Quantitative evaluation of forest favourability using GIS database in a hill area in the Transylvania Depression, Romania

Sanda Roșca,Ștefan Bilașco,Ioan Păcurar,Dorel Colniță,Ioan Fodorean,Iuliu Vescan,Dănuț Petrea,Horea Păcurar

doi:10.1080/19475705.2017.1401012

Abstract

ABSTRACTMany studies highlight the benefic influence of forests on the quality of environment. There is an interest for identifying the pretability of a certain territory for representative forest tree species according to their pedological, hydro-climatic and geomorphological characteristics. The main purpose of this endeavour is the enhancement of a territory's economic quality as well as the highlighting of the forest's stabilizing role which is determined by new forest plantations with well-defined purposes. This study aims at proposing a quantitative model based on correlation equations between forest favourability classes and ecological factors/determiners for the main forest species from the hill bioclimatic zone. By using geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis and integrating a specific digital database, forest favourability classes were identified for eight of the most common forest species from Someşul Mare Hills: pedunculate oak, Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, hornbeam, linden, sycamore tree, cherry tree and beech. The main focus was laid on developing and obtaining the necessary digital database for the GIS spatial analysis model and on the work stages of creating a GIS model which could be implemented in areas with similar characteristics.

Highlights

The classification methodology created for the territory of Romania by the Pedological Research Institute from Bucharest (Florea et al 1987) states favourable and restrictive environmental factors for 24 of the most common plant cultures from Romania
The purpose of this study is to develop a quantitative model to identify the forest favourability classes for the hill area from the Transylvania Depression
The geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis model used to classify the territory in forest favourability classes is structured in three main stages: the first stage of utmost importance for the model validity is represented by the database construction which includes the ecological factors influencing forest tree species

Summary

Introduction

The classification methodology created for the territory of Romania by the Pedological Research Institute from Bucharest (Florea et al 1987) states favourable and restrictive environmental factors for 24 of the most common plant cultures from Romania This methodology was created in order to identify favourability classes for agricultural use and differentiates between ecologically homogenous territories in six classes of favourability (I-VI). The favourability classes of environmental factors need to be identified depending on correlation equations which describe the dependency between environmental factors and the GEOMATICS, NATURAL HAZARDS AND RISK requirements of each species This type of classification, based on ecological favourability, qualitatively expresses the most and least favourable class for the main species under study

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion