Black locust stand structure on the sterile dump in the middle basin of Jiu River (Romania)

Anca Rovena Lăcătușu,Mihaela Corneanu,Constantin Nețoiu,Cornelia Buzatu-Goanță (Née) Hernea,Luminița Cojocaru,Andrei Buzatu

doi:10.21750/refor.9.02.76

Anca Rovena Lăcătușu, Mihaela Corneanu + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.21750/refor.9.02.76

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Abstract

Introduced in 1750 as an ornamental tree and then in 1852 as a forest tree species, black locust occupied nowadays 250,000 ha in Romania. The tree species is important for its wood (lumber, poles, firewood, etc.), its honey-related production as well as its environmental role (afforestation of sand dunes and sterile dumps). One of the most important activities in the middle basin of Jiu River is coal mining. After 1956 this activity has developed very quickly and two power plants were built in Rovinari and Turceni. As a result, sterile dumps and coal ash dumps have established so it was necessary to restore the area by afforestation. This activity started with the sterile dump Viaduct Rovinari, using Austrian pine and black locust, and continued with others such as Cocoreni and Moi. The most used tree species for ecological restoration was black locust. In order to express the stand structure, diameter at breast height (DBH), total height (H) and crown diameter were measured. The soil analysis were performed and showed differences in the content of heavy metals and radionuclides for both location. The study revealed positive correlations between DBH and H, a stronger one for Moi plantation. Our research highlights the capacity of black locust to establish and grow under very difficult site conditions.

Highlights

IntroductionBlack locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is one of the most important non-native tree species, for its ornamental role and for its wood (used for lumber, poles, firewood etc.), its honey-related production as well as its environmental role (especially afforestation of sand dunes and sterile dumps)
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is one of the most important non-native tree species, for its ornamental role and for its wood, its honey-related production as well as its environmental role.The species was introduced in Romania in 1750 as an ornamental tree and first black locust plantation was established on sand dunes, at Băilesti (Oltenia Region – south-west of the country), in 1852 (Stănescu 1979)
Due to the constitutive differentiation of the two waste dumps, the analyses revealed differences in the content of heavy metals (Table 1) and radionuclides (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is one of the most important non-native tree species, for its ornamental role and for its wood (used for lumber, poles, firewood etc.), its honey-related production as well as its environmental role (especially afforestation of sand dunes and sterile dumps). The species was introduced in Romania in 1750 as an ornamental tree and first black locust plantation was established on sand dunes, at Băilesti (Oltenia Region – south-west of the country), in 1852 (Stănescu 1979). Black locust grows best on deep, nutrient-rich soil but tolerates dry and nutrient poor soils (Hararlamb 1967) The species was used on different site conditions because their assumed low ecological requirements and initial fast growth (Haralamb 1967). Black locust has been used mostly for sandy soil and sterile dump afforestation. The use of agricultural and forest land has been changed, villages and routes have been relocated, water courses were diverted and new economic, social and cultural objectives were built throughout the area (Huidu and Ianc 2002)

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