

large floods. 

The importance assigned to them, their spread on 

large tracts and the high expenditure they require, 

make that these forest belts can only be achieved in 

projects at national level and with funding provided 

by the state. Setting priorities in designing such 

protection forest belts is required as a first step to 

achieve these types of forest belts. Before determining 

what kind of forest belt shall be installed in an area it 

should be considered each watercourse, in terms of 

climate and stationary conditions, of presence or 

absence of forest vegetation and of the main features 

that must be met by these forest belts (stabilization of 

banks, filter pollutants from agriculture or industry, 

etc.). Because it is impossible to install protection 

forest belts along the length of a river's water network 

there must be chosen those places, which assure their 

maximum effectiveness. 

. 

Choosing the best forest belts installation solutions 

involves choosing species, in accordance with 

stationary conditions and location, taking into account 

the main disruptive factors. 

Making watercourse protection forest belts requires 

the existence on both sides of the watercourse, of 

three areas differently made and with different 

functions, presented below (Anonymous 1997) (Fig. 

6). 

- Zone I is located immediately beside the water and 

corresponds to water banks. Recommended species 

for this area are fast growing trees and shrubs, which 

support long-term flooding. 

This band of trees: i) consolidates the banks, ii) 

provides a moderating water temperature, iii) 

enhances aquatic activity, through contribution of 

organic matter, provided by forest vegetation, iv) is 

the last filter for pollutants that come from agriculture; 

v) reduces fluctuations in water flow. 

- Zone II, wider than the first, is located in the vicinity 

of zone I and is composed of fast growing species of 

trees and shrubs, tolerant of short-term stagnation of 

water. 

Forest vegetation performs the following functions: i) 

retains nutrients and absorbs them, ii) provides rain 

water infiltration, iii) enhances biodiversity; iv) 

provides multipurpose wood and non-wood products. 

It is important that in choice of species be considered 

the root system and crown shape. Roots of species are 

designed to transform pollutants that come adjacent 

from land preventing them from reaching into the 

water. 

Shade which trees provide leads to lower water 

temperatures, conditions which reduce algae growth 

and improves the oxygen content of water. 

Installation of a forest belt, with impenetrable 

structure (trees and shrubs) is to slow the water flow 

on the surface and promote its infiltration. 

Forest belt density will be established according to its 

primary role and the size of the watercourse. 

68


Fig. 6. Structure by areas of watercourse protection forest belts according to the functions that they fulfill on certain 

portions (adapted from Anonymous 1997) 

- Zone III is located near crops or pastures and is 

composed of herbaceous species, perennial or forage, 

which are designed: i) to ensure water infiltration and 

ii) to filter substances from agriculture. They may be 

perennial grass species existing in the area or can be 

grown. It is recommended, though that they have hard 

stems, strong and able to withstand flooding. 

The main role of herbaceous species is to cover the 

soil and, thus, slow down water flow rate, thus 

allowing its infiltration. This band will be maintained 

through repeated sweeping to prevent deposit in thick 

layers of dead organic matter. 

The choice of species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous 

species from that area is better, because they are 

better adapted to local stationary conditions. But there 

may be also selected fast-growing exotic species, 

which provide wood and non-wood products with 

multiple uses. A forest belt made of a single forest 

species meets less functionality and is more 

vulnerable than one composed of different species. 

The most common tree species used to make these 

forest belts are poplar, willow, alder, ash, etc. 

To maintain a state of good growth of trees and 

shrubs used in planting and the protection functions 

fulfillment in all aspects forest belts need care during 

their existence. 

By improving water quality, ensuring a constant flow 

of water, increasing soil productivity, providing 

favorable conditions for developing crops, beautifying 

landscape, enhancing biodiversity, etc.., watercourse 

protection forest belts contribute to the achievement 

of agroforestry systems capable of meeting fairly the 

needs of all members of society, at local, regional, 

and globally level. 

3.5. Forest pastoral systems / Pastures with 

trees 

Forest pastoral systems define the use a piece of land, 

in which forest species (trees, mainly, and shrubs) 

provide wood products and accessories, together with 

livestock breeding (Fig. 7). Initially, forest pastoral 

systems were simply grazing animals in the forest. 

Over time, the objectives set by practicing these 

systems ranged from wood production, fodder 

production and the / or livestock production. 

A forest belt capable of performing multiple functions 

must contain all three bands of vegetation presented 

above and be parallel to the water. The wider the 

protection forest belt is it has greater effect and is 

more sustainable. Depending on local conditions its 

width may be larger or smaller along the watercourse 

or absent on certain sections. Depending on the 

configuration of the land, a band may lack. This is the 

case of wide riverbeds, nearly horizontal or very 

slightly inclined, with fine silt and gravel, surface 

erosion or depth-free. 

69


Fig. 7. Typical forest pastoral system (Spanish dehesa) - 

pasture, trees, animals 

(Olea and San Miguel- Ayanz, 2006) 

Therefore, if there is an association between forest 

species and the forage species (which are food for 

animals), it shall be deemed forest pastoral system. A 

forest belt, which protects a pasture or livestock farm, 

will be included in the category of forest pastoral 

systems as the pasture, as well as the livestock farm is 

made strictly for animals (growth, shelter, etc.). 

It is considered the most representative type of 

agroforestry system in Europe, with prevalence and of 

the long standing in Spain and Portugal. In any area 

these forest pastoral systems would develop, trees are 

those that define the landscape and are essential in 

pastures functionality. 

Although grazing in the forest was practiced for a 

long period of time, should be noted that, in the sense 

current in our country, forest pastoral system 

(grassland with trees) should not be confused with 

wooded pastures. In the first case there are trees, 

disparately scattered over a pasture on which animals 

are bread and the system lies with the farming fund, 

while the wooded pastures are those that have the 

consistency of greater or equal to 0.4 are included 

under the forest land (Anonymous 2008) and where 

livestock breeding is not allowed. 

In a broad sense it can be considered that forest 

pastoral systems have three components: forest 

species, animals, and pastures. The most important 

type of agroforestry system, in terms of area occupied 

and their importance in terms of productivity is the 

pasture with trees. 

Forest species are located in the pastures unevenly, 

but also in groups or strips, consisting of a row of 

trees. The number of trees can vary from 10 to 100 

pieces per hectare (Eichhorn et al. 2006). The role of 

trees in forest pastoral systems is to provide animal 

shelter and protection, to increase the pastures 

productivity by altering microclimatic conditions, 

indirectly increasing meat and milk production 

provided the animal. They must develop a large 

crown to shelter animals on an area as large as 

possible and rare to allow grass species to grow under 

the crown. Also, trees on pastures explore a larger 

volume of soil, strengthen sloping land against 

landslides, reduce surface and depth soil erosion, 

decreases the amplitude of air and soil temperatures, 

protects herbaceous plants, feed and the animals of 

dehydration and heat stroke, wind, heavy rain, retain 

precipitation (snow melts slower), produce additional 

firewood, fruits and fodder, constitute a habitat for 

many species of birds, which in turn consume crops 

damaging insects, regulate the water and soil nutrients 

cycle and fix carbon, beautify the landscape. 

Trees of forest pastoral systems are rustic species, 

resistant to adversities of climatic, edaphic, 

anthropogenic nature, able to exploit the productive 

potential of the stationary, such as: species of oak, 

walnut, wild pear. 

Although achieving pastures with trees are difficult 

and costly the development of forest pastoral systems 

in traditional Mediterranean countries, confirms their 

viability and productivity. An important issue in 

making pastures with trees is to protect trees from the 

planting until they reach great heights that can be 

done, as seedlings are small with tubes of growth 

(with heights of up to one meter), respectively 

protective nets of the stem, as the trees grow. 

Regarding the second component of forest pastoral 

systems, animals, the most common are cattle and 

sheep, but can also be found horses, goats, and pigs. 

The type of pasture (meadow), the third component of 

forest pastoral systems, is an important element, its 

quality and its productivity being directly related to 

livestock production. 

Choosing high nutritional value forage species 

(Festuca sp., Agrostis sp., Carex sp., Poa sp., Bromus 

sp., etc.) as well as technological measures have a role 

in permanent pasture improvement through increasing 

production, its quality and possibly the development 

of grassy carpet. Technological measures include the 

following categories of work: (i) improvement works; 

(ii) regeneration of grassy carpet, through surface 

measures; (iii) total regeneration by seeding; (iv) 

70


erosion protection works (Anonymous 1987, 1984, 

2001, Burcea et al. 2007, Maruşca 2008). 

(i) Improvement works include, in turn, anti-erosion 

works, improvement of the air hydric regime through 

drainage, scarifying, removing unwanted woody 

vegetation etc., correction of soil acidity, 

improvement of saline soil characteristics and more. 

(ii) Regeneration of grassy carpet, through surface 

action is achieved by two groups of works: 

fertilization and overseeding. If fertilization (chemical 

and organic or by grazing) is carried out properly, in 

time it provide a grassy carpet regeneration, 

evidenced by increasing productive potential, but 

mainly through a favorable evolution direction. It is 

applied on pastures, where the soil has over 80% 

coverage with herbaceous vegetation and where 

valuable species have high participation (75%). 

Overseeding is recommended on areas where the soil 

has coverage of 60-80% with vegetation or when 

unworthy species have a shareholding of less than 25- 

30%. It also is recommended in situations where 

because of slope or soil the total seeding regeneration 

cannot be applied. In this case is performed deep soil 

plowing through partially destruction of sod, possibly 

preceded by fighting unworthy species (chemical or 

mechanical) and completing of the grassy carpet with 

valuable species, using appropriate methods. 

Sowing standard will be lower than the total standard 

used for regeneration by 25-30%. 

(iii) Total regeneration by seeding is applied to 

surfaces where the soil has less than 60% coverage 

with vegetation or the unworthy species have a 

greater than 25-30% participation, on flat or slightly 

sloping land, with reduced difficulties of 

mechanization (slopes less than 140). Complete 

destruction of the grassy carpet is carried out and 

sown meadows are set up, using specific technology. 

(iv) Erosion protection works are required on surfaces 

with large slopes (over 300), where the soil is poorly 

covered with vegetation or areas where intervention 

and exploitation works can trigger serious erosion 

processes. 

In all cases, determining the type of fertilizers and 

amendments, of doses and ages of the application 

must be linked to agrochemical soil characteristics 

and with the mode of operation, the indicated doses 

for each typological unit being approximate. 

A successful forest pastoral system requires 

knowledge of growth characteristics of grass and 

forage species, of timing, duration of grazing, grazing 

capacity and optimal loading with animals, to avoid 

degradation of pastures, through impoverishment and 

deterioration of forage species and seedlings damage. 

Trees have a determining role in pastures increasing 

productivity and ensure better living conditions for 

livestock. 

There are many important elements justifying revival 

and development of forest pastoral systems in our 

country. Among them the fact that forest pastoral 

systems have a tradition in many countries, where 

they developed and improved, and bringing 

significant, ecological, economic and social benefits. 

4. Instead of conclusions 

Different agroforestry systems are traditionally used 

in many parts of the world, which shows that some of 

them have already passed the test of practical 

experiment. In the near future are expected to be 

adopted widely, such systems being easier to adapt to 

climate and / or technology changes in agriculture and 

forestry (which includes the development of new 

technologies) or socio-economic and / or 

environmental changes. 

Advantages of agroforestry systems consist of 

complex land use, both in terms of agriculture and 

forestry, ensuring sustainable management of natural 

resources. They can provide products and services of 

the most diverse: food for humans, animal feed, 

wood, fruits and seeds of trees and shrubs, leaves for 

sericulture, flowers for apiculture, flowers, fruit and 

bark for medicinal tea, tannin for industrial 

processing, mushrooms, plus the environmental 

benefits (improving the climate and soil carbon 

storage, landscape beautifying etc.). 

However, without systematic research in terms of the 

pedo-climatic conditions of our country, the easiest 

way to test the utility of agroforestry systems is their 

practical application by landowners. The reason why 

one should opt for agroforestry systems is that the 

mixing in time and space of forest species with 

agricultural ones may be, under certain conditions, 

more profitable, from an ecological, economic and 

social point of view, than the separate cultivation of 

forest and agricultural species. To identify these 

conditions is necessary to know the biological 

interactions between the two cultures, on the one hand 

and economic and social issues, posed by these 

culture systems, on the other hand, given that 

beneficial biological and economic interactions 

(whose effects are manifested in the long run) define 

71


the concept of sustainability of agroforestry systems. 

Although in most cases, agroforestry systems are 

applied in the specific conditions of subsistence 

economy (or survival); they can be tested and treated 

from the perspective of economic theory, 

emphasizing interaction of biological, economic and 

social nature existing between the agroforestry system 

components. 

Bibliography: 

Bentrup G., 2008: Conservation buffers: design guidelines 

for buffers, corridors, and greenways. General Technical 

Report SRS-109. 

Burcea P., Marusca T., Neagu M., 2007: Pajiştile 

montane din Carpaţii României. Ed. AmandAEdit. 

Costăchescu C., Dănescu F., Mihăilă E., 2010: Perdele 

forestiere de protecţie. Editura Silvică, Bucureşti. 

Eichorn M.P., Paris P., Herzog F., Incoll L.D., Liagre F., 

Mantzanas K., Mayus M., Moreno G., Papanastasis 

V.P., Pilbeam D.J., Pisanelli A. and Dupraz C., 2006: 

Silvoarable systems in Europe – past, present and future 

prospect. Agroforestry system 67. 

Ionescu A., Marcu Gh., Moisuc Gh., Lupe I., 1960: 

Cercetări privind necesitatea perdelelor de stat pe 

cursurile de ape din R.P.R. În: Studii şi Cercetări, vol. 

XXI. Editura Agro-Silvică. 


în Câmpiile Republicii Populare Române. Editura 

Academiei Republicii Populare Române. 

Manole D., Nicolaescu M., Neacşu M., Florea D., 2008: 

Dobrogea în contextul deşertificării. Dezbaterea 

transfrontalieră România – Bulgaria ”Perdele forestiere 

de protecţie în contextul schimbărilor climatice”. 

Maruşca T., 2008. Reconstrucţia ecologică a pajiştilor 

degradate. Editura Universităţii Transilvania, Braşov. 

Mihăilă E., Costăchescu C., Dănescu F., Drăgoi, S., 

2010: Sisteme agrosilvice. Editura Silvică, Bucureşti. 

MacDicken K.G., Vergara N.T., 1990: Introduction to 

Agroforestry. In: MacDicken, K.G., Vergara, N.T. (eds.), 

Agroforestry: classification and management. A Wiley – 

Interscience Publication. New York, Toronto. 

Olea L., San Miguel-Ayanz A., 2006: The Spanish dehesa. 

A traditional Mediterranean silvopastoral system linking 

production and nature conservatio. 21st General Meeting 

of the European Grassland Federation, Badajoz (Spain). 

Opening Paper. 

Anonymous, 1984: Studiul de amenajarea păşunilor în 

O.S. Caransebeş, I.J.S. Caraş Severin. Ministerul 

Silviculturii. I.C.A.S. 

Anonymous, 1987: Principalele tipuri de pajişti din R.S. 

România. Ministerul Agriculturii, A.S.A.S., I.C.P.C.P. 

Braşov. Redacţia de propagandă tehnică agricolă. 

Anonymous, 1997: Riparian Forest Buffer. Natural 

Resources Conservation Service, USDA. 

Anonymous 2001: Studiu de amenajament silvopastoral. 

Primăria Oţelu Roşu. Judeţul-Severin. S.C. Quercus Silva 

S.R.L. Caransebeş. 

Anonymous, 2002: Legea perdelelor forestiere, nr. 289 

Anonymous, 2008: Legea 46 - Codul silvic. 

Abstract 

Different agroforestry systems are traditionally used in many parts of the world, which shows that some of them have 

already passed the test of practical experiment. 

Advantages of agroforestry systems consist of complex land use, both in terms of agriculture and forestry, ensuring 

sustainable management of natural resources. 

However, without systematic research in terms of the pedo-climatic conditions of our country, the easiest way to test the 

utility of agroforestry systems is their practical application by landowners. 

To identify these conditions is necessary to know the biological interactions between the two cultures, on the one hand and 

economic and social issues, posed by these culture systems, on the other hand, given that beneficial biological and 

economic interactions define the concept of sustainability of agroforestry systems. 

Keywords: agroforestry system, protective function, forest belts. 


72


Sustainable Agroforestry System, in the Context of Global Climate 

Warming 

Teodor Maruşca 


Based on the latest projection of climate evolution on 

earth, general warming due to human activities 

(deforestation, industrialization, transportation, etc.) 

with increasing carbon dioxide emissions, melting ice 

caps and mountain glaciers, increase sea levels, floods, 

desertification, intensification of thunderstorms 

(hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, cyclones, etc.) will 

have a major impact on all humanity with unpredictable 

negative consequences (Al Gore, 2007). 

Forecasts of climate global warming will affect our 

country’s pastoral background. Average air temperature 

increase with 3 0 C, which is the forecast for 2070, will 

lead to deeper aridity and desertification of the plain and 

hills area with major negative implications on plant and 

animal production on natural pastures. One of the most 

effective measures to improve the negative factors of 

aridity and desertification, together with irrigation and 

protection forest belts, is the introduction of the 

agroforestry system, where all the components: grass, 

animal, tree, habitat, biodiversity are in an ecologically 

and economically optimal balance. The agroforestry 

system is specific to the arid Mediterranean climate, 

known as „dehesa” and „montado” in Spain and 

Portugal (Olea, San-Miguel, 2006), and also in the 

northwest USA, in Oregon state, known as 

„agroforestry” (Sharrow, 1994). 

In our country have been practiced in some areas 

different combinations of agriculture and woody 

vegetation such as: pasture – trees, hay-fields – fruit 

trees, arable crops – fruit trees or trees. The combination 

pasture – isolated trees is known in our country as 

”grove” resulting of the excluding from deforestation of 

pre-existing trees or planting of new ones in the pastures 

to ensure shadow for animals. Equipping with woody 

vegetation of existing pastures by the Iberian model 

„dehesa”, adapted to our „grove” or „open wood” can 

substantially alleviate the negative effects of aridisation 

and desertification that will occur in the future 

(Maruşca, 2006). 

Woody plant species have the advantage of exploring a 

larger volume of soil, they fix the slopes against 

landslides, reduce surface and depth erosion, reduce 

amplitude of diurnal air and soil temperatures, protect 

grass plants and animals against sunburn and 

dehydration, wind, heavy rain, retain slowly melting 

snow, produce additional timber and firewood, fruits 

and fodder, is a habitat for a lot of bird species, that , in 

their turn, consume insects pests of crops, and many 

other blessings including enhanced biodiversity and 

landscape beautification. 

Pastoral fund in our country, especially the communal 

green lands, are almost devoid of shade for animals at 

pasture, reason why cow’s milk production can decrease 

by 20 – 40 % during periods of strong sun exposure. 

Planting of trees for shade, resistant to land compression 

and accumulation in excess of manure in the animals’ 

resting places, would fully address this issue. In 

addition to the variety of wood species adapted to these 

special stationary conditions it is necessary to apply 

special individual protection measures in the early years 

of growing for the seedlings, until they will withstand 

the pressure from grazing animals. After this critical 

period, the plantation may live for decades or even 

centuries, as some species of oak in our country. 

These agroforestry technologies are to be applied as 

soon as possible so that the future tree and fruit tree 

plantations on pastures be well installed and developed 

in order to exert a protective influence on the grassy 

carpet and animals, before emphasizing in the future the 

aridisation and desertification phenomena. 

To achieve these goals complex interdisciplinary 

research is needed on some older agroforestry systems 

existing as woody vegetation (groves, outskirts, 

orchards, etc.), in combination with herbaceous 

vegetation of semi-permanent grasslands used by 

grazing animals or as hay-fields. 

Results of this research will form the basis of future 

solutions for the action of „grove creation” on 

bioclimatic zones and floors of all grasslands in our 

country as main measure of aridisation and 

desertification combat, which will spread further as 

expected in the near future. 

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Implementation and expansion of these combined 

systems of agriculture and forestry, in addition to the 

role of mitigation and balancing of extreme climatic 

factors, will surely bring undeniable economic and 

social benefits by increasing productivity of grasslands 

and animals, plus additional capitalization for different 

purposes of the woody vegetation scarce in the plain 

and hills areas. The agroforestry system contributes to 

combat of soil erosion and landslides on the slopes, 

increasing the potential for carbon fixation per unit area 

and last but not least the beautification and 

attractiveness of existing landscapes. 

1.Forecasts of Climate Change 

1.1.Climate change and its consequences in 

Romania 

From the data from WMO (World Meteorological 

Organization) in Geneva, the average world temperature 

has risen between 1901 and 2000 by 0.6 0 C which is 

extremely high. For Romania, per INMH – Bucharest, 

this increase is of 0.3 0 C, higher in the south and east 

regions (0.8 0 C) and lower in the intra-Carpathian 

regions (0.1 0 C). Global warming was more 

pronounced after 1961 and especially after 2000 (2003, 

2005) when the frequency of tropical days (daily 

maximum > 30 0 C) increased alarmingly and the 

winter days (daily maximum < 0 0 C) decreased 

substantially. As a result many areas of our country are 

at high risk of drought and desertification in particular 

where the average annual temperature is above 10 0 C; 

the amount of annual rainfall is less than 350 – 550 mm; 

rainfall from April to October are under 200 – 350 mm 

and soil water reserves 0 – 100 cm on March 31 is less 

than 950 –1500 mc /ha. 

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat 

Desertification (UNCDD) the aridity index (annual 

amount of precipitation/ potential evapotranspiration– 

ETP) for arid areas, deserts is of 0,05 and 0,65 for dry 

sub-humid areas, the threshold above which a territory 

is considered to be close to normal. Under this 

agreement, ETP for steppe and forest steppe is of 400 – 

900 mm and for the mountain area is of 300 mm of 

water. 

In the fourth report (2007) of International Committee 

on Climate Change (ICCC) for 2020 – 2030 compared 

to 2000 in an optimistic variant it is expected an 

increase of the average global temperature by 0.5 0 C 

and in a more pessimistic one, by 1.5 0 C and in the 

period 2030 – 2100 the increase of the two variants 

ranges between 2.0 0 C and 5.0 0 C, which is extremely 

high. If we take the year 2070 with an increase of only 3 

0 C above current levels, than 68 % of Romanian 

territory below 500 m altitude will be subject to aridity 

and desertification, namely an area more than double 

the current mountain area (Table 1). 

Table 1. Percentage altitudinal distribution of the forms of 

relief on the Romanian territory (by ROMANIAN 

GEOGRAPHY vol.I, 1983) 

Altitudes 

(m) 

% of 

Romanian 

territory 

(237,5 K 

km 2 ) 

Moun 

tains 

Of which: 

Hills 

Plai 

ns 

above 2000 1 3 

1500 - 2000 3 7 

1000 - 1500 6 19 

700 - 1000 12 36 3 

500 - 700 10 16 12 

300 - 500 18 12 38 1 

200 - 500 12 7 24 5 

100 - 200 18 18 35 

0 - 100 20 5 59 

Above 500 32 81 15 

m 

Under 500 68 19 85 100 

m *) 

*) territory affected by aridity and desertification in the case of an 

increase of average air temperature by 3 0 C, forecast until 2070. 

With the increase by 3 0 C of the air average 

temperature on the Romanian territory is expected that 

Dobrogea, the South of Moldova, the West of Ardeal, 

Banat, the South of Oltenia and a good part of the South 

of Romanian Plain, that is over 30 % of the country will 

undergo a process of desertification and the rest of 

approx. 38 % a process of advanced aridity, which will 

further include all our plains, up to 85 % of the surface 

of the hills and almost 20 % of the mountains of lower 

altitudes. 

1.2. Forecast of bioclimatic changes 

Forecasted climate changes will have a major impact on 

redistribution of current vegetation by zones and 

altitudinal floors, which in their turn will have an 

impact on habitats and economic performance. Based 

on the projections for the years 2070 an increase by 3 0 C 

of the average air temperature in the mountain area by 

the current altitudinal gradients (-0.5 0 C / 100 m alt.) is 

74


expected an increase by 600 m of the allocation by 

altitude of current primary vegetation. 

For the mountain area of our country these bioclimatic 

changes by year 2070 are shown in Table 2. 

Table 2. Modifications of the bioclimatic and vegetation floors at an increase of average air temperature by 3 0 C (forecast 

year 2070) (by Maruşca, 2007) 

Current floors 

Average annual Annual PRECIPITATION Floors (areas) 

(areas) 

Altitude 

TEMPERATURE (mm) 

changed after 

(m) 

( 0 C) 

decades 

Current Level year 2070 Current Level year 2070 

Alpine 2200- 2400 - 1 2 1500 1250 Spruce 

Mountain pine 2000-2200 0 3 1450 1150 Spruce 

Mountain pine 1800-2000 1 4 1350 1050 Spruce + Beech 

Spruce 1600-1800 2 5 1250 950 Beech 

Spruce 1400-1600 3 6 1150 850 Beech 

Spruce + Beech 1200-1400 4 7 1050 800 Sessile oak 

Beech 1000-1200 5 8 950 700 Oaks 

Beech 800-1000 6 9 850 600 Forest steppe 

Sessile oak 600-800 7 10 800 500 Steppe 

(Oaks) 

GRADIENTS 

(Sub-humid – dry) 

(Forest steppe) for 100 m alt. -0.5 0 C -0.5 0 + 45 

C 

+ 45 mm 

(Steppe) 

mm 

(Semi-arid) 

(Arid - deserts) 

From these data it results that in the high mountains 

the alpine and sub-alpine (mountain pine) floors will 

disappear, being replaced by the spruce and beech 

forests floor. 

In parallel, the steppe zone will replace the high floor of 

the Sessile oak forests and the forest steppe will replace 

the inferior area of the beech forests floor. These major 

mutations in the altitude distribution of woody 

vegetation in the mountain area will lead to the natural 

reduction 40 – 70 % of the current forest areas, with 

dramatic consequences on water balance and 

precipitation. 

1.3. Forecast of the changes of mountain soil 

Climate change will modify the physic-chemical 

properties of soil (Table 3). 

Thus, the thickness of soil over the next 60 – 70 years 

will be about the same as 1 cm of soil in the temperate 

zone forms in approx. 100 years. However, some 

agrochemical properties are subject to changes which 

term’s is hard to define until they reach a specific 

balance imposed by the temperature and precipitation 

forecasted for year 2070. 

Table 3. Modification of soil conditions at an increase of average air temperature by 3 0 C (forecast year 2070) 

Current floors 

Soil width (cm) 

Horizon A 

(zones) 

Altitude Actual Distant 

Water pH V % 

(m) 

future Actual Near Actual Near future 

future 

Alpine 2200- 2400 20 3,6 4,5 6 24 

Mountain pine 2000-2200 35 3,9 4,8 12 30 

Mountain pine 1800-2000 50 4,2 5,1 18 36 

Spruce 1600-1800 65 4,5 5,4 24 42 

Spruce 1400-1600 80 4,8 5,7 30 48 

Spruce + Beech 1200-1400 95 5,1 6,0 36 54 

Very slow growth 

(approx.1 cm every 100 

years) 

Beech 1000-1200 110 5,4 6,3 42 60 

Beech 800-1000 125 5,7 6,6 48 66 

Sessile oak 600-800 140 6,0 6,9 54 72 

(Oaks) 

GRADIENTS 

(Forest steppe) 

for 

- 7.5 mm 

- 0.15 - 0.15 - 3 % - 3 % 

75


(Steppe) 

100 m alt. 

Soil reaction (pH) and degree of base saturation (V%) 

will undergo corresponding changes with the rise in 

altitude of the bar of the bioclimatic indicators more 

active for vegetation (Maruşca, 2007). 

Changes much slower in the soil will cause the 

productivity of natural vegetation and crops to be quite 

low although more favorable conditions of heat will be 

in the future in higher elevations. 

1.4. Forecast of mountain grassland productivity 

As a result of climate and soil physic-chemical 

properties changes, altitude grassland productivity will 

change as to reach a maximum between 1600 and 1800 

m compared to the current 1000 -1200 m altitude, that is 

with 600 m higher (Table 4). 

In turn, level of productivity will be lower than the 

current one due to the reduction with approx. 45 cm of 

soil thickness and more pronounced acidity by 0.9 units. 

Table 4. Forecast of grassland productivity at an increase of average air temperature by 3 0 C (year 2070) 

Possible 

Natural grassland productivity 

floors 

Dry matter production Average Specific Livestock production 

(zones) Altitude 

(DM) t/ha 

grazing consumption weight increase (kg/ha) 

after (m) Unfertilized N 100 P 50 K 5 period kg DM/kg Unfertilized N 100 P 50 K 5 

decades 

0 (days) gain 

0 

kg/ha 

kg/ha 

Spruce 2200- 2400 1.8 4.8 100 30 60 160 

Spruce 2000-2200 2.3 6.0 115 28 80 220 

Spruce + 1800-2000 2.8 7.2 130 26 100 280 

Beech 

Beech 1600-1800 3.3 7.4 145 24 130 310 

Beech 1400-1600 2.8 6.8 160 22 120 310 

Sessile oak 1200-1400 2.3 6.2 175 20 110 310 

Oaks 1000-1200 1.8 5.6 160 18 100 310 

Forest 800-1000 1.3 5.0 130 16 80 310 

steppe 

Steppe 600-800 0.8 4.4 100 14 60 310 

Gradients for 100 m altitude 

1800-2400 - 0.25 - 0.6 - 7.5 + 1.0 - 10 - 30 

1200-1800 + 0.25 + 0.3 - 7.5 + 1.0 + 5 0 

600-1200 + 0.25 + 0.3 + 15.0 + 1.0 + 10 0 

Through organic – mineral fertilization with N 100 P 50 K 50 

kg/ha on the most productive grasslands of 1600 – 

1800 m altitude production increases from 3.3 t/ha DM 

to 7.4 t/ha DM (224 %) where after conversion in 

animal products can be obtain 310 kg /ha gain in live 

weight in an average grazing period of 145 days. 

Grazing period ranges between 100 days at 600 - 800 m 

altitude due to the dry period, same on the 2200 – 2400 

m altitude corridor where there is a shorter vegetation 

period. The maximum grazing period of 175 days is 

reached at 1200-1400 m altitude. Due to altitude, the 

specific consumption per 1 kg gain increases by 1 kg 

DM for each 100 m altitude, and from 14 kg at 600 – 

800 m to 30 kg at 2200 – 2400 m altitude. 

Due to the decrease of active temperatures by altitude 

and the increase of precipitation it is created a heathumidity 

balance between 600 and 1800 m altitude, 

interval where grassland productivity is expressed as 

live weight gain remaining constant at about 300 kg /ha 

on medium fertilized surfaces. Soil and climate 

conditions in the mountain area more adverse to 

traditional agricultural crops by altitude, requires the 

development of better grazing livestock on natural 

pastures and the practice on a larger scale of agro 

tourism, like the Alpine countries. 

2. The Iberian agroforestry system (Dehesa) 

2.1. Importance and evolution 

The most famous agroforestry system is the Spanish 

dehesa that was established since the Neolithic being 

76


mentioned for the first time in 924 AD, as a result of the 

thinning of oak forests by cutting, controlled fire and 

grazing with goats. Trees were maintained in a certain 

proportion, so that from the same land surface can be 

obtained the necessary wood, grass for grazing animals, 

cereal crops and others. 

complete abandonment of transhumance, partial 

substitution of sheep with cattle due to lack of pastors, 

decrease in food stocks and grazing periods, allowed by 

the socio-economic adjustments of the agricultural 

politics are the most important factors for this situation 

(Olea, San Miguel, 2006). 

In time, goats were replaced by cattle, sheep, horses and 

pigs. By maintaining optimum animal load per hectare 

throughout, this agroforestry system is kept under 

control and perfect ecological and economical balance 

for all its structural components: 

trees+pastures+animal+agricultural crops. 

2.2. Role of stand in the agroforestry system 

Dehesa is similar to African savannah (with dry 

summers, and not rainy like the typical savannah) where 

stand plays a fundamental role in the overall balance, 

and offering indirect services and goods. However, it 

contributes to the overall productivity of dehesa with 

acorns, sprouts, and supply of feed for animals, cork, 

mushrooms, pollen and many other resources. 

Stand is an essential component in the dehesa, and as 

such management should be seen as integrated with the 

semi-natural pasture and animals. 

This is the most important approach to dehesa, since 

natural regeneration is poor or lacking. Almost 

Photo. 1. The role of stand in the agroforestry system 

In addition, the situation is even more difficult because 

of fewer trees due to the so-called “seca” (tree dryness 

due to attack of fungi dispersed by climatic, edaphic and 

biological conditions) (Table 5). 

Table 5. Main characteristics of the Spanish dehesa stand and appropriate management type (by Olea and San Miguel, 

2006) 

Main role 

Stability: structure, landscape, climate, reduce erosion, water and nutrients cycle, shelter, 

biodiversity, carbon fixation, culture etc. Perennial species can be considered as permanent 

forage species for livestock and wildlife. 

Species 

Quercus ilex rotundifolia ,(=Q.ilex ballota), Q suber (xerophytes and perennial), Quercus 

faginea, Q. pyreneica and other dominant species 

Density 

(15) 20- 100( 200) mature trees /ha 

Degree of crown coverage (5) 10-50 ( 70) % 

Degree of base coverage (stems) 

Production 

2-10 (15) m 2 /ha 

Firewood : 800-5000 kg/ha per one rotation (10-15 years) 

Acorn : (100) 200 – 600 (800) kg/ ha with differences between years 

Cork ( only Q. suber ) : 500 – 1500 (2000) kg/ha per one rotation (9-12 years) 

Branches from cutting: 400-1500 kg /ha/year. 

Planting seedlings is important in the colder climate dehesa where acorn production is lower. 

Silvicultural rotation 

Treatments 

Areas of natural regeneration : stand senescence ( 150 years for Q. suber and 250-300 years 

for other species) 

Crown forming cuts in: 10-15 years 

Cork peeling in: 9-12 years 

The lack of stand natural regeneration in dehesa is by far the greatest threat to survival. In 

addition, “ seca” makes a lot of damages. 

2.3. The role of permanent pastures The most important managerial goal in a dehesa is 

extensive growth of animals. However, natural pastures, 

77


as main feed source for livestock, is an essential 

component of dehesa. Due to the Mediterranean 

climate, semi-natural pastures are used as well as 

natural temporary pastures. Perennial plants play a 

fundamental role in valley bottoms and especially in 

closed pastures, created and maintained by continual 

grazing, known as “majadales”. Management of natural 

grasslands calls for maximizing the quality of feed 

(vegetable: protein, minerals), especially since biomass 

is not so important because of their great variability and 

seasonal distribution of productivity. Nevertheless, 

management is based on three main objectives: rational 

grazing, presence of legumes and phosphorus. It is thus 

imposed an adequate management for improving the 

quality of natural grasslands. 

Periods of crisis in obtaining green fodder cannot be 

avoided, so that sprouts of woody vegetation, fruits 

(especially acorns), and supplemental feed are 

absolutely necessary for livestock to successfully pass 

summer and winter. Shrubs are absent or isolated for 

grazing 

Photo 2. Permanent grassland 

Table 6. Main characteristics of dehesa pastures (by Olea and San Miguel, 2006) 

Role 

Supply of feed for domestic livestock 

Phytocenosis 

Usually temporary pastures: Helianthemetalia, Thero-Brometalia, Sisymbrietalia. 

Perennial edapho-hydrophilic associations ( Agrostietalia) live in the valley until midsummer. Normal 

grassland community is represented by “majadal” (Poetalia bulbosae), a perennial pasture and/or 

annual, with high participation of legumes (high protein) created and maintained by intensive and 

continuous grazing. 

Production 

1000-2700 kg/ha. “Majadal” pastures usually produce about 3000 kg/ha dry matter, with a growing 

season starting early in autumn to spring. 

Seasonal distribution of fodder Spring : 60-70%, Summer : 0%, Autumn: 15-25%, Winter : 5-15% 

Great variability due to changes in climatic conditions. 

Managerial goals 

Legumes are essential due to high concentration of protein but also because after wilt and drying their 

fodder value is enough to meet animal needs. Supplemental food can therefore be reduced or even 

avoided completely. 

Improvement 

Sustainable but intensive grazing to enhance pasture quality and limited nutrient recycling. 

Phosphorus fertilization (25 – 35 kg/ha P 2 O 5 during first vegetation season and 18-25 after) in order to 

promote legumes, even if their density is inappropriate at the moment. Available phosphorus 

concentration must also be appropriate: 8-12 ppm, after Olsen method. The product used is 

superphosphate, but natural phosphate (ecological product) is also usable. 

2.4. The role of agricultural crop 

Agricultural crop and implicitly sown pastures play a 

fundamental role in animal feeding, complementary to 

semi natural pastures, both with a seasonal distribution 

(summer and late winter). In addition, exploitation is 

done in cycles of several years (3-6) in order to prevent 

the invasion of shrubs. Some dehesa owners allow 

farmers to exploit these ecosystems free of charge when 

natural grassland is invaded by cosmopolitan species 

like Cistus sp. (Table 7). 

Table 7. Characteristics of crops and sown pastures in dehesa (by Olea and San Miguel, 2006) 

Role 

Animal feed supplement obtained from semi natural pastures, both with a seasonal distribution. 

Types 

Cereals: barley, rye, oats. They supplement the feed obtained from natural pastures during regular harvest season (summer, 

late winter). And quality (energy value). Wheat is the most valuable product. It is usually harvested, but can also be obtained 

by normal grazing in summer; given the fact that transhumance is not practiced. Straw id gathered. Sometimes, it is practiced 

in late winter by foliar biomass harvesting followed by a recovery period until next summer comes. 

Sown pastures: are intended to be exploited by grazing or mowing. In the first case, legumes are essential, especially Trifolium 

subterraneum but also other legume species that reproduce by self and re-sowing being the main species in sown pastures. 

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They supplement the normal feed obtained in natural pastures in quality (protein content), but for a longer period as well 

through seeds and dry biomass. In the second case, barley, oats, with a hay drying rate of 3:1, is usually the common solution. 

Lolium multiflorum and winter cereals are also an option. 

Hay is used as feed in summer and winter. 

Production 

Management 

Cereals production : wheat ( 1-3 tone/ha), straw ( 2-5 t/ha) 

Sown pastures: legume pastures : approx. 3 t / ha dry matter (DM) 

Mash: 3-6 t /ha DM as hay. 

Two or three tillage before sowing (late winter, early spring, early autumn). Sowing early autumn 

Fertilization: 

For cereals: N-P-K usually 200-300 kg/ha ( 8-28-8 or 15-151-15) 

Pastures rich in legumes: P ( at least 35-40 hg P 2 O 5 /ha before grazing) 

Mash : N-P-K usually 200-300 kg/ha with 8-24-8 

Permanent pastures rich in legumes have to be sown only when the semi natural pastures show a low density of legumes. In 

any other case, phosphorus fertilization is a better option. 

2.5. Characteristics of animals 

2.5.1. Domestic livestock 

Extensive growth of animals is one of the most 

important goals of dehesa, at the same time being an 

important role in the creation and improvement of 

natural pastures, in the seed dispersal and fertilization. 

Table 8. Characteristics of livestock in dehesa (by Olea and San Miguel, 2006) 

Role 

Most important product on the market – animal products 

Species 

Different species, but mostly breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses 

Optimum load 

Management 

2.5.2. Wild animals 

Therefore, sustainable management of animal herds is 

an essential factor for dehesa and biodiversity 

conservation. This type of management should be 

consistent with silvotechnical measures and stand 

regeneration, as sprouts are affected by animal grazing 

(in general up to a 12-15 cm diameter or up to 20-40 

years old, they being affected by grazing, especially if 

animals are fed concentrate including urea) Table 8. 

Cattle: 0.2-0.4 /ha 

Sheep : 2-4/ha 

Goats : 2-3/ha 

Pigs : 0.4-0.6/ha 

Traditional management is with only a few species, each optimally exploiting a certain category of natural 

resources. 

A certain distribution of animals is done to reduce damages on the stand, to increase grazing efficiency and to 

reduce parasites and pathogens pressure. 

Periods of increased food needs of livestock (prolonged gestation and lactation) must coincide with the periods 

when the amount of feed offered naturally by the dehesa in maximum. 

Cattle: The period from November to March. Lactation: 5-6 months 

Goats, sheep: two periods. One, period with lambs / year: spring or autumn (and the best prices). Three lambs 

/season/2 years. Lactation: 45 days 

Iberian pig: 2 births/season/year: spring and autumn. Fall born piglets are fed to satiety one year (until they reach 

90-110 kg) and then fed acorn and grass from October to January, thus gaining 0.7 kg/day ( until they reach 140- 

160 kg , live weight ) 

Valuable hunting species were always present in the 

dehesa ecosystem, but at low density (except for hare), 

being considered only a complementary source of food. 

In the 60s the situation changed dramatically because of 

hunting which became a significant economic activity, 

at presents being the most important one in many 

dehesa. Wild ungulates, especially deer (Cervus elaphus 

hispanicus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) are now seen as 

expanding renewable resources, because of them 

landowners often put up fences. 

79


impact on woody vegetation and fauna, the appearance 

of pests and diseases in high density, which affect 

Photo 3. Wild ungulates 

The result was an alarming increase in ungulate density 

(sometimes up to 50 deer/km 2 ). This imbalance led to 

new problems relating to sustainability, due to the 

livestock, including humans, decreased genetic diversity 

etc., and new concepts of land management. Hare 

densities have suffered a dramatic decline due to 

myxomatosis, a viral hemorrhagic disease, and 

predators. It therefore became a major issue because 

wild hare is the main prey for many predators (including 

the Iberian imperial eagle and the lynx), and scavengers 

(black eagle). Partridge, another traditional hunting 

species, is endangered due to problems caused by the 

release of captive-bred populations (affected by pests, 

diseases and sometimes with different genetic fund) and 

predators (wild boar). Finally, the number of wild 

pigeon populations increased, even if they compete 

with domestic animals (especially the Iberian pig) and 

wild ungulates for acorns (Table 9). 

Table 9. Characteristics of wildlife species in dehesa (by Olea and San Miguel, 2006) 

Role 

Primary production in many cases 

Species 

Wild ungulates : red deer ( Cervus elaphus hispanicus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), deer( Capreolus capreolus) , roe 

deer (Dama dama), mouflon (Ovis ammon musimon), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), hare (Lepus granatensis), 

partridge ( Alectoris rufa), wild pigeon ( Columba palumbus), turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), and many others 

Exploitation rate Ungulates: 10-20 ind/km 2 . Problems with overgrazing 

Hare: normal 10 ind/ha. It disappeared from many dehesa and now has much lower density. 

Partridge: variable density depending on food and shelter 

Wild pigeon: high density in autumn and winter, where there are acorns. Landowners often scare them away in 

order to keep the acorn reserve for wild animals and ungulates. 

Management Wild ungulates: usual practice is “monteria” (individuals are driven by hunters with dogs) and less common, 

feeders. Hunting solvency: 15-20% except wild boar (higher, sometimes 100%, or more). 

Hare and bird species: protected. Partridge is hunted by “ojeo” (individuals are being driven to fall within 

hunter’s fire range). 

2. 6. Environment protection 

Dehesa is an ecosystem protected by the law 92/43/EEC 

of the Directiva Habitate, and included in the Natura 

2000 network. In addition, it includes a variety of 

services or benefits to the environment: biodiversity, 

ecosystem resilience (erosion, climate, biogeochemical 

circuits, fire, etc.), landscape, recreation, tourism, 

cultural heritage and more. Dehesa is at the same time 

habitat for many species of protected plants and animals 

and communities. As a consequence, despite the fact 

that it often lies on private property, environmental 

protection should be considered as a fundamental 

objective of all possible types of management. 

Environmental quality is a result of expansion of 

. 

integrated environmental management, and this 

management should be considered as a conservation 

tool. As an example of the importance of agroforestry 

management is the activity of the LIFE project whose 

purpose is to preserve the Iberian lynx, Iberian imperial 

eagle, black eagle and black stork. The conclusion is 

that this type of management, whose profitability is 

lower, must be supported by the European and Spanish 

governments. Coverage degree and distribution of 

stand proved to be a crucial factor in the determinism of 

population diversity and density of many animal groups 

of the dehesa ecosystem. It is well known its 

importance for domestic animal species, ungulates, 

micro-mammals and birds, also demonstrated for lizards 

and certain species of beetles 

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Table 10. Important aspects of environment protection in dehesa (by Olea and San Miguel, 2006) 

Role 

The most important service offered, but one indirect one is environmental protection. It is required by society 

and considered a fundamental goal by public opinion (European Community, Spain, Autonomous 

Communities), even though most dehesa are private property. The so-called “environmental fee” of dehesa is 

high and growing. 

Protected species Iberian imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti), Hiera aetus fasciatus, Elanus caeruleus, Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), 

black eagle (Aegypius monachus), black stork (Ciconia nigra), crane (Grus grus), Cabrera mouse (Microtus 

cabrerae) and many other species, including invertebrates. 

Other services 

Biological and population diversity: α, β, γ 

Environmental stability: erosion, climate, biogeochemical cycles of water and nutrients, protection against fire 

etc. 

Genetic diversity: genetic fund for livestock, traditional varieties of the agrosystems characteristic species, 

ecotypes of pastures selected by grazing along the centuries. 

Landscape. Cultural heritage. 

3. Traditional agroforestry components 

The stand stability, as well as the percentage of area 

covered by natural or sown pasture ecosystems, or 

covered with shrubs, are directly related to erosion in 

the dehesa. The arrival of autumn rains brings with it 

the appearance of erosion, which is why the use of 

appropriate land use contributes significantly to soils 

conservation. 

3.1. Woody vegetation influence on microclimate 

In a stationary of Vlădeasa Massif, at 1100 m altitude, 

on the Floroiu peak, at the floor of spruce-beech with 

Oxalis and secondary grasslands of Agrostis tenuis with 

Festuca rubra, early ivaded by Nardus stricta, on 

brown podzolic soils, was determined the air and soil 

termic regime for the vegetation period (Table 11) 

Table 11. Average temperature (°C) of air and soil in the forest (Fr.) and grassland (Gl.) during vegetation period at 1100 m 

altitude in Apuseni Mountains(By Maruşca and Filip, 1995) 

Thermometers location 

(cm) 

7 o’clock 13 o’clock 

Difference hours 13 - 7 

Fr. Gl. Diff. Fr. Gl. Diff. Fr. Gl. 

Air +200 9.3 10.7 -1.4 13.8 13.8 0.0 +4.5 +3.1 

+150 9.0 10.7 -1.7 13.7 15.2 -1.5 +4.7 +4.5 

+100 9.4 9.9 -0.5 13.7 15.4 -1.7 +4.3 +5.5 

+ 60 9.2 10.1 -0.9 13.4 16.6 -3.2 +4.2 +6.5 

+ 30 9.1 10.1 -1.0 13.4 17.6 -4.2 +4.3 +7.5 

0 8.9 9.1 -0.2 13.5 28.4 -14.9 +4.6 +19.3 

Average 9.1 10.1 -1.0 13.6 17.0 -4.2 +4.5 +7.7 

Soil 

-5 9.0 10.9 -1.9 9.9 17.0 -7.1 +0.9 +6.1 

-15 9.2 10.7 -1.5 9.5 12.4 -2.9 +0.3 +1.7 

-30 8.5 9.6 -1.1 8.8 10.9 -2.1 +0.3 +1.3 

-50 8.8 10.3 -1.5 9.2 11.1 -1.9 +0.4 +0.8 

-100 8.4 9.8 -1.4 8.6 10.8 -2.2 +0.2 +1.0 

-150 7.9 9.2 -1.3 8.2 10.4 -2.2 +0.3 +1.2 

Average 8.6 10.1 -0.5 9.0 12.1 -3.1 +0.4 +2.0 

Air-Soil Diff. 

+0.5 0.0 - +4.6 +5.7 - +4.1 +5.7 

These data were recorded during May-September, in 

three phases of 10-12 days, with average climate, on 

weather that was sunny, cloudy, rainy, calm atmosphere 

and wind, etc. There were made concurent (parallel) 

measurements, in forest and grassland, evey 20 minutes, 

on temperatures at soil surface up to 2 m high and in 

soil up to 1.5 m deep. 

Air temperature measurements were made with ordinary 

thermometers, attached to a stadium, having the 

81


mercury containers shaded with paper cones, and the 

soil thermometers were provided with metal housing. 

The results in the table highlight the net differences 

between forest and grassland temperatures, as well as 

between soils and air. 

Thus, at 7 AM, the average difference between forest 

and grassland temperature is of 1°C in the air and of 

0.5°C in the soil, growing at 13 00 , up to 4.2°C in the air 

and 3.1°C in the soil on the grassland compared to the 

forest. 

With the help of thermal micro-gradients it was 

possible to draw up temperature’s evolution from 10 to 

10 cm high in the air and deep in the soil. (Maruşca and 

Filip, 1995) (Figure 1). 

The highest changes of the thermal micro-gradients 

were recorded on intervals of 0–40 cm in the air and soil 

especially in the grassland where they are of -1.6°/10 

cm (17.2-14.0°C) in the air and -2.8°C (16.0-10.4°C) in 

the soil. 

In the forest the air and soil temperatures are more 

constant, being recorded subunit values for microgradients, 

confirming the protective role of woody 

vegetation compared with other ways of land use. 

The thermal regime of air (0-200 cm high) and soil (0- 

150 cm deep) of woody vegetation is lower and more 

stable in comparison to that of herbacous vegetation 

during the growing season (May-September) at 1100 m 

altitude. 

The average thermal micro-gradients in the air are 

absent in the forest on the interval 50-200 cm high from 

the soil (11.5 0 C) and have a slight decrease in the 

grassland of -0.04°C/10 cm (13.1-12.7 0 C) at the same 

height. 

In the soil, at a depth of 50-150 cm, the micro-gradients 

are equal, respectively -0.08°C/10 cm, but with the 

average limits of 8.7-8.3 0 in the forest and 10.3-9.9 0 C in 

the grassland. 

These data show once again, if it’s needed, the 

thermoregulator role of forests in the mountain area 

climate. 

Fig. 1.Thermal micro gradient evolution of mountain forest 

and grassland ecosystems during the growth season 

(Apuseni Mountains 1100 m altitude) 

3.2. Communal pastures with trees 

Given the characteristics of the more balanced 

microclimate of the forest compared to the extreme one 

of the open fields, for farming, since immemorial times, 

in our country as well were carried out works of 

thinning of existing forests in order to install the grassy 

in our country as well were carried out works of 

thinning of existing forests in order to install the grassy 

carpet of grasslands for fodder, action called 

“dumbrăvire 

In areas where forest was completely cleared, on the 

resulting pastures solitary trees were then planted, in 

clusters and/or alignments for animals sunburn 

protection while also obtaining wood necessary for 

households. 

The action of “setting” the groves with planted 

seedlings can be called dumbrăvuire as the creation of 

forest belts on arable land is called perdeluire 

(Ianculescu, 1990). 

Thus, using the two methods dumbrăvire and 

dumbrăvuire related the well known groves or open 

82


woods, where the woody vegetation, the grassy carpet 

and the animals that use them live in harmony. 

The communal pastures before the collectivization of 

agriculture were mostly equipped with various species 

of trees for shading for the animals. 

The species of trees and sometimes fruit trees used 

mainly for shading, were chosen based on the stationary 

conditions: willow and poplar in floodplains, locust, 

oak, sessile oak, ash, wild pear, walnut, etc. in plains 

and hills, beech, fir, spruce and other species in the 

mountain area. 

Even now, the groves and secular oaks of Cristian, 

Hărman, Dăişoara, Fişer – BV, Reghin – MS, Ţigăneşti 

–BC, Remetea – BH, Poşmuş – BN, Dioşti – DJ and 

others are here to bear witness. Among them stands the 

secular oak of Păşmuş – Şieu which in 2006 reached the 

impressive age of 600 years, being probably the oldest 

tree in Romania (Maruşca, 2006). 

Unfortunately, many of these secular oaks were burned, 

cleared, vandalized, without plating anything in their 

place, the animals on the pastures now feeling the full 

effects of the summer sun and sunburn, with reduction 

of milk and meat production. 

3.3.The fruit trees system – grasslands and 

pastures 

In some areas of hills and depressions there are orchards 

with grass used as hay-fields or pastures for animals. 

The most common species are: plum, followed by 

apple, pear, walnut, etc., grown extensively and with 

uneven production from year to year. 

Thus, it was created a mixed management system, 

orchard-grassland, which has proven efficiency both to 

produce fruit with minimum intervention, and used as 

hay-field, or by grazing animals. The latter benefit from 

the shadow and fruits attacked by pests and diseases are 

used as supplementary feed. 

In orchards located on steep slopes in the hilly area the 

fruit trees also have an anti-erosion role and stabilize the 

land against landslides 

A special case is the alignment of mulberry trees along 

the roads where the geese on pastures supplement their 

food with mulberries during July-August when grass 

becomes fewer. Many of these grassy orchard systems 

are derelict, only a few are still maintained in individual 

households of the Subcarpathians in the Vrancea, 

Buzău, Prahova, Argeş, Dâmboviţa and Vâlcea 

counties. 

3.4. The terrace system with arable land, slope 

with hay-filed and row of fruit trees 

One of the most interesting complex systems of slope 

agricultural land management is the terracing for arable 

crops, with grassed slopes, used as hay-field and a row 

of fruit trees on the upper edge of the slope, especially 

specific in southwestern Transylvania. For centuries this 

system has ensured grain crops, hay for livestock and 

fruits for direct consumption or conservation, while 

protecting soil against surface or deep erosion on steep 

slopes. Unfortunately, this system too is largely 

abandoned, being invaded by unworthy herbaceous or 

woody vegetation. 

Return to the old system of effective capitalization of 

the arable land—hay-field—fruit trees terrains with 

modern means of mechanization, organic fertilizer from 

livestock in the households and other measures of 

biological agriculture and tourism, would have a great 

future in these defavorized areas with major natural 

handicaps. 

3.5. Protection of traditional systems 

Photo 4. Orchard with grass 

In our country it is found that there were and still are in 

some form, different agroforestry systems that need to 

be better known and reconsidered in the future. 

83


Their studies have been marginalized, agronomists 

considering that it is the job of the foresters, and 

foresters in their turn dealing with forests, and less with 

isolated trees on grasslands, etc. 

While in Mediterranean countries strongly affected by 

periods of excessive heat and dryness, foresters and 

agronomists have already taken concrete steps with 

awareness and generalization of the traditional 

agroforestry systems like the Spanish dehesa; in our 

country these systems have not yet been taken into 

account to extend them in order to prevent the negative 

effects of global warming. Therefore, it is considered 

necessary an inventory of all agroforestry systems in 

our country, by mixed teams, agronomists and foresters, 

followed by study of their functionality as a means to 

protect the grass carpet, arable crops, grazing animals, 

trees, fruit trees, etc., economical source of feed, animal 

products, cereals, fruits, wood, landscape aesthetics and 

others. After establishing the main functions of 

agroforestry systems we can move to the modernization 

of the maintenance and capitalization works of these 

complex resources, which can better adapt to future 

climate change. 

Photo 5.Grassland with oaks 

Thus, the agroforestry system together with the 

afforestation of degraded land, installation of protection 

forest belts, expanding irrigation and other measures, 

can help to complement the specific measures to 

combat aridity and desertification which will affect both 

pastoral and livestock fund. 

A complex agroforestry system could more easily pass a 

global warming regime than the current system with 

pastures and animals without trees, simple arable crops 

and others. 


- In Romania, at an increase of the average air 

temperature of only 3 0 C by year 2070, according to 

prognosis, more than 30 % of the country will be 

affected by desertification and about 38% of increased 

aridity, which will encompass all our plains, up to 85 % 

of the hills and almost 20 % of the pre-mountain and 

low mountain area; 

- The prognosis of global warming by 3 0 C in our 

country will create major disturbances in the 

distribution by altitude of the vegetation floors in the 

Carpathians, in the sense that the upper limit of the 

spruce will increase with 600 m, reaching 2400 m 

altitude, and the upper subalpine (mountain pine) and 

alpine floors will slowly disappear. The maximum 

productivity of the forests and natural grasslands located 

now at the 1000 – 1200 m raise to 1600 – 1800 m 

altitude; 

- The possibilities of increasing production of the 

grasslands that will benefit from heat and humidity 

higher than at present, are seriously diminished by 

physical - chemical properties of the soil that will 

change more slowly than the climate, by the difficult 

access conditions due to relief energy, etc., reasons for 

which will be necessary to develop other related 

activities such as agroturism; 

- In Spain, with its Mediterranean climate, since the 

Neolithic an agroforestry system called "dehesa" has 

spread, with an oak trees density of 20-100 per hectare, 

150-300 years old, where every 10-15 years regular 

training cuts are made to the crown, cork is harvested 

every 9-12 years, the average acorn production is 200- 

600 kg/ ha /year, and there is the direct tree production, 

plus it provides protection for the grassy carpet lawns, 

shade for crops and grazing animals; 

- The extensive crop yields made in the dehesa 

system are of 1-3 t / ha grain to grain straw, 1-3 t / ha 

DM to natural meadows and sown with an optimal load 

0.2 to 0.4 LU / ha cattle, sheep, goats or pigs from 0.4 to 

0.6 ha in environmental conditions, maintaining 

the landscape, intense sequestration of carbon and other 

advantages. The Iberian agroforestry is constantly 

expanding and improving with funds from the 

European Union, and is widely considered a viable 

solution to prevent desertification and aridisation of the 

current climate; 

- The thermal regime of the air (0-200 cm height) and 

soil (0-150 cm depth) of woody vegetation is 

more constant and lower by about 2.2 ° C compared to 

temperatures recorded on permanent pasture during the 

84


growing season (May-September) at 1100 m altitude in 

the Carpathians, proving the role of thermostat of the 

forest; 

- The local agroforestry system is called grove, in 

the case of the presence on the grassland of tree species, 

notably of oak trees and of rare orchards with tree 

species under which different herbs are growing and can 

be recovered by grazing or mowing. More detailed 

studies on these mixed production systems, extending 

them to areas already affected by aridity and their 

protection where they still exist are necessary to be 

carried out as soon as possible by teams of specialists in 

agriculture and forestry; 

- In the future, studies and complex research of the 

long-term stationary in the areas affected by 

desertification and aridisation are necessary, in which 

to monitor the main climate, edaphic and woody 

vegetation and grassland productivity factors, the 

livestock and crops in the agroforestry systems, in 

order to better establish their evolution in time, data that 

can be the basis of projects of further development of 

the agroforestry system as an viable alternative in the 

context of global warming. 

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Maruşca T., 2007: Prevenirea şi atenuarea secetei excesive. 

Rev. Ferma, IX: 6 (50), Timişoara 

Maruşca T., 2007: Valorificarea fondului pastoral şi 

agroturistic montan în noul context al schimbărilor 

climatice din Carpaţi. Seminar national consacrat “Zilei 

internaţionale a Muntelui”, Schimbarile Climatice şi 

Muntii, 11 decembrie 2007, ASAS Bucureşti, 89-90. 

Maruşca T., 2008: Seceta, împăduririle şi agricultura. Lumea 

satului, IV: 1 (54), Bucureşti 

Maruşca T., 2008: Supravieţuirea în deşertul egiptean. 

Lumea satului, 14 (67), Bucureşti 

Maruşca T., 2008: Reconstrucţia ecologică a pajiştilor 

degradate, Ed. Universităţii Transilvania din Braşov 

Maruşca T., Filip F.N., 1995: Studii de microgradientică 

termică în ecosisteme forestiere şi praticole din Munţii 

Apuseni. Sesiunea ICAS, Staţiunea Braşov 

Maruşca T., Săbădeanu P., Neagu M., 2001: Fondul 

agrosilvopastoral şi creşterea animalelor. Lucrările celui de 

al XIX-lea Simpozion Naţional de istorie şi Retrologie 

Agrară din România (SIRAR), Ed. Universităţii 

“Transilvania” din Braşov 

McCreary D., Canellas I., 2004: Restoration of Oak 

Woodlands in Mediterranean Ecosystems, Restoration of 

Boreal and Temperate Forests. Interogative Studies in 

Water Management and Land Development. CRC Press, 

pp. 253-266 

Masson P., 2002: Gestion sylvopastorale des subéraies en 

Nord Catalogne (France). Production de pastos, forrajes y 

cespedes. Ed. De la Univ. De Lleida, 565-570 

Neşu I., 2000: Perdelele forestiere de protecţie. Ed. Pod peste 

suflete, Slobozia 

Olea L., San Miguel-Ayanz A., 2006: The spanish dehesa. A 

traditional Mediterranean silvopastoral system linking 

production and natural conservation. 21 st . General Meeting 

of EGFPP, 3-13, Badajoz, Spain 

Puerto A., 1997: Investigation y Ciencia “La Dehesa”, 66-70 

Resmeriţă I., Texter D., 1956: Agrotehnica pajiştilor 

degradate. Ed. Academiei Române, Bucureşti 

85


Russo R.O., 1996: Agrosilvopastoral systems: a practical 

approach toward sustainable agricultura. J. Sust. Agric. 7 

(4), 5-17 

San Miguel A., Perez-Carral C., Roig S., 1999: Deer and 

traditional agrosilvopastoral systems of Mediterranean 

Spain. A new problem of sustainability for a new concept 

of land use. Options Mediterraneennes 39, pp:261-264 

Sharrow S.H., Flechter R.A., 1994: Trees and Pastures: 40 

years of agrosilvopastoral experience in Western Oregon. 

USA, Agroforesty Symposium, National Agroforesty. 

Abstract 

This paper presents a forecast possible due to the expected average temperature increase by 3°C until the 2070 when 68% of 

Romanian territory will be affected by desertification and aridity, with major consequences on bioclimatic and soil changes 

with influence on the productivity of grasslands and animals in the mountain area. 

After a more detailed description of the dehesa agroforestry system in the Iberian peninsula with its indisputable advantages, 

are presented the mixed systems local named grove (trees + pasture) or extensive orchard (fruit trees + pasture or crops) that 

should be more carefully studied by agronomists and foresters to be extended on large areas, as an effective measure to limit the 

negative effects of global climate warming. 

The agroforestry system together with protective forest belts, afforestation and irrigation are a complementary solution to 

prevent desertification and aridisation effects on crop production and especially animals. 

Keywords: bioclimatic forecasting, production grasslands, agroforestry system, grove, orchard 


86


Forest belts for acoustic and pollution protection on the perimeter of 

Kronospan Romania SRL 

Valentin Bolea, Dănuţ Chira 

1. Study objective 

This study aims to achieve a protection forest belts 

with a polyfunctional role: 

-For fixing of the two earth walls (Photo 1 and 2) 

designed in order to mitigate the impact of pollution 

(noise, aesthetics, chemical). Branches and leaves of 

trees and shrubs of the forest belts intercept and slow 

down the rainwater that falls on the ground and their 

roots allow water retention and avoid the phenomenon 

of sliding, erosion and washing of the soil; 

Photo 1-2.Slip processes of the land at the plateau edge and in the upper third of the eastern and western slope of the 

east ground wave 

– Noise reduction with 6 to 8 decibels (complete 

structure forest belts, provided by stand and 

undergrowth, are sound barriers as effective as stone 

walls); 

– Retention of pollutants (PM 10) from the air (dust 

and noxious gases), trees and shrubs being known for 

their storage capacity or as metabolites of nuisances 

(Bolea and Chira, 2008 and 2009) and air purification 

(penetrable forest belts, perpendicular on the wind 

direction, can achieve a purification with 10% better 

(compared to free zones), on a width of 50-60 m 

before the forest belt and on a width of 200-250 m on 

land located behind the forest belt; 

– Beautifying of the landscape of Stupini 

neighborhood, contributing to the city's imageto the 

improvement of biodiversity and ensuring 

sustainability of urban areas (McPherson and Haig, 

1982); 

- Guarding of protected areas "Castle Hill – Lempeş", 

"Harman Swamp", "Prejmer Forest and Eutrophic 

Swamps" located relatively close of Kronospan plant; 

- Reduction of CO 2 content in the air, the annual 

consumption and storage in biomass reaching with 

trees maturity 40 t CO 2 / ha; 

- Air refreshing, because the release of oxygen will 

reach at the maturity of trees 30 t O 2 / ha; 

- Stopping the degradation of soil by grazing waves 

that destroys grass formation, accelerates erosion, 

causes soil compaction, spoils its structure, increasing 

surface runoff, especially when grazing on wet 

surfaces, early in spring or in late fall. 

87


2. Site planning and topographic studies 

Photo 3. Location of OSB plant of Kronospan Braşov, between E60 Braşov – Feldioara 

rail Braşov - Sighişoara, and between streets Baciului and Strunga Mieilor, of quarter Stupini 

The environmental protection forest belts limit the 

northern and western sides of SC KRONOSPAN 

Romania SRL Brasov (Photo 3). 

They are located in Bârsa Depression, a large plain at 

500-560 m altitude, slightly inclined to the north and 

"guarded" on three sides by mountain peaks: 

Postavarul Massif (1799 m) with its abutments Tâmpa 

(960 m) and Warthe (1200 m), Bucegi Mountains 

(2509 m) and beyond the Olt valley, Perşani (1292 

m), Baraolt (1019 m) and Bodoc (Ciomatu, 1301 m) 

Mountains. 

Located on the north eastern edge of Stupini 

neighborhood, 3 km north of Bartolomeu, 2 km east 

of Sânpetru and 6 km south of Bod Colony, these 

green areas of 2.6 hectares, will have an important 

role in landscape. 

The wave of land, that had been planted with the 

forest belt, has a length of 1050 m, a height of 8 m, 

the top base of 5 m, the lower base of 25 m wide and 

the horizontal area of 2.63 ha (fig. 1). 

88


Fig. 1.Dimensions and cross section of ground wave 

3. Characterization of soil in the ground 

waves 

The two waves of ground on which to install the 

protection forest belts, have resulted mainly from the 

storage of the earth stripped for the implementation of 

the factory and, therefore, contain mosaic mixtures 

from different horizons of levigated and rendzinic 

chernozems specific to the sector between Brasov and 

Stupini (Chiriţă et al., 1967; Târziu et al., 2002), 

predominating the upper horizons (Photo 5), but there 

are also present parts of pseudopgleic and skeletal 

horizons (Photo 6). 

Photo 5. Soil sampling on the ground wave 

Thus, of the nine soil samples analyzed (Table 1) 

result the following defining characteristics of the 

waves of ground: 

Fig. 6. Mixed soil from the sloap 

- A loamy texture, with 1.6 to 4.6% sand, 71.0 to 

83.0% dust (loam) and from 14.4 to 28.8% clay; 

- A carbon content of 4.6 to 8.2 g / kg.; 

- A slightly alkaline pH between 7.8 to 8.1. 

89


Compared with the control sample, harvested from 

nearby agricultural field, the loan soil’s chemical 

characteristics, which formed the waves are similar, 

except for the carbon content, which is significantly 

higher (4.56 to 8.18 compared to 3.98). This 

difference, minimal in appearance, has, however, very 

important consequences in defining the environmental 

conditions, namely the choice of forest species that 

can best vegetate under these conditions. 

Tabelul 1 . Analytical data for soil samples collected from ground waves and zonal soil of Kronospan Braşov factory 

Chemical analysis 

Physical analysis 

No. pH CaCO 3 Humus N K Ca Mg Na Soluble salts Granulometry 

Cl - -- 

SO 4 Na 2 CO 3 Sand dust clay 

g/kg % g % mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg me % me % me % % % % 

1 8.068 8.181 2.954 0.151 3436.1 74570 9639 1224 1.060 0.051 0.511 1.972 76.022 22.006 

2 7.952 8.180 3.566 0.183 4.571 73.300 22.129 

3 7.795 6.921 2.995 0.154 2150.5 47970 7563 1158 2.167 80.098 17.734 

4 7.942 7.356 1.765 0.091 1.886 77.266 20.848 

5 7.789 4.555 3.743 0.192 1642.7 26640 8322 1049 0.840 0.026 0.531 1.617 69.542 28.841 

6 7.872 6.041 1.992 0.102 1792.1 43320 7224 1600 0.560 0.051 0.354 1.940 71.002 27.058 

7 7.954 7.332 2.614 0.134 1405.1 54760 6489 1200 0.640 0.026 0.393 2.381 76.134 21.485 

8 7.910 6.506 1.296 0.066 2.536 83.027 14.437 

control 7.868 3.975 2.957 0.152 3392.7 10460 5548 1806 0.880 0.009 0.492 1.475 82.075 16.450 

Compared to humic-gleyic soil described in Prejmer 

(Chiriţă et al., 1967), it shows the following 

characteristics of the loan soil: very close pH, lower 

carbonate content (especially compared to deep 

horizons): 4.6 to 8.2 compared to 2.1 to 21.3 g/kg, 

much lower clay content (especially compared to deep 

horizons): 14.4 to 28.8%. 

4. Meteorological and topographical 

factors which determine the quality of 

air in the plains of Bârsa depression 

After Marcu M. (2004), the sector located in the 

plains of the Bârsa depression, does not pass the 

height of 560 m and includes the neighborhoods 

Bartolomeu, Tractorul, Triaj, Astra and has: 

• Wind regime actively involves polluted air masses 

from the west and north - west to the neighborhoods 

Tractorul, Triaj and Zizin; 

• Relatively poor rainfall regime (593.7 mm, annual 

average quantity) provides in a lesser extent selfpurification, 

decontamination and washing of 

sedentary powders atmosphere from the surface of the 

leaves, pavements and roads; 

• Great night radiative cooling capacity of the air and 

intensification of heating process by sun exposure 

during the day, causing frequent temperature 

inversions, favors accumulation of pollutants near 

sources of pollution; 

• The phenomenon of thermal inversion layer is often 

accompanied by the radiative fog covering the 

topoclimate piedmont sectors, the intramontane 

valley, or the pre-mountain slopes up to 700-750 m; 

• The effects of sheltering against wind speeds are 

lower and the average speeds of over 6 m / s have a 

high enough frequency, especially in the 

neighborhoods Bartolomeu, Tractorul and Triaj; 

• Winds of a high and very high intensity have an 

increased frequency and atmospheric calm does not 

exceed 25% annually. 

5. Air quality in the neighborhoods 

Carierei - Bartolomeu and Stupini 

Spruce foliar analysis carried out in 2005 to a network 

of 55 spruce from different districts of Brasov (Bolea 

and Chira, 2005), revealed that in the Bartolomeu 

neighborhood (Carierei Street area - Bartolomeu 

Station), closest to Stupini, the level of foliar 

substances (which indicates the level of air pollution) 

was as follows: 

- Average sulfur pollution (below level of toxicity, 

PT: 1500 ppm): 1071.4 ppm; 

- Medium to high fluoride pollution (PT: 10-15 ppm): 

12.4 ppm; 

- High chlorine pollution: 1090 ppm; 

- Very high sodium (natrium) pollution (more than 

PT: 200 ppm): 706.1 ppm; 

- High lead pollution (slightly over PT: 10 ppm): 10.2 

ppm; 

- High copper pollution (over PT: 10 ppm): 16.23 

ppm; 

- Weak zinc pollution (as PT: 60 ppm): 19.4 ppm; 

- High iron pollution (over PT: 300 ppm): 550.7 ppm; 

90


- Level at the lower threshold of the optimum 

magnesium interval (below PT: 2500 ppm): 1090 

ppm; 

- Average nitrogen pollution (as PT: 17000 ppm): 

16240 ppm; 

- High calcium pollution (PT: 8000 ppm): 11972 ppm. 

Photo 7. Spruce (between houses -- str. Baciului nr. 8, Stupini 

– Braşov) where needles were collected for foliar analysis 

In March 2010, foliar analyzes conducted at the 

spruce trees located near the northern ground wave 

(Photo 7) (nearby Stupini belt - Brasov), indicates the 

following levels of substances (Table 2): 

- Sodium below the threshold of toxicity (PT 200 

ppm): 136 ppm; 

- Zinc below the threshold of toxicity (PT 60 ppm): 

42.9 ppm; 

Fig. 8 Lempes Hill saw of the ground wave (west slope) 

- Copper (pollution) little above the toxicity threshold 

(PT 10 ppm): 10.7 ppm; 

- Iron below toxicity threshold (PT 300 ppm): 232.8 

ppm; 

- Magnesium at the lower limit of the optimum level 

(optimum level: 1000-2500 ppm): 1034 ppm; 

- Very large excess of calcium (8000 ppm PT): 14,470 

ppm. 

Tabelul 2. Foliar analysis of spruce from the neighborhood of Kronospan Braşov factory (March 2010) 

Metal 

Quantity 

Optimum level / 

Range of tolerance 

Toxicity 

threshold 

MU Type of substance Level characterization 

Sodium 136 50-200 200 ppm nutrient/pollutant 

optimum / tolerance 

interval 

Zinc 42.91 15-60 60 ppm nutrient/pollutant 


interval 

Iron 232.8 40-300 300 ppm nutrient/pollutant 


interval 

Manganese 10.3 50-500 500 ppm nutrient/pollutant deficiency 

Potassium 

5037 ppm nutrient/pollutant 


interval 

Cadmium 0 - 0,5 ppm pollutant absence 

Lead 0 - 10 ppm pollutant absence 

Magnesium 1034 1000-2500 2500 ppm nutrient/pollutant (deficiency) optimum 

Calcium 14470 3500-8000 8000 ppm nutrient/pollutant excess 

Copper 10.67 4-10 10 ppm nutrient/pollutant excess 

6. Vegetation in the area 

6.1. The reserve Castle Hill-Lempes (Photo 8) 

The vegetation includes various xerophyte 

associations, steppe (the southern slopes on limestone 

bedrock), formed in postglaciar, and nemoral 

associations - different species forests (sessile oak, 

field maple, lime, hornbeam, field maple, beech, fir, 

hornbeam, plantations of black pine, with 

undergrowth of flowering ash, hawthorn, spindle-tree 

, warty spindle-tree, red dogwood, cornel tree, privet, 

walnut, ash, blackthorn, dwarf almond, etc.). Of the 

shrub vegetation it is noted the rare dwarf almond 

species (Mygdalus nana) and wild dwarf cherry 

(ground cherry, Cerasus / Prunus fruticosa). 

91


On sunny slopes, islands of steppe vegetation meet 

with elements naturally preserved of the xerophytes 

relict vegetation (some to the limit of their area). It is 

noted the species of steppe and calcofile like colilie 

(Stipa capillata and S. pulcherina), wood hairgrass 

(Festuca rupicola, F. valesiaca), dwarf sedge (Carex 

humilis), in association with other xerofile species 

(Koeleria gracilis, Stachis recta, Hyancithella 

leucophaea , Echium rubrum, etc.), continental steppe 

species like spring adonis (Adonis vernalis, a species 

typical heliofile) and other grassland species - red 

snake eyes, irises, wild hyacinth, etc. 

6.2. The vegetation of the ground waves 

The ground waves are covered by a discontinuous 

blanket of grass, installed after their artificial sowing 

in 2009. 

Photo 9-10.Flora elements identifiin march 2010 on ground waves (Erodium cicutarium, Achillea millefolium) 

Photo 11-12. (Chrysanthemum corymbosum, Senecio jacobae)Flora elements 

identifiin march 2010 on ground waves 

In the sodded meshes were installed, in a natural way, 

the following species: dandelion (Taraxacum 

officinale), crane beak (Erodium cicutarium), 

primrose (Primula cousin), yarrow (Achillea 

millefolium) (Photo 10), three-spotted-siblings(Viola 

tricolor), wild clover (Trifolium pratense), shepherd's 

purse (Capsella bursa pastoris), Chrysanthemum 

corymbosum (Photo 11) and bird's-eye (Veronica 

Didyma), Senecio jacobae (Photo 12), Rumex alpinus, 

Cardus transilvanicus, Carlina acaulis, Euphorbia 

sp., ruderal plants, of common pastures or sown field, 

which appear very early in spring. 

On shadowed slopes were planted in 2009, large 

saplings of the species: spruce (Picea abies) (Photo 

92


13), pine (Pinus sylvestris) (Photo 14), common 

maple (Acer campestre), hornbeam (Carpinus 

betulus), beech (Fagus sylvatica), way faring tree 

(Viburnum lantana), red dogwood (Cornus 

sanguinea), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) etc. 

Photo 13-14. Ground waves vegetation: Norway spruce planted in 2009 (wester and norther slope 

andScots pine planted in 2009 (wester and norther slope) 

Table 3.a. Species ecology 

Subareas of 

vegetation 

Relief 

Alt. 

Soil 

Texture pH Humid. SF Sk UF 

No. Species 

Qr Qp Fa Pl Pt H (m) H M L la Ca h dry 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 

Main species 

1 

Pinus nigra var. 

150- 

X X X X X X 

austriaca 

1500 

X X X X X X X X X f 

2 

Ailanthus 

altissima 

X X X X X X X X X X f 

3 Prunus avium X X X X X


albus 

Relief: P-plain; Pt-plateau, H-hill, Texture: H-heavy, M-medium, L-light; pH: la-low acidity; Ca-carbonates; Humid.-humidity: h-humid, d-dry; Alt.- 

altitude; SF-Superficial; Sk- Skeleton; UF-unstable (fixator) 

Table 3.b. Species ecology 

No. Species Exp. 

Biological features 

Soil 

Prot. 

Closure 

massive 

state 

(year) 

Longevity 

H (m) Increm. 

Crw. Sistemul 

Leaves 

Temper. 

Dens. radicelar 

Cd Pers 

0 1 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 

Main species 

1 Pinus nigra var. austriaca S 30 medium dense high light - Pers. M 5-10 70(80) yr 

2 Ailanthus altissima S 15-20 fast rare rich light c H 3 low 

3 Prunus avium S 20-25 fast medium rich light c G 3 medium 

4 Fraxinus excelsior N 40 fast lighty high humid - light c L 3 high 

Secondary species 

5 Acer campestre E-V 15-20 medium dense rich half-shadow c H 3 100 yr 

6 Fraxinus ornus S 5-10 slow medium 

rich / 

high 

light c H 3 high 

7 Sorbus aucuparia E-V 5-10 medium medium rich half-light c H 3 high 

8 Salix capraea E-V 10 fast rară rich light c M 2 low 

High shrubs 

9 Eleagnus angustifolia S 7-8 fast rară rich light c H 3 high 

10 Hippophae rhamnoides S 2-3 fast rare very rich light c H 3-4 high 

11 Juniperus communis S 5 slow dense rich light Pers. H 3 high 

12 Corylus avellana N 4-5 fast dense rich half-light c H 3 high 

Small shrubs 

13 Prunus spinosa S 3-5) medium dense profound shadow c H 3 high 

14 Paliurus spina christi S 1-3 slow dense rich shadow c H 3-5 medium 

15 Cornus sanguinea E-V 3-4 medium dense rich half-shadow c H 8-10 medium 

16 Colutea arborescens S 4 slow dense rich light c M 3 medium 

17 Rosa rugosa S-V fast medium rich light c M 3 medium 

18 Symphoricarpus albus N medium dense rich light c M 3 medium 

Exp.: slope exposure; H: height; Incr: increment; Crw.dens: crown desity; Temp.: temperament; Cd: caducous; Pers: persistent; Soil Prot.: Soil protection 

(H-high, M-medium, L-low) 

Plant health of these species is inappropriate: 

- All species present valley inclines, even resinous 

anchored by pickets, due to padding ground 

movement; 

- Rare 3-4 m hight pine, planted before this study, has 

dyied in proportion of approx. 90%, due to adaptation 

problems typical for plantations with large seedlings 

(grown in special nurseries under controlled 

conditions of humidity) transplanted in very difficult 

conditions (in hot summer, in open field without 

shelter, without daily watering etc.); moreover this 

species of acidic soil does not correspond to the 

carbonated soils; 

- Rare 3-4 m hight Norway spruce planted in 2009 has 

dried only in proportion of approx. 10%, but its 

keeping is not certain, the needles are slightly wilted 

in March 2010, partially covered by black deposits (of 

uncertain origin, probably before planting because it is 

not present in other species); it still requires special 

attention (especially by maintaining soil moisture at 

an optimum level), because spruce do not preffer 

hydromorphic or compact carbonated soils. 

- The small to medium deciduous species are more 

resistant to planting, so it is expected that they will 

better survive; in March 2010, being out of the 

growing season, seedlings provide little indication of 

of their health status. 

7. Description of the stationary 

The ground waves are graded as "Regions of hills of 

the sessile oak and common oak subareas 

"stationary group GS 139 - embankment slopes 

consisting of mixtures of soil and rock, with sandyloamy 

to clay texture and variable content of skeleton 

(MAPPM, 2000 - technical standards for 

composition,schemes, and technology of forest 

regeneration and afforestation of degraded land). 

On the waves of ground from Stupini erosion 

manifests itself as drops of water from rainfall and 

water runoff on slopes. 

The classification by classes of degradation 

(Miulescu, Tăbăcaru, 1963), they fall in the 

moderatesecond degree erosion (E2), with rare 

runoffs, cracks and with superficial landslides. 

The relatively small surface of the ground waves, the 

mosaic character of the soils used as fillers, the 

manifestation on reduced surfaces of runoffs and 

94


subsidence do not allow the differentiation in the 

stationary complex of multiple stationary units. 

8. Polyfunctional species selection 

Species used for the afforestation of the ground wave 

from the factory Kronospan of Stupini, must meet 

properties enabling them the development in special 

stationary conditions: 

- resistance to dryness (season) of the soil - a 

necessary condition because species do not benefit 

from the contribution groundwater, slope gradient is 

large (45 g), with significant loss of water from 

precipitation through surface water runoff and runoffs, 

and on sunny slopes (southern and western) and the 

plateau, under loose soil and medium texture, this 

quality this becomes a very important requirement; 

- adaptation to skeletal soils with low physiological 

space - especially on the northern ground wave, where 

the amount of skeleton is variable and sometimes up 

to 25 to 30%; 

- to withstand an alkaline pH (7.8 to 8.2); 

- to be calcicole species, which support high soil 

carbon content (calcium: 14,740 ppm); 

- To support the content of salts of the soil (Cu: 10.67 

ppm and 12.44 ppm As); 

- Resistant to industrial pollution and road with 

fluoride (12.44 ppm); 

- Rapidly growing in youth to realize as quickly as 

possible the functions for which the protection forest 

belt was created; 

- to easily regenerate naturally, to spread later in the 

gaps created by the drying of seedlings after planting 

and to achieve impenetrable hedges; 

- To cover soil well and improve it through litter and 

root associations; 

- to withstand the injuries caused by natural 

phenomena: wind (especially on the plateau and upper 

third), heavy rains (which can erode slopes), frost, ice 

etc.; 

- to have the opportunity of defense against aggression 

caused by domestic or wild animals (spinyspecies, 

inedible, which make impenetrable thickets or hedges) 

and to withstand grazing; 

- to possess rich and powerful rooting respectively the 

power to highly sprout and sucker, to secure unstable 

slopes, with active erosion and with a potentially 

burial of seedlings by landslides, collapses and cracks. 

In the tables 3a and 3b were centralized woody 

species that simultaneously meet the characteristics of 

adaptation to pursued pedo-fluid conditions and 

functionality. 

9. Afforestation formula and scheme 

Tree stands of mixed resinous and deciduous are those 

that provide the best protection and soil improvement 

and the best use of degraded land (Miulescu and 

Tăbăcaru, 1963). In the hill regions, of the sessile oak 

area these species are: 

- on soils with mild to medium texture: ash, mountain 

maple, flowering ash, privet, red dogwood and cornel 

tree; 

- on semiskeletal soils: black pine, flowering ash, 

common maple, hawthorn, red dogwood etc.; 

- on soils with medium to heavy texture: black pine, 

ash, mountain maple, pear, red dogwood, spindle-tree, 

privet, Turkestan elm; 

- on calcareous soils: black pine, Turkestan elm, 

flowering ash, cherry, cherry-plum, privet, cornel tree, 

red dogwood; 

- on land with fragmented soils: ash, oleaster, privet, 

sea buckthorn, red dogwood. 

Based on the specific stationary requirements and the 

compatibility of the species characteristics with these, 

the following formula for afforestation was used 

(Table 4): 30% Pi.n. 12% Pa.m. Fr. Ul.t. Gl. 31% Sl. 

Mj. 27% Pd. Mc. L.c. 

Applying this formula differs however in relation to 

the forms of relief (slopes of 45 gr. and plateau) the 

slopes exposure (sunny - SW - or shadow - NE), slope 

position (upper or lower third), or the portions of land 

that runoffs and landslides are localized (Table 4a). 

The chosen planting scheme (Table 4a) (Option 1) is 

10,000 seedlings / ha (1 x 1 m) (otskirts / hedges are 

more dense: 1 x 0.5 m). 

On the plateau of the ground waves are planted: 

- Rows of edge, pure, of oleaster, with role of fixing 

securely the slope rim, where there are cracking and 

landslides phenomena. 

- 3 internal rows with black pine mixed with 

flowering ash (ailanthus and resistant shrub species. 

On the sunny slopes: 

- Mixture of black pine and xerophytes species - 

flowering ash (ailanthus) cherry-plum, Turkestan elm, 

resistant shrubs); 

- For the slope stability were introduced two pure 

lines of oleaster (at regular intervals compared to the 

edge and the basis of the slope); 

- At the edge, it was designed a hedge of honey locust. 

On the shadowed slopes: 

- Mixture of black pine and mesophilic species - 

maple, ash and mesophilic shrubs - at the bottom of of 

the slope; 

95


- Mixture of black pine and more xerophytes species - 

flowering ash (ailanthus) and resistant trees - at the 

top of of the slope; 

- oleaster was placed in pure bunches on the ruptures 

and landslides on the eastern slope respectively as 

column, the largest slope line for fixing against 

runoffs; 

- For the slope stability it was introduced a line of 

pure of oleaster (mid-of the slope); 

- At the edge, it was designed a hedge of blackthorn 

(thorn). 

Option 2, of backup (Table 4 b): 

- Black pine may not be replaced with any other main 

species of coniferous in Romania, which cannot 

withstand high pH and carbonate in the soil; 

- Mixed mesophilic species, common ash and 

mountain maple are interchangeable; 

- help xerophytes species - flowering ash (Ailanthus), 

Turkestan elm, cherry-plum, and oleaster - can be 

interchangeable or substitute with Turkish cherry or 

mulberry (oleaster is not good to be replaced); 

- sea buckthorn and blackthorn, red dogwood, privet, 

Christ's thorn can replace each other, in extreme cases 

can be substituted by hawthorn, wild rose or vinegar 

tree, but resistance to specific site conditions and their 

protective role is weaker; 

- juniper not only supports dry and carbonate soils, 

fixing and protecting well the soils, but remains 

green, like black pine in the season of vegetation and 

can not be replaced with any other species; 

- For hedges honey locust, blackthorn and sea 

buckthorn can replace each other, in extreme cases 

can be substituted by dog rose or hawthorn. 

The environmental protection forest belt, by its multifunctions, 

will have a complex structure, both 

vertically and horizontally. Thus, on the vertical will 

be ensured: 

- a main basic species: black pine, ensuring 

continuity of protection functions both in the growing 

season and during winter; 

- The main mixture species: common ash and 

mountain maple (at the bottom and middle of the 

shaded slope) and ailanthus, cherry-plum and elm of 

Turkestan (on the sunny plateau and slope); 

- the help species: flowering ash (on the plateau, 

sunny slope and upper shaded slope) and oleaster 

(pure lines, at a relatively steady intervals, on the 

plateau and slopes); 

- species of shrubs: blackthorn, sea buckthorn 

(hedges and sunny areas), red dogwood, common 

privet, Christ's thorn (shaded areas) (backup options: 

vinegar tree, hawthorn, dog rose); 

- species for hedges: honey locust at the the basis of 

the sunny slopes, towards the enclosure, respectively 

shrubs at the basis of shadowed slopes, towards the 

surrounding agricultural land. 

Horizontally the distribution of the 10 species was 

made as follows: 

- 1 row of intimate mixture of black pine, shrubs and 

the help species 

- 1 row of intimate mixture of black pine and shrubs 

followed by mixing main species with shrubs; 

- from place to place was interposed a row of pure 

oleaster for fixing of the slope; 

- at the edges of the slope was planted a row of 

pure honey locust, for hedges (20,000 seedlings / 

ha). 

Table 4a. Kronospan protection forest belt – main afforestation scheme 

Shadowed slopes (N,E) Plateau Sunny slope (S,V) 

G 

v1 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 

1 Gl Ct Fr Ip Sâ Pin Ct Sl Por Pin Sl Pin Por Mj Sl Ct Mj Ip Ct Pin Por Sl Por Ip Ct Gl 

2 Gl Pam Sâ Ip Pin Por Mj Sl Pin Ct Sl Por Pin Ct Sl Pin Por Ip Pin Pd Mj Sl Pin Ip Ult Gl 

3 Gl Por Pin Ip Sâ Pin Por Sl Ct Pin Sl Mj Ct Pin Sl Por Pin Ip Por Pin Ct Sl Ct Ip Por Gl 

4 Gl Pam Sâ Ip Fr Ct Pin Sl Mj Por Sl Ct Mj Por Sl Pin Ct Ip Mj Ct Pin Sl Mj Ip Ult Gl 

5 Gl Ct Fr Ip Sâ Pin Ct Sl Por Pin Sl Pin Por Mj Sl Ct Mj Ip Ct Pin Por Sl Por Ip Ct Gl 

6 Gl Pam Sâ Ip Pin Por Mj Sl Pin Ct Sl Por Pin Ct Sl Pin Por Ip Pin Por Mj Sl Pin Ip Ult Gl 

7 Gl Por Pin Ip Sâ Pin Por Sl Ct Pin Sl Mj Ct Pin Sl Por Pin Ip Por Pin Ct Sl Ct Ip Por Gl 

8 Gl Pam Sâ Ip Fr Ct Pin Sl Mj Por Sl Ct Mj Por Sl Pin Ct Ip Mj Ct Pin Sl Mj Ip Ult Gl 

Pin: Pinus nigra, Gl: Gleditsia triacanthos, Pam: Acer pseudoplatanus, Fr: Fraxinus excelsior, Ip: Juniperus communis, Mj: Fraxinus ornus, Sl: Eleagnus 

angustifolia, Ult: Ulmus pumila, Por: Prunus spinosa, Ct: Hippophae rhamnoides , Sâ: Cornus sanguinea 

96


Table 4b. Kronospan protection forest belt – alternative afforestation scheme 

Shadowed slopes (N,E) Plateau Sunny slopes (S,W) 

G 

v1 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 

1 Gl Mc Fr Mj Lc Pin Mc Sl Pd Pin Sl Pin Pd Mj Sl Mc Mj Sl Mc Pin Pd Sl Pd Mj Mc Gl 

2 Gl Pam Lc Mj Pin Pd Mj Sl Pin Mc Sl Pd Pin Mc Sl Pin Pd Sl Pin Pd Mj Sl Pin Mj Ult Gl 

3 Gl Pd Pin Mj Lc Pin Pd Sl Mc Pin Sl Mj Mc Pin Sl Pd Pin Sl Pd Pin Mc Sl Mc Mj Pd Gl 

4 Gl Pam Lc Mj Fr Mc Pin Sl Mj Pd Sl Mc Mj Pd Sl Pin Mc Sl Mj Mc Pin Sl Mj Mj Ult Gl 

5 Gl Mc Fr Mj Lc Pin Mc Sl Pd Pin Sl Pin Pă Mj Sl Mc Mj Sl Mc Pin Pd Sl Pd Mj Mc Gl 

6 Gl Pam Lc Mj Pin Pd Mj Sl Pin Mc Sl Pd Pin Mc Sl Pin Pd Sl Pin Pă Mj Sl Pin Mj Ult Gl 

7 Gl Pd Pin Mj Lc Pin Pd Sl Mc Pin Sl Mj Mc Pin Sl Pd Pin Sl Pd Pin Mc Sl Mc Mj Pd Gl 

8 Gl Pam Lc Mj Fr Mc Pin Sl Mj Pd Sl Mc Mj Pd Sl Pin Mc Sl Mj Mc Pin Sl Mj Mj Ult Gl 

Pin: Pinus nigra, Gl: Gleditsia triacanthos, Pam: Acer pseudoplatanus, Fr: Fraxinus excelsior, Mj: Fraxinus ornus, Sl: Eleagnus angustifolia, Ult: Ulmus pumila, Pd: 

Crataegus sp., Mc: Rosa canina , Lc: Ligustrum vulgare 

97


10. Afforestation technique 

Transport of seedlings was done rapidly and at night 

time or cool and wet weather, with saplings covered 

with tarpaulins that prevent their dehydration and 

protect their roots. 

After the seedlings have reached the place of use, they 

were immediately placed in trenches, with a depth of 

30-40 cm and length as needed. The sheaves of 

seedlings were placed prone on the wall exposed to 

the wind, or southern, and then were covered with a 

layer of soil of 8 to 10 cm thick, which should cover 

the their roots and 4 to 5 cm of the stem; the earth was 

well tamped to prevent passage of air and, if 

necessary, it was watered. 

Seedlings were in the ditch until they were used. 

The instability of the land imposed giving up the 

preparation of terraces and hearths in order to avoid 

weakening the filling soil fixation by the grassy 

carpet. 

Planting was done in pits of 40 x 40 x 30 cm, without 

further land preparation. 

. 

Photo 15 Planting forest curtain in spring 2010 


The installation of acoustic and environmental 

pollutant protection forest belts, in the factory 

premises and outside of OSB Kronospan Brasov 

(Stupini), is a remarkable event in several ways: 

Set on the wave of land 8 feet high, with a complex 

vertical structure, comprising main basic species and 

mixture, help and shrubs species, namely an original 

horizontal structure, with rows and biogroups for 

fixing the soil, with thorny species for outskirt 

protection and species adapted to alkaline, carbonate 

and exposed to drought soils, acoustic protection 

forest belts constitute a national first, aimed at 

reducing noise by approx. 6 to 8 decibels. 

Kronospan's concern to fund the planting of forest 

belts that are polyfunctional soundproofing, antipollution, 

ameliorative of microclimate, protective of 

the Castle Hill reserves - Lempes and Harman Swamp 

and creating an improved picturesque landscape to 

Stupini neighborhood, is an example of concern for 

air and landscape quality, and of the respect for 

national and international environmental legislation. 

Planting of the 29,000 saplings to create 

environmental protection forest belts, fall within the 

national concerns to stop climate change by reducing 

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, since the three 

acres of forest will sequester over time approx. 15 

tons of CO 2 each year. 

For the personnel of Kronospan the effect of forest 

belts on the microclimate in the factory premises will 

be beneficial by diminishing winds and climate 

extremes, by the beneficent shade in hot days and, 

especially, the enlivenment of landscape with intense 

black pine green with dog rose flowers (wildrose) and 

hawthorn etc. 

98


Bibliography 

Bolea V., Chira D., în colab. cu: Bujilă M., Iacoban C., 

Gamenţ E., Op’t Eyndt T., Gancz V., Popa M., 

Mantale C., 2005: The atlas of pollution in Braşov. Ed. 

Silvodel, Braşov. 

Bolea V., Chira D., în colab. cu: Bujilă M., Chira F., 

Vasile D., Merce, O., Lucaci D., Ionescu M., Iacoban 

C. Gamenţ E., Mantale C., 2008: Pollution indicator 

flora. Forestry Publishing House, Bucharest 

Bolea V., Chira D., în colab. cu: Chira F., Vasile D., 

Ionescu M., Lucaci D., Iacoban C., Mantale C., 

Budeanu M., Pepelea D., Cojan C., Ieremia C., Fabian 

S., 2009: Monitoring pollution through bioindicators. Ed. 

Cybela, Baia Mare 

Chiriţă C.D., Păunescu C., Traci D., 1967: Soils of 

Romania. Agro-Forestry Publishing House, Bucharest. 

Marcu M., 1981: Climate. In Brasov, Monography. Ed 

Sports - Tourism, Bucharest. 

Marcu M., 2004: Climate of Brasov - topoclimates and 

microclimates. Forestry and Hunting magazine, no. 19 to 

20. 

Maruşca T., 2008: Reconstruction of degraded pastures. 

Edit. Transylvania University, Brasov. 

Miulescu I., Tăbăcaru I., 1963: Improvement of degraded 

lands and correction of torrents. Agro-Forestry 

Publishing House, Bucharest. 

Moraru I., Ularu P., Ciochia V., 1971: What to protect in 

the nature of Brasov County 

Popescu E.N., 1993: Behavior of the main species of trees 

in the erosion protection forest belts network compared to 

the stationary conditions and type of crop. PhD thesis. 

ASAS Bucharest, Department of Forestry. 

Stănescu V., Şofletea Gh., Popescu O., 1997: Woody 

flora of Romania. Ceres Publishing House, Bucharest. 

Târziu D., Spârchez Gh., Dincă L., 2002: The soils Of 

Romania. Ed For life, Brasov. 

***, 1981: Braşov, Monography. Ed. Sports - Tourism, 

Bucharest. 

***, 1995: Technical Guidelines for mapping and 

afforestation of degraded lands. Ministry of Waters, 

Forests and Environmental Protection, 1995. 

***, 2000: Technical norms on the composition, scheme, 

and technology of forest regeneration and afforestation of 

degraded lands. Vol 1. Ministry of Waters, Forests and 

Environmental Protection, Ed Inter-Print, Bacau. 

***, 2002: Law no. 289/2002 on the protection forest belts. 

Official Gazette, Part I, no. 338/21 May 2002. 

Abstract 

The protection forest belts installed on the northern and western edge of SC Kronospan Brasov have a multifunctional role: 

to fixate the wave of land, 8 m high, 24.75 m wide and 1050.6 m long; to reduce noise by 6 - 8 decibels, giving the 

sensation of decreased noise by 30-40%; to retain the particulate matter (PM 10) and noxious gases from the air; to beautify 

the landscape of the Stupini neighborhood, contributing to the city's image; to care for the "Castle Hill - Lempes", "Harman 

Swamp", "Prejmer forest and eutrophic swamps," protected areas located relatively close to Kronospan plant; to reduce the 

CO2 content of the air; to refresh air with oxygen; to stop waves of land degradation by erosion and grazing. 

Under the conditions of land stripped for the building of the factory, consisting of a mosaic mixture of different horizons of 

levigated chernozems and Rendzina soils, characterized by 4.6 to 8.2 g / kg carbonate; pH 7.8 to 8.1 , loamy texture, with 

1.6 to 4.6% sand, 71-83% loam and 14.4 to 28.8 clay with variable skeleton content, up to 25-30% was planted in March 

2010: 30% Pi. n 12% pa. m Fr. Ul Gl. 31% SL. Mj. 27% Pd. Mk. L.c. by the scheme of 10,000 seedlings / ha. 

On the sunny slopes of 45 degrees. were planted black pine, flowering ash and hawthorn. Landslides and fractures were 

fixed by oleaster and the outskirts were consolidated by honey locust. 

Keywords: forest belts, degradation, erosion, soil, planted. 


99

EXCEPTIONALLY TREES SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Hierarchy of exceptional elm specimens in Romania 

Abstract 


Data taken from the literature are not recent except the elm forest from Capeni and require verification of 

species determinations updating of biometric measurements and photos, and completion of descriptions. Only in 

this way may be included under 'EXCEPTIONAL TREE NATIONAL ALBUM’ and ‚THE GOLDEN BOOK 

OF EXCEPTIONAL TREES IN ROMANIA’ 

Keywords: three hierarchy. 


Photo 1.Giant elm in Calafat cit 

(foto dr. Cristian Stoiculescu) 

Photo. 2.Large root-swelling for a better stability of Ulmus laevis in 

wet sites.This adaptation occurred in many generation 

and become hereditary features for dry sites, too 

100


(după Andreas Rolof, 2004) 

101


White elm (Ulmus laevis Pall.) from Căpeni 

Abstract 

Diana Vasile, Cătălin Cojanu, Katalin Péter 

The typical habitat of the white elm is riparian 

decidous forest, where it can tolerate prolonged 

flooding for longer periods and lower temperaturs 

than the field elm (U. minor Mill), with wich it is 

often associated and often confused.. It prefers 

altitudes of less than 300 m therefore it is not found 

on mountain sites. 

Individual trees rarely live longer then 200 years, but 

some trees have been recorded as old as 300 – like 

Căpeni elm. 

This tree has 2,35 m diameter and 32 m height, and it 

was declared in 2011, 29 November, „The king of 

elms”.Giant white elm will be declared natural 

monument and will be registered in National Register 

of Exceptional Trees and in Gold Book of Exceptional 

Trees from Romanian Forests. 

Keywords: white elm, tree, forest, natural 

monument. 

Ulmul din Căpeni 

Photo. 1. Covasna county map – Baraolt city 

Photo 2. White elm on the river side 

Photo 3. White elm with 2,35 m diameter 

Photo 4. The height of white elm is 32 m 

102


Photo 5. The three branches of the white elm 

(Photo Péter K.) 

Photo6. Wooden boards near white elm 

(Photo Péter K.) 

103

CONSERVATION OF FOREST 

BIODIVERSITY 

SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW 

XVII/30/2012 

The study of abundance, as an indicator of species diversity 

Abstract 

Aliona Sava 

There were studied two types of trees: pure beech, 

respectively mixed beech and coniferous (fir, spruce, 

pine, larch) that were considered middle-aged stands 

(40-70 years) and old (95 - 150 years ). There were 

analyzed 24 experimental couples, each comprising two 

variants: one blank and one covered with works such as 

thinning or progressive cutting. 

When analyzing pairs of variables covered by the two 

types of works, thinning and progressive cutting can be 

observed an increasing trend of the variation coefficient 

with increasing number of species, especially for 

variants covered with progressive cuts, where the 

number of identified species is higher. 

Both abundance coefficient values and the degree of 

correlation, within the thinning is less than the stands 

covered by progressive cutting, thanks to the fact that 

trees removed in smaller numbers, do not allow the 

development of a large number of herbaceous or shrub 

species, whereas the light that penetrates to the soil is 

limited by the openness of the canopy, the seedlings 

playing an important role. 

Both the for mesh opening cuttings as well as the ones 

of their widening, the soil, herbaceous stratum, seedling 

and shrub layer are affected, so that the number of 

species that are installed varies. 

Keywords: relative abundance, abundance ratio, species 

diversity, stands. 

Fig. 1 The relationship between the variation coefficient 

abundance s%a and the number of species, for the control 

pure, young beech stands 

Fig. 2. The relationship between the variation coefficient 

abundance s%a and the number of species, for the covered 

pure, young beech stands 

Fig. 3. The relationship between the variation coefficient of 


pure, old beech stands 



pure, old beech stands 

104

CONSERVATION OF FOREST 

BIODIVERSITY 

SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW 

XVII/30/2012 



mixed, young stands 



mixed, young stands 



mixed, old, stands 

Fig.8. The relationship between the variation coefficient of 


mixed, old, stands 


105

NATURAL REGENERATION SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Natural seed regeneration ability of mixed hardwood stands with sessile 

oak and Turkey oak in the Dognecea Massif 

Abstract 


The research made in Dognecei Mountains in mix oak 

forest with Sessile oak and Turkey oak, established 

that in the open gaps from regenerating stands are 

2.40 to 5.80 seedlings/m 2 . The seedlings are from 

characteristic species for mix oak forests: Sessile oak, 

Turkey oak, lime, as other species. It appears, 

therefore, that the regeneration preserved typical 

composition of the stand, even if the share of species 

is different. 

In some cases, the Turkey oak seedlings, low-value 

timber species, are much more numerous than those of 

Sessile oak, high-value timber species. From the 

economic point of view it is necessary to increase the 

proportion of Sessile oak and to reduce the proportion 

of Turkey oak, which can be achieved through a 

careful management of young stands. 

Frequency indicator shows that seedlings of all 

species are distributed over the entire surface of the 

mesh. 

Seedlings of the characteristic species for this mix oak 

forest can occupy between 25-89% of the surface. 

sKeywords: sessile oak, turkey oak, natural 

regeneration, Dognecea Massif. 

Tranlated by:: Roxana Gabriela Munteanu 

106

NATURAL REGENERATION SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Considerations on sessile oak regeneration potential in mixed hardwood 

stand with sessile oak and Turkey oak in Dognecea Massif 

Abstract 


Prior research on natural regeneration capacity of 

sessile oak and Turkey oak mixed hardwood stands in 

Dognecea Mountains show that, unlike other regions 

of the country, regeneration is achieved best in Banat. 

This is due to abundant rainfall, its distribution in the 

growing season that is more favorable to formation 

and development of seedlings, rich and beneficial 

experience of forestry staff in the area etc. It appears 

that the main species: sessile oak, Turkey oak, 

Hungarian oak, regenerate profusely and ensure their 

presence throughout the area in the future stand. It 

appears, however, that sessile oak, the most valuable 

species in the mixed hardwood stand, has a lower 

proportion in the number of seedlings in the gaps as 

well as the stand surrounding the gaps. Instead 

Hungarian oak and Turkey oak have a higher 

proportion. Sessile oak seedlings are still in sufficient 

numbers and with a good distribution on the surface 

so that through management works can be achieved 

the necessary increase of the participation of sessile 

oak in the aimed composition. It is found that the 

proportion of valuable mixture species (ash, maple) as 

well as culture mixing species (linden and hornbeam) 

is too small. There are necessary additions with these 

species. In the regeneration are missing other valuable 

species (cherry, mountain ash) to be introduced 

through planting. 

Keywords: regeneration potential, sessile oak, mixed 

hardwood stand, Dognecea Massif. 


107

FOREST ROADS SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETIC REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Fresh look at the enhancement of forests 

Part III: Inland transport prerequisite for enhancement of forests 

Abstract 

Petre Bradosche 

The study reveals the constant gap between EU policy 

and programs and their implementation in Romania. 

Among others, two aspects are, particularly striking: 

incomplete perception of the sustainable forest 

management, reflected in the abandonment of private 

forests (which are completely ignored by any concerns) 

and the State Administration inability to create, before 

accession, the necessary structures to benefit from the 

measures to develop rural economy and forestry 

provided by the EU after accession. 

SAPARD funds granted before 2007, for the formation 

of these structures were diverted or wasted and now 

Romania is not ready to provide the necessary 

. 

documentation and as a result, most of the funds 

(grants) allocated through the EAFRD are lost. 

Private forest management is not encouraged and the 

possibility of association of private owners in order to 

find ways to improve their forests management is not 

legislated and is therefore removed. 

Rules for drafting management plans are not adopted for 

sustainable management, as well as the ones for 

construction of collection roads, which remained at the 

level of the 1960’s. 

In the third part is presented the importance of 

collecting paths to achieve sustainable management and 

how to access granted EU funds. 

Keywords: forest roads, EU fonds, management. 

Fig. 2 Trunk road built for an three owners association 

Fig. 1. Track for the tractor at Lurcy 

108


Fig. 4. Intermediary charge storage 

Fig. 3. Secondary forest road at Lurcy 

Fig. 5. Surfaces of return with intermediary storage 


109


Summary equipped roads – viable alternative to forest accessibility 

Abstract 

Adrian Horia Enescu 

In this article, it’s a briefly description of the concept 

"summary arranged road" given the need to achieve full 

accessibility of the forest fund. This new category of 

forest road, is a viable alternative to reduce the 

economic effort involved in expanding the current 

network of forest with new roads, also have been 

presented the proposed consolidation options and their 

economic efficiency. 

Keywords: road, forest, forest fund. 

110

BY-PRODUCTS SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Harvesting the truffles 

Abstract 

Maria Dincă, Lucian Dincă 

Harvesting the truffles can imply some methods that are 

less precisely or even empirical, such as: barefoot, 

observing the cracks from the soil, beating it and 

analyzing the obtained sound, with the help of the 

olfactory sense or the “electronic nose”, by observing 

the flight of some insects etc, but also through more 

exact and correct measures from an ecological point of 

view: by using pigs (even though they immediately eat 

the truffles) and, especially, with the help of specially 

trained dogs. This article will present the usable dog 

species, their work method, the harvesting ethic and its 

optimal periods. 

The annual truffle production is of approximately 140 

tons for Tuber aestivum/uncinatum and 30 tons for 

Tuber melanosporum. 

The truffles price ranges based on the type of species, 

the highest prices being for Tuber magnatum (1000- 

3000 Euro/kg) and Tuber melanosporum (300-600 

Euro/kg). 

Keywords: Truffles, Tuber melanosporum, Tuber 

aestivum, Tuber magnatum, harvesting, trained dogs, 

prices. 

Fig. 1. Suillia gigantea - presence index of mature truffle 

(Sursa: grossestruffes.com) 

111


Fig.2. Picking truffles with pig, yesterday and today 

() 

Fig. 3. Harvesting truffles with dogs (sursa www....) 

Fig.4. Production of blak truffle and whinter truffle of 1902-2001 

112


Fig.5. White truffle – 1,5 kg, record of 2007 Fig.6. White truffle of 900 g, record in 2010 

(sursa www.telegraph.co.uk) 

(sursa: wwww. italosearch.com/tag/piedmont) 

113

WILD LIFE SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Fallow deer in lower Mureş floodplain forests 

Abstract 

The only Mures river valley forests populated with 

fallow deer are west of Arad. Species colonization 

was achieved in 1963, when they brought 8 specimens 

(2 male and 6 hinds) from the park Şarlota (Timiş 

County). They were originally kept in an enclosure, 

and then, shortly have been released. If the first 

decade after colonization, fallow deer remained in the 

forests Bezdin and Rata-Vaida (initially on the 

Secusigiu-Mailat hunting fund, then falling under the 

Sânpetru German fund), then increasing the number, 

Sorin Geacu, Adrian Rener 

the species habitat extends north of Mures where in 

the forest Gheduş (Gheduş-Remeteag) appear the first 

specimens in 1972. In the spring of 2012 there were 

138 specimens, most of them (114) in forests Bezdin 

and Rata-Vaida and only 24 in the forest Gheduş. The 

first specimens were collected in 1977, and the most 

valuable trophy (195.59 CIC points) belonged to a 

bull hunted on Oct. 15, 2006. 

Keywords: fallow deer, Mureş valley, Arad County, 

Romania. 

Fig. 1. Fallow deer in agricultural land nearby 

Bezdin-Raţa Vaida forest 

Fig. 2. Female affected by albinism and melanism in 

Sânpetru-Gheduş hunting territory 

Fig. 3. 170 CIC points trophy of 1988. 

114

WILD LIFE SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Fig. 4. 141 CIC points trophy of 2010. 

Fig. 5. Trophies of 156.9 (left) and 134.4 (wright) CIC 

points. 

Tranlated by: Roxana Gabriela Munteanu

LEGISLATION SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Cooperation or confrontation 

Abstract 

Aurel Teuşan 

Forest owners in Germany, faced with eating of stems 

and buds caused by deer in winter, were forced to 

resort to protection of natural regeneration of fir. 

Fences have failed, given the mountainous region rich 

in snow. Instead, individual protection with a repellent 

that is applied during fall and is weatherproof and 

resistant to hungry cervids until spring, proved to be a 

practical solution. 

Keywords: Legislation in Germany, individual 

protection, repellent, cervides, natural regeneration. 

Fig.1. Individual protection with a repellent 

(Foto: A.Teuşan) 

. 

Fig. 2. Advantage of extended handle ( Foto: I. Teusan) 

(Foto: St.M. Teuşan) 

Fig. 3. Procedure recommended from reduced surfaces 

and easily accessible lands (Foto: St.M. Teuşan 

116

LEGISLATION SILVICULTURE AND CINEGETICS REVIEW XVII/30/2012 

Fig. 4. The most recommendable solution 

(Foto: I. Teusan) 

Forest owners in Germany, faced with eating of stems and buds caused by deer in winter, were forced to resort to 

protection of natural regeneration of fir. Fences have failed, given the mountainous region rich in snow. Instead, individual 

protection with a repellent that is applied during fall and is weatherproof and resistant to hungry cervids until spring, 

proved to be a practical solution. 

Keywords: Legislation in Germany, individual protection, repellent, cervides, natural regeneration.

Silviculture and Cinegetics Review - Societatea Progresul Silvic

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