ICP-MS Assessment of Essential and Toxic Trace Elements in Foodstuffs with Different Geographic Origins Available in Romanian Supermarkets.

The present study was conducted to quantify the daily intake and target hazard quotient of four essential elements, namely, chromium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, and four toxic trace elements, mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic. Thirty food items were assigned to five food categories (seeds, leaves, powders, beans, and fruits) and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Factor analysis after principal component extraction revealed common metal patterns in all foodstuffs, and using hierarchical cluster analysis, an association map was created to illustrate their similarity.

Original Contributions to the Chemical Composition, Microbicidal, Virulence-Arresting and Antibiotic-Enhancing Activity of Essential Oils from Four Coniferous Species.

This study aimed to establish the essential oil (EO) composition from young shoots of , , , and harvested from Romania and evaluate their antimicrobial and anti-virulence activity, as well as potential synergies with currently used antibiotics. The samples' EO average content varied between 0.62% and 1.

Genetic signatures of divergent selection in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) are associated with the variation in temperature and precipitation across its distribution range.

High genetic variation and extensive gene flow may help forest trees with adapting to ongoing climate change, yet the genetic bases underlying their adaptive potential remain largely unknown. We investigated range-wide patterns of potentially adaptive genetic variation in 64 populations of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) using 270 SNPs from 139 candidate genes involved either in phenology or in stress responses.

Fine-scale spatial genetic structure across the species range reflects recent colonization of high elevation habitats in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.).

Variation in genetic diversity across species ranges has long been recognized as highly informative for assessing populations' resilience and adaptive potential. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity within populations, referred to as fine-scale spatial genetic structure (FSGS), also carries information about recent demographic changes, yet it has rarely been connected to range scale processes. We studied eight silver fir (Abies alba Mill.

Biotic threats for 23 major non-native tree species in Europe.

For non-native tree species with an origin outside of Europe a detailed compilation of enemy species including the severity of their attack is lacking up to now. We collected information on native and non-native species attacking non-native trees, i.e.

Impact of ground-level ozone on Mediterranean forest ecosystems health.

Given the high ozone concentrations observed in the Mediterranean region during summer, it is crucial to extend our knowledge on the potential ozone impacts on forest health with in situ studies, especially to protect typical endemic forests of the Mediterranean basin. This study is focused on ozone measurements and exposures over the Eastern Adriatic coast and on the calculation of different O metrics, i.e.

GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

In general, the elaboration of the synthesis of water quality in Romania is based on the processing of a large volume of information coming from primary analytical data collected with a constant frequency by the organisms with a specific role in water quality monitoring. This study proposes a novel methodology for multi-criteria analysis aiming to evaluate the degradation state of lake ecosystems. The cornerstone of the newly presented methodology is a geographic information system (GIS) automated tool, involving the assessment of potential degradation sources affecting the watershed that supply the lakes with water.

Evaluation of the quality of lentic ecosystems in Romania by a GIS based WRASTIC model.

Globally, ecosystems are constantly degrading as a result of pressures derived from human activities and climate change. For working towards the restoration of the natural balance, it is necessary to evaluate the deviations induced in the ecosystems, to identify where the changes took place, to know what is their amplitude and to decide where it is possible to get involved. Many aquatic ecosystems are depreciated and their restoration is often difficult.

High-severity wildfires in temperate Australian forests have increased in extent and aggregation in recent decades.

Wildfires have increased in size and frequency in recent decades in many biomes, but have they also become more severe? This question remains under-examined despite fire severity being a critical aspect of fire regimes that indicates fire impacts on ecosystem attributes and associated post-fire recovery. We conducted a retrospective analysis of wildfires larger than 1000 ha in south-eastern Australia to examine the extent and spatial pattern of high-severity burned areas between 1987 and 2017. High-severity maps were generated from Landsat remote sensing imagery.

Disparity of Phoresy in Mesostigmatid Mites upon Their Specific Carrier (Coleoptera: Scolytinae).

Linnaeus, 1758, the most important pest of Norway spruce ( Linnaeus, 1753) from Eurasia has damaged, in the last decades, a large area of forest in Romania. Associations between beetles and their symbiotic fungi are well known compared to beetle-mite relationships. The objectives of the study are to determine: (i) the diversity of mites species associated with in a local outbreak from Central Romania; (ii) the mite's preferences concerning the body parts of their carriers; and (iii) how phoresy changes during seasonal flight activity of the host.

Climate reverses directionality in the richness-abundance relationship across the World's main forest biomes.

More tree species can increase the carbon storage capacity of forests (here referred to as the more species hypothesis) through increased tree productivity and tree abundance resulting from complementarity, but they can also be the consequence of increased tree abundance through increased available energy (more individuals hypothesis). To test these two contrasting hypotheses, we analyse the most plausible pathways in the richness-abundance relationship and its stability along global climatic gradients. We show that positive effect of species richness on tree abundance only prevails in eight of the twenty-three forest regions considered in this study.

Legacies of past forest management determine current responses to severe drought events of conifer species in the Romanian Carpathians.

Worldwide increases in droughts- and heat-waves-associated tree mortality events are destabilizing the future of many forests and the ecosystem services they provide. Along with climate, understanding the impact of the legacies of past forest management is key to better explain current responses of different tree species to climate change. We studied tree mortality events that peaked in 2012 affecting one native (silver fir; growing within its natural distribution range) and two introduced (black pine and Scots; growing outside their natural distribution range) conifer species from the Romanian Carpathians.

Past and present anthropic environmental stress reflect high susceptibility of natural freshwater ecosystems in Romania.

The concentrations of twelve heavy metals and trace elements (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Zn, Fe, and Al) in bed sediment and river freshwater that received sewage discharge, industrial wastewater inputs and mining residue were discussed. Spatial distribution, intra-annual trends and diffuse flux in 2019 in the middle and lower reaches of Olt River Basin (ORB) were investigated using inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). We applied correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) to quantify metal distribution relationship within environmental factors (pH, air temperature) and organic matter existing in the ORB.

Quantifying natural disturbances using a large-scale dendrochronological reconstruction to guide forest management.

Estimates of historical disturbance patterns are essential to guide forest management aimed at ensuring the sustainability of ecosystem functions and biodiversity. However, quantitative estimates of various disturbance characteristics required in management applications are rare in longer-term historical studies. Thus, our objectives were to (1) quantify past disturbance severity, patch size, and stand proportion disturbed and (2) test for temporal and subregional differences in these characteristics.

Assessing the vulnerability of water resources in the context of climate changes in a small forested watershed using SWAT: A review.

The present study evaluates the applicability performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in small forested watersheds (less than 1000 km). This open-source software is widely used in investigations focused on water availability and quality. Overall, SWAT model performance ranges between satisfactory to good.

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.

Torrential flood risk assessment and environmentally friendly solutions for small catchments located in the Romania Natura 2000 sites Ciucas, Postavaru and Piatra Mare.

The management of torrential flood risk areas located in natural protected sites requires special approaches. Also, those processes can cause casualties and damage socioeconomic structures (roads, railways, houses, etc.) The processes intercept protected landscapes, sometimes endangering protected species and habitats.

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.