Abstract
Favourability classification for forest species represents a fundamental activity for deriving technological solutions in forestry, as specialists need detailed information about the ecological requirements of forest species from environmental factors: climate, pedological characteristics and morphometric characteristics of the study area. The purpose of the present study was the use of the qualitative data extracted from the ecological records of the Pinus mugo species and the generation of a complex geospatial database for the entire territory of Romania. The results were represented by a collection of thematic maps generated on favourability classes for the Romanian Carpathians, as well as for the major landform subunits which had been the basis for the statistical analysis of the results. The validation of the results was performed by comparing the results obtained through the application of the model which used the frequency points reported in the European Atlas of the Forest Tree Species from Europe, 2016. In order to identify the spatio-temporal dynamics, LANDSAT satellite images from 30 years were used, which enabled the identification of the expansion and the reduction in size of the Pinus mugo area at a zonal level, a process which is dependent on natural factors, like climatic variations, or anthropic factors (overgrazing or works of cleaning the montain pastures).
Highlights
The identification of the dwarf mountain pine shrubs was performed using the method of supervised classification [53,54,55,56], by classifying the result of deriving the NDVI index for the study area
In the Oriental Carpathians there is a high favourability for Pinus mugo on 266.1 km2 (0.77% of the mountains’ surface) and medium favourability on 949.5 km2 (2.76%), while in the Meridional
Carpathians the high favourability class is found on 525.5 km2 (3.71%) and the medium one on
Summary
The dwarf mountain pine is the most important wood species from the alpine vertical zone of the Romanian Carpathians, due to its stabilising effect on the ecosystems in which it is present and to its supporting role in the shaping of the alpine landscapes.In the Romanian Carpathians there are 50,000 ha of terrain where the dwarf mountain pine is spatially distributed [1], in the mountain massifs from the subalpine vertical zone from the OrientalCarpathians: Maramures, Mountains, Rodna Mountains, Călimani Mountains, Giumalău Mountain, Ceahlău Mountain, Gurghiu Mountains, Bistrit, a Mountains, Nemira Mountains, Ciucas, Mountains, Piatra Mare Mountain, Piatra Craiului Mountains, and Postăvarul Mountain; in the MeridionalCarpathians: Bucegi Mountains, Făgăras, , Iezer-Păpus, a, Căpăt, ânii, Parâng, Retezat, T, arcu-Godeanu, Cernei and Semenic Mountains; and in the Occidental Carpathians: Vlădeasa Mountains (Figure 1) [1].Sustainability 2019, 11, 3678; doi:10.3390/su11133678 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilitySustainability 2019, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEWCernei and Semenic Mountains; and in the Occidental Carpathians: Vlădeasa Mountains (Figure 1) [1]. The dwarf mountain pine is the most important wood species from the alpine vertical zone of the Romanian Carpathians, due to its stabilising effect on the ecosystems in which it is present and to its supporting role in the shaping of the alpine landscapes. In the Romanian Carpathians there are 50,000 ha of terrain where the dwarf mountain pine is spatially distributed [1], in the mountain massifs from the subalpine vertical zone from the Oriental. Carpathians: Bucegi Mountains, Făgăras, , Iezer-Păpus, a, Căpăt, ânii, Parâng, Retezat, T, arcu-Godeanu, Cernei and Semenic Mountains; and in the Occidental Carpathians: Vlădeasa Mountains (Figure 1) [1]. Cernei and Semenic Mountains; and in the Occidental Carpathians: Vlădeasa Mountains (Figure 1) [1].
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