important plant areas in central and eastern europe - hirc.botanic.hr ...

Section 5Methodology summaryCriteria summary: there is a wide range of globally, regionally and nationally threatenedtaxa in Criterion A. Of these, 93 taxa are nationally threatened endemic or limited rangetaxa with no European or global recognition. Ten EUNIS Level 2 habitats were assessedfor botanical richness, including 19 types of unique Romanian habitats, not yetrecognised for their European importance, which could not be assessed under CriterionC. Criterion C also has a wide range of habitats but more of Romania’s threatenedhabitats should be recognised at the European level.Data and fieldwork: at the beginning of the project all available existing data werecollated and potential sites for field investigation selected.Two extensive field seasons onalmost 400 sites were carried out in 2003 and 2004.The majority of the data used forIPA identification were updated in the last two years.Site selection: according to the project methodology, the national selection strategyfocussed on selecting sites of different sizes (from one ha up to 38,000 ha) dependingon the qualifying features and the ecological situation. Sites were selected inside andoutside the existing protected area network. Conservation priority level was also a keyelement in selection.Key issues: lower plants and fungi were fully integrated into the site selection procedure.The lack of up-to-date and centralised information on flora and habitats was a significantproblem at the start of the project. For this reason, the existing data was checked in thefield and the IPA project provided the impetus for the first national database ofthreatened plant and habitat locations. 3,000 leaflets and a guide to the identification ofIPAs in Romania were published, and the ‘Important Plant Areas in Romania’ book will bepublished in 2005.This will ensure that decision makers, scientists, students and thegeneral public will have access to this information.Protection and management of IPAs:Total IPAs with National National protection European InternationalIPAs no legal protection of IPAs (lower level) recognition recognitionprotection of IPAs of IPAs of IPAs(high level)276 66 National Park Natural Park (2 IPAs) IBA (2) Ramsar (3)(49 IPAs)Nature Reserve Geological Biosphere(133 IPAs) Reserve(1 IPA) Reserves(22 IPAs)Nature Monument(3 IPAs)As the most sensitive areas for threatened plant and habitat conservation, all IPAsrequire national protection and special management to ensure their maintenance orrestoration. Consequently the 66 IPAs located outside the existing protected areas inRomania need to become nationally protected. More research is also needed to providethe scientific background for the correct management of sites according to the aims ofin situ conservation. Unique populations of threatened plants such as Andryalalevitomentosa, Astragalus peterfii, Centaurea pontica, Centaurea jankae, Linum pallasianum ssp.borzeanum,andStipa danubialis will shortly disappear without special management,including reintroduction.52