Geography-Geological Department of the Tbilisi State University

Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of geography of Georgian Academy of Sciences

 

 

THE INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE

 

NATURAL POTENTIAL OF THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRITORIES: SITUATION, PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS

 

Internet/E-mail discussion 25.05 – 25.07.2003

 

 

THE PROTECTION OF THE FOREST HERITAGE IN THE ROMANIAN

WESTERN CARPATHIANS

Ioana Tănăsescu*, Holonec Liviu**

* - University of Agricultural Sciences Cluj-Napoca, Romania, ioana_tan[email protected],

** - Forest Administration of Cluj County, Cluj-Napoca, [email protected],

 

 

            In the course of their existence the trees were born, lived, died and have been used for many purposes. The numerous enemies of the woody species made that in many situations, they totally disappear. From simple organisms, bacteria, algae, fungus, mosses, to insects, terrestrial and marine animals, to fire and finally the man, contributed substantially to the irreversible destruction of some trees species and wood structures.

            The forest species from the mountain zone, represent today more then ever a national and natural heritage that must be researched, inventoried and renewed through the common effort of the civil society the specialized national and international organisms and local could benefit of a diversified natural fond.

            The Cluj county covers a 6665 km² surface and it’s placed into the center of Transylvania, in the western part of Romania.

            In an assembly view it includes in the largest proportion mountains and hills as relief forms, the plain being replaced by the large alluvial plains of Somes and Aries rivers.

            Through its position the Cluj county is placed into the sector with moderate continental climate the relief by its aspect and altitude creating climate differences between the mountain and hill regions and a vertical separation of the main climate elements.

            Into the mountain the cold humid weather offers optimum conditions for conifer species at altitudes over 1200 m and beech in combination with other broad-leaved, in the rest.         

The par­ti­cularity of the natural environment where the Cluj county is placed is constituted by the prevalence of the hills  (2/3 from the total surface) and mountains in the rest (aprox.1/3 from the total surface).

            The West Mountains of the Cluj County, essential part of the Western Carpathians, are characterized by their isle position, surrounded a long time by the tertiary seas.

            From the petrography point of view, the Western Carpathians present a great complexity. The most important weight has the crystalline schist with a huge granite zone into the central axis, known as the Great Mountain.

    Under the aspect of vegetation there are differentiated:

a). The sub mountain floor – formed above the height of 1550 m, with a very un-regular out line, in function of the fragmentation particularities and the exposure of the relief. The characterized by herbs, gross bushes associated with groups of gross land.

b). The forest floor includes:

-         The resinous sub-floor, characterized by fir and pine forests that imprints the specific atmosphere and develops overall 1000 m zones. Prevails PICEA EXCELSA mixture with ABIES ALBA, or some times FAGUS SILVATICA.

-         The Beech’s sub-floor has a superior limit 1000 m altitude and it is characterized by mixed forests of FAGUS SILVATICA with PICEA EXCELSA arrange in forest groups in alternation.

Excepting the species we already mentioned there appear: ULMUS MONTANA, ACER PSEUDOPLATANUS FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR, CARPRIXLUS BETULUS and some time TILIA CORDATA.

-     The oak’s sub/floor is sometimes overlied to the hill’s zone with the superior altitude limit of 500-600 m

            The natural forests are composed of: QUERCUS SESSILIFLORA, QUERCUS ROBUR, in mixture with CARPINUS BETULUS, ULMUS, CAMPESTRIS, and FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR etc.

            Because of the scientific value and the landscape beauty across the territory of Cluj county there are delimited several natural reservations.

            From the total afforest surfaces 35% represents resinous, 24% beech, 16% oak and 25% other essences.

            After 1989 a great part of the mountain zone of Cluj County suffered significant changes, due to the changing of the land owners together with severe attacks of different injury agents that are propagating as a result of the lack of general treatments.

            The excessive cuts also contributed to the appearance of the soil erosion phenomenon and to the maintenance of the favorable conditions for multiplying the destruction agents.

           A continuous afforestations program took place since 1997 under the Forest Administration of Cluj County control. This program assures the balance between the volumes of wood harvested by the local industry and the private owners and the afforestations. (Table 1,2,3).

            The wood protection techniques is closely related to its endurance, its resistance in time to the actions of physical, chemical and biological destruction. Also, being combustible the wood can be destroyed by burning.

            The preoccupations regarding the wood protection are very old, being mentioned in Rigveda (aprox.3000 b.Chr.) and in Confucius (551-479b.Chr.). There are mentioned indications for the trees cutting into the writings of Hesiod (aprox.800 b.Chr) and there also it is described the protection effect offered by the smoke chimneys.

Table 1

The repartition on species of the wood volume harvested (in thousand m³)

                                               

Table 2

Surfaces for regeneration (ha)

 

 

 Table 3

Number of baby trees for annual regeneration

(thousands of pieces)

 

            Andrea Palladio into “ the First Book of Architecture” quotes Vitruvius Pollio (from the beginning of our era): “The wood must be cut in late autumn and during the winter time, because then the trees are regaining the strength that they loose during the spring and summer by growing, leafs and fruits.

            Also, the trees must be cut when the moon is in decline, because the humidity that has a strong destruction power is less active during that period. This way the wood will be covered against insects.

            The tree will be cut only to the middle of its trunck, leaving them to dry out on their position (standing), to let the whole sap drip off.

            Once cut, the frees will be placed into a protected place against sunrays, wind and rains.

            From XVI century are dated the first tests of protection against termites, and in 1823 the British chemist I.H. Kyan realized the scientific basis of the wood protection techniques, Known under the name of kyanization.

            The natural endurance of the wood, as it is attested by the historical documents and by the popular tradition of most of the countries from the temperate zone, is influenced by the period when the trees were cut down.

            The wood endurance is also conditioned by the degrading factor’s actions that occur independently or in different combination during the exploitation period.

· Bacteria represent a biological factor that causes the wood destruction even from the alive tress. Its decay is emphasized in the harvesting phase, transport and store, and may continue after its use in constructions, artistic components or other products. The highest decomposition speed has the cellulose, provoked by both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.

 · Green algae appears in the some favorable conditions of moisture as the bacteria and by their presence they keep the humidity level high, favoring the fungus erection.

· The fungus, through their hyphas pass through one wooden vessel to another by points but they can also get through directly trough the cellular walls, with the help of the enzymes segregated by the peaks of the hyphas that dissolves the wooden substance.

            The fungus attack upon the alive wood can be easily identified by identification of the decays:

-         chromatic decay (in combination with bacteria attack) 

-         resinous rot blue

-         brown spot oak

-         brown heart of the beech

The over cook of broad-leaved

            The forest trees are frequently attacked by fungus as: the beech’s fungus; the resinous species, etc.

· The insects, in a great variety use wood as a trophical basis and as a place for developing their life cycle.

            The laying, spreading, the intensity of the attack and their development duration is conditioned by limiting factors as:

-         the temperature and humidity of the air in a wood

-         the nutrition value of the wood

-         the presence or absence of the funguses or the rot produced by them

The most damaging wood insects are part of the families:

COLEOPTERA, LEPIDOPTERA, HYMENOPTERA; and their attacks are oriented both against  the living trees (standing) and against the processed wood, stored and built up.

             Its economical special value imposed more and more, the appliance of some protection measures of the forest species, exploited for special industrial branches, but as well for those endangered by disappearing of the optimum natural environment.

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

                       

1. P. Suciu  The wood, structure, properties, technology, Bucharest: Ed.CERES, 1985, 331p.

2. D.Marusciac Modern wood constructions, Bucharest: Technical Ed., 1986, 360 p.

 

 

 

ОХРАНА ЛЕСНОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА РУМЫНСКОГО СЕКТОРА

ЗАПАДНЫХ КАРПАТ

 

И.Тэнэсеску*, Х.Ливиу**

 

*  - Университет с/х и ветеринарии г.Клуж-Нарока, Румыния, ioana_tanasescu@yahoo.com

** - Управление лесного хозяйства г.Клуж-Нарока, Румыния, , dscj@silvacluj.ro,

 

 

Горные леса представляют собой сегодня, в еще большей степени, чем когда-либо ранее то общественное достояние, которое необходимо исследовать, беречь и обновлять общими усилиями всех цивилизованных сообществ. Этому должны со­дей­ствовать как специальные службы и организации, так и местная администрация.

Объектом наших исследований является Клужский уезд Румынии, занимаю­щий центральную часть Тран­силь­вании. Площадь региона составляет 6665 км². Уезд расположен в горных и предгорных районах, а низменность представлена здесь узкой полосой пойм и лугов долин р.р.Сомеш и Ариеш. Для Клужа характерен умеренно континентальный климат, который осложняется особен­ностями рельефа. Холодный и влажный климат благоприятен для развития хвойных лесов, являющихся основным богатством региона.

Для изучаемой территории характерны следующие вертикальные ландшафт­ные пояса:

а) субальпийский пояс, расположенный выше 1500м над у.м. и  имеющий фрагментарный характер. Здесь развиты субальпийские луга и кустарники;

б) гипсометрически ниже располагается лесной пояс представленный тремя подразделами

б.1. зона хвойных лесов (1000-1500м над у.м.)  - Picer excelsa и Abies Albh.

б.2. зона буковых лесов (500-1000м над у.м.) – Fagus Silvatica, реже -   Ulmus Montana, Acer Psevdoplatanus, Fraxinus Excelsior, Caprinus Betvlus и Tilia Cordata,

б.3. зона дубовых лесов (200-600м над у.м.) –  Quercus Sessiliflora,   Quer­cus Robur, Caprinus Betvlus, Ulmus Campestris и др.

Из общей площади лесов 35% занимают хвойные породы, 24% – буковые леса, 16% - дубовые и 25% - другие породы.

После 1989г большая часть природной среды региона подверглась значи­тельным переменам, как вследствие смены владельцев лесных участков, так и от нападений  вредителей, которые в результате отсутствия специальной обработки нанесли лесам огромный урон. Чрезмерная вырубка лесов привела к эрозии почвы и активизации склоновых процессов.

Приводится анализ отрицательного влияния на лесные массивы Клужского уезда различных видов бактерий, зеленых водорослей, грибов и т.д.

Отмечено, что основными вредителями фитоценозов данной территории являются представители  семейств Coleoptera, Lepidoptera и Hymenoptera, которые нападают как на живые деревья, так и обработанную и складированную древесину.

Особое экономическое значение и высокая цена  леса требуют значительных мер по его защите.