Heavy Metal Content in PolyfloralHoney and Potential Health Risk. A Case Study of Copșa Mică, Romania.

Honey is both a complex food and medicine as well as a healthy alternative to refined sugar. Besides a complex mixture of carbohydrates, honey contains other minor substances which may threaten human health in excess concentrations. Several environmental conditions can affect the quality of honey.

Genome-wide profiles indicate wolf population connectivity within the eastern Carpathian Mountains.

The Carpathian Mountains provide critical wildlife habitat in central Europe, and previous genome-wide studies have found western Carpathian Mountain wolves (Canis lupus) to be a separate population. Whereas differentiation to the north may be explained by a lowland-mountain transition and habitat fragmentation, the eastern Carpathian Mountains extending through Romania appear to offer continuous wildlife habitat southward. Our objective was to assess gene flow patterns and population connectivity among wolves in Romania, western Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova.

Ten principles to integrate the water-energy-land nexus with climate services for co-producing local and regional integrated assessments.

The water-energy-land nexus requires long-sighted approaches that help avoid maladaptive pathways to ensure its promise to deliver insights and tools that improve policy-making. Climate services can form the foundation to avoid myopia in nexus studies by providing information about how climate change will alter the balance of nexus resources and the nature of their interactions. Nexus studies can help climate services by providing information about the implications of climate-informed decisions for other economic sectors across nexus resources.

Species discrimination and individual tree detection for predicting main dendrometric characteristics in mixed temperate forests by use of airborne laser scanning and ultra-high-resolution imagery.

This study aims to investigate the combined use of two types of remote sensing data - ALS derived and digital aerial photogrammetry data (based on imagery collected by airborne UAV sensors) - along with intensive field measurements for extracting and predicting tree and stand parameters in even-aged mixed forests. The study is located in South West Romania and analyzes data collected from mixed-species plots. The main tree species within each plot are Norway spruce (Picea abies L.

Climate change effects on tree growth from Romanian forest monitoring Level II plots.

Forest health status is negatively influenced by climate change, air pollution and other disturbances. Extreme droughts reduce stand productivity, increase vulnerability to pests, and can even provoke mortality. Growth dynamics at tree and forest stand levels are considered the main indicators of stability and productivity in forest ecosystem structures.

Synthetic aperture radar sensitivity to forest changes: A simulations-based study for the Romanian forests.

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances pose a significant threat to forest condition. Continuous, reliable and accurate forest monitoring systems are needed to provide early warning of potential declines in forest condition. To address that need, state-of-the-art simulations models were used to evaluate the utility of C-, L- and P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors within an integrated Earth-Observation monitoring system for beech, oak and coniferous forests in Romania.

Testing three climate datasets for dendroclimatological studies of oaks in the South Carpathians.

Three gridded datasets containing interpolated daily and monthly precipitation and temperature values over the past five decades were tested against four tree-ring chronologies of oak (Quercus robur and Q. petraea). The objective of this research was to investigate the climate-growth relationship and whether the Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients differ significantly if mean monthly precipitation and temperature data from the different climate databases, CRU, E-OBS and ROCADA are used.

Radial growth-based assessment of sites effects on pedunculate and greyish oak in southern Romania.

This study focuses on the climate growth drivers of Quercus robur L. (pedunculate oak) and Q. robur subsp.

Estimating forest stand structure attributes from terrestrial laser scans.

Forest stands are often parameterized by vegetation indices such as the Leaf Area Index (LAI). However, other indices (i.e.

Inferring fine-scale spatial structure of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in the Carpathians prior to infrastructure development.

Landscape genetics is increasingly being used in landscape planning for biodiversity conservation by assessing habitat connectivity and identifying landscape barriers, using intraspecific genetic data and quantification of landscape heterogeneity to statistically test the link between genetic variation and landscape variability. In this study we used genetic data to understand how landscape features and environmental factors influence demographic connectedness in Europe's largest brown bear population and to assist in mitigating planned infrastructure development in Romania. Model-based clustering inferred one large and continuous bear population across the Carpathians suggesting that suitable bear habitat has not become sufficiently fragmented to restrict movement of individuals.

Forest vulnerability to extreme climatic events in Romanian Scots pine forests.

In the last years, large-scale mass forest withering and dieback have been reported for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) across eastern Europe, particularly in Romania. In these regions, the climate models forecast an increase in intensity and frequency of extreme climate events such as drought. Taking into account these aspects, the exact identification of the influences of drought on the loss of radial growth and vitality in Scots pine stands becomes mandatory.

Early-Warning Signals of Individual Tree Mortality Based on Annual Radial Growth.

Tree mortality is a key driver of forest dynamics and its occurrence is projected to increase in the future due to climate change. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms leading to death, we still lack robust indicators of mortality risk that could be applied at the individual tree scale. Here, we build on a previous contribution exploring the differences in growth level between trees that died and survived a given mortality event to assess whether changes in temporal autocorrelation, variance, and synchrony in time-series of annual radial growth data can be used as early warning signals of mortality risk.

Cross-talk between physiological and biochemical adjustments by Punica granatum cv. Dente di cavallo mitigates the effects of salinity and ozone stress.

Plants are exposed to a broad range of environmental stresses, such as salinity and ozone (O), and survive due to their ability to adjust their metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological and biochemical adjustments adopted by pomegranate (Punica granatum L. cv.

Dynamic associations between Ips sexdentatus (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) and its phoretic mites in a Pinus pinaster forest in northwest Spain.

The relationship between the pine bark beetle Ips sexdentatus and its phoretic mites in a Pinus pinaster forest in northwest Spain was studied during 2014. Four species of mites were collected, three of them from the body of the beetle-Histiostoma ovalis, Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus and Trichouropoda polytricha-the fourth, Cercoleipus coelonotus, was collected from the sediments. The main aims of this study were to explore (1) mite diversity and related parameters, (2) the location on the body of the (male and female) beetle, as well as mite assemblages, and (3) the seasonal dynamic association between mite species and the beetle.

What is socio-ecological research delivering? A literature survey across 25 international LTSER platforms.

With an overarching goal of addressing global and regional sustainability challenges, Long Term Socio-Ecological Research Platforms (LTSER) aim to conduct place-based research, to collect and synthesize both environmental and socio-economic data, and to involve a broader stakeholder pool to set the research agenda. To date there have been few studies examining the output from LTSER platforms. In this study we enquire if the socio-ecological research from 25 self-selected LTSER platforms of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network has produced research products which fulfil the aims and ambitions of the paradigm shift from ecological to socio-ecological research envisaged at the turn of the century.

Leaf morphological variability and intraspecific taxonomic units for pedunculate oak and grayish oak (genus Quercus L., series Pedunculatae Schwz.) in Southern Carpathian Region (Romania).

Even though pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and grayish oak (Quercus pedunculiflora K. Koch) have different ecological requirements, they have been considered as having low differentiation at the level of morphological traits and genetic variation.

Climate response of oak (Quercus spp.), an evidence of a bioclimatic boundary induced by the Carpathians.

Tree-ring information and climate response data were applied to investigate the potential of the Carpathian Mountains to influence tree-growth patterns. Recent studies reveal the importance of constructing a dense spatial network of oak tree-ring chronologies in this area, which may be the key to linking the North Central European and East Mediterranean tree records. We establish sixteen oak (Quercus robur L.

Unique postglacial evolution of the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) in the Carpathians and the Balkan Peninsula revealed by chloroplast DNA.

The Balkan Peninsula is one of the largest and most important European glacial refugia. However, the evolutionary history and phylogeographic pattern of temperate tree species that survived in the Balkans glacial refugia and their contribution to the genetic structure of the current population in the Carpathian Mountains remains poorly understood. Using polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and extensive population sampling, we explored the phylogeographic pattern of Carpinus betulus in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Carpathian region.

Towards complete and harmonized assessment of soil carbon stocks and balance in forests: The ability of the Yasso07 model across a wide gradient of climatic and forest conditions in Europe.

Accurate carbon-balance accounting in forest soils is necessary for the development of climate change policy. However, changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) occur slowly and these changes may not be captured through repeated soil inventories. Simulation models may be used as alternatives to SOC measurement.

Stand structure, recruitment and growth dynamics in mixed subalpine spruce and Swiss stone pine forests in the Eastern Carpathians.

Natural subalpine forests are considered to be sensitive to climate change, and forest characteristics are assumed to reflect the prevalent disturbance regime. We hypothesize that stand history determines different stand structures. Based on large full inventory datasets (including tree biometric data, spatial coordinates, tree age, and basal area increment) we assessed the size structure, tree recruitment dynamics and radial growth patterns in three permanent plots along an altitudinal gradient in a mixed coniferous forest (Picea abies and Pinus cembra) in the Eastern Carpathians.

Ozone exposure affects tree defoliation in a continental climate.

Ground-level ozone (O) affects trees through visible leaf injury, accelerating leaf senescence, declining foliar chlorophyll content, photosynthetic activity, growth, carbon sequestration, predisposing to pests attack and a variety of other physiological effects. Tree crown defoliation is one of the most important parameters that is representative of forest health and vitality. Effects of air pollution on forests have been investigated through manipulative experiments that are not representative of the real environmental conditions observed in the field.

How Does the Amount and Composition of PM Deposited on Platanus acerifolia Leaves Change Across Different Cities in Europe?

Particulate matter (PM) deposited on Platanus acerifolia tree leaves has been sampled in the urban areas of 28 European cities, over 20 countries, with the aim of testing leaf deposited particles as indicator of atmospheric PM concentration and composition. Leaves have been collected close to streets characterized by heavy traffic and within urban parks. Leaf surface density, dimensions, and elemental composition of leaf deposited particles have been compared with leaf magnetic content, and discussed in connection with air quality data.

Occurrence and first molecular characterization of Sarcocystis spp. in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) in Romania: Public health significance of the isolates.

Domestic and wild pigs, as intermediate hosts, can harbor tissue cysts of three Sarcocystis species namely S. miescheriana, S. suihominis and S.