INVESTIGATION OF GRASSLANDS IN THE MOUNTAIN AREA THROUGH OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS. CASE STUDY

Abstract

The grasslands in the mountainous area of Romania are located in places that are difficult to access and therefore difficult to investigate through field studies; furthermore, the data collected in this way are punctual. As an alternative solution, there is the possibility of accessing Open Source data and software through which scientific information can be extracted from different spheres of research and continuous images can be obtained, over the entire surface of interest. In this context, the purpose of the research was to apply Open Source solutions for extracting "basic" information (location, delimitation and framing in the area, relief, geology, soils and so on) for the Ps Baru grassland, in the Tulişa mountains. The workflow was applied with Open Source software and data, taken from profile platforms and can be extended for any grasslands, regardless of their location or size. As a result of the research, it was found that: the grassland is located in the Tulişa Mountains, has an area of 309 ha and is surrounded by forest, which can be interpreted as an alarm signal about the risk of afforestation to which it is subjected. The grassland is located between 1200 - 1600 m altitude, and the relief is fragmented by the valleys of some rivers. Exploitation roads are present on the counter lines. Based on the longitudinal and transversal profiles, but also through the analysis of the generated relief maps, it was observed that the land slopes from the southwest to the northeast. In the subsoil of the analyzed grassland, the Tulişa Series and the Sebeş Series are predominantly present, and from a pedological aspect, two types of soil predominate, respectively districambosol and rendzin, on smaller surfaces. The use of Open Source data, for the characterization of grassland surfaces, offers a series of advantages: the possibility of using data sets of different types based on the complex characterization of the investigated surface can be done; free use of programs and data; the possibility of extracting the data without going to the field.