Land degradation: Addressing the vulnerability of local people through the lens of transformative change.

Land degradation (LD) is driven by many factors resulting from the intricate interplay between natural and socio-economic systems, which adds dynamism and complexity to this phenomenon. The study highlights LD as a source of social vulnerability in the Baragan Plain (Romania), often called the "granary of Europe" due to its century-long history of industrial crop production. We explore the community's perceptions of vulnerability due to LD and the community-based solutions to sustainable transformations through governance using a community-based causal-effect analysis (CBCEA).

Morphological, physiological and biochemical aspects of salt tolerance of halophyte grown in natural habitat.

Salt tolerance mechanisms of halophyte growing in its natural habitat in Cluj County, Romania, were investigated biomass, growth parameters, water status, ion content, photosynthetic and antioxidative system efficiency, proline accumulation and lipid degradation. Two sampling sites with different soil electrical conductivities were selected: site 1: 3.14 dS m and site 2: 4.

Abundance of large old trees in wood-pastures of Transylvania (Romania).

Wood-pastures are special types of agroforestry systems that integrate trees with livestock grazing. Wood pastures can be hotspots for large old tree abundance and have exceptional natural values; but they are declining all over Europe. While presence of large old trees in wood-pastures can provide arguments for their maintenance, actual data on their distribution and abundance are sparse.

Environmental determinants of the old oaks in wood-pastures from a changing traditional social-ecological system of Romania.

Large, old trees are keystone ecological structures, their decline having disproportional ecological consequences. There is virtually no information available regarding the status and occurrence of old trees in traditional cultural landscapes from Eastern Europe. In this study, we explore the environmental determinants of the old oaks found in wood-pastures from a changing traditional rural landscape from Central Romania.