Aeroplanul

Bucureşti : Cartea Românească, 1925. - 32 p. : fig. ; 20 cm

Identification of areas of very high biodiversity value to achieve the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 key commitments

Background The European Union strives to increase protected areas of the EU terrestrial surface to 30% by year 2030, of which one third should be strictly protected. Designation of the Natura 2000 network, the backbone of nature protection in the EU, was mostly an expert-opinion process with little systematic conservation planning. The designation of the Natura 2000 network in Romania followed the same non-systematic approach, resulting in a suboptimal representation of invertebrates and plants. To help identify areas with very high biodiversity without repeating past planning missteps, we present a reproducible example of spatial prioritization using Romania’s current terrestrial Natura 2000 network and coarse-scale terrestrial species occurrence. Methods We used 371 terrestrial Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (Natura 2000 SCI), designated to protect 164 terrestrial species listed under Annex II of Habitats Directive in Romania in our spatial prioritization analyses (marine Natura 2000 sites and species were excluded). Species occurrences in terrestrial Natura 2000 sites were aggregated at a Universal Traverse Mercator spatial resolution of 1 km2. To identify priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites for species conservation, and to explore if the Romanian Natura 2000 network sufficiently represents species included in Annex II of Habitats Directive, we used Zonation v4, a decision support software tool for spatial conservation planning. We carried out the analyses nationwide (all Natura 2000 sites) as well as separately for each biogeographic region (i.e., Alpine, Continental, Pannonian, Steppic and Black Sea). Results The results of spatial prioritization of terrestrial Natura 2000 vary greatly by planning scenario. The performance of national-level planning of top priorities is minimal. On average, when 33% of the landscape of Natura 2000 sites is protected, only 20% of the distribution of species listed in Annex II of Habitats Directive are protected. As a consequence, the representation of species by priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites is lessened when compared to the initial set of species. When planning by taxonomic group, the top-priority areas include only 10% of invertebrate distribution in Natura 2000. When selecting top-priority areas by biogeographical region, there are significantly fewer gap species than in the national level and by taxa scenarios; thusly, the scenario outperforms the national-level prioritization. The designation of strictly protected areas as required by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 should be followed by setting clear objectives, including a good representation of species and habitats at the biogeographical region level

Alien flora of Europe: species diversity, temporal trends, geographical patterns and research needs

The paper provides the first estimate of the composition and structure of alien plants occurring in the wild in the European continent, based on the results of the DAISIE project (2004–2008), funded by the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union and aimed at “creating an inventory of invasive species that threaten European terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments”. The plant section of the DAISIE database is based on national checklists from 48 European countries/regions and Israel; for many of them the data were compiled during the project and for some countries DAISIE collected the first comprehensive checklists of alien species, based on primary data (e.g., Cyprus, Greece, F. Y. R. O. Macedonia, Slovenia, Ukraine). In total, the database contains records of 5789 alien plant species in Europe (including those native to a part of Europe but alien to another part), of which 2843 are alien to Europe (of extra-European origin). The research focus was on naturalized species; there are in total 3749 naturalized aliens in Europe, of which 1780 are alien to Europe. This represents a marked increase compared to 1568 alien species reported by a previous analysis of data in Flora Europaea (1964–1980). Casual aliens were marginally considered and are represented by 1507 species with European origins and 872 species whose native range falls outside Europe. The highest diversity of alien species is concentrated in industrialized countries with a tradition of good botanical recording or intensive recent research. The highest number of all alien species, regardless of status, is reported from Belgium (1969), the United Kingdom (1779) and Czech Republic (1378). The United Kingdom (857), Germany (450), Belgium (447) and Italy (440) are countries with the most naturalized neophytes. The number of naturalized neophytes in European countries is determined mainly by the interaction of temperature and precipitation; it increases with increasing precipitation but only in climatically warm and moderately warm regions. Of the nowadays naturalized neophytes alien to Europe, 50% arrived after 1899, 25% after 1962 and 10% after 1989. At present, approximately 6.2 new species, that are capable of naturalization, are arriving each year. Most alien species have relatively restricted European distributions; half of all naturalized species occur in four or fewer countries/regions, whereas 70% of non-naturalized species occur in only one region. Alien species are drawn from 213 families, dominated by large global plant families which have a weedy tendency and have undergone major radiations in temperate regions (Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae). There are 1567 genera, which have alien members in European countries, the commonest being globally-diverse genera comprising mainly urban and agricultural weeds (e.g., Amaranthus, Chenopodium and Solanum) or cultivated for ornamental purposes (Cotoneaster, the genus richest in alien species). Only a few large genera which have successfully invaded (e.g., Oenothera, Oxalis, Panicum, Helianthus) are predominantly of non-European origin. Conyza canadensis, Helianthus tuberosus and Robinia pseudoacacia are most widely distributed alien species. Of all naturalized aliens present in Europe, 64.1% occur in industrial habitats and 58.5% on arable land and in parks and gardens. Grasslands and woodlands are also highly invaded, with 37.4 and 31.5%, respectively, of all naturalized aliens in Europe present in these habitats. Mires, bogs and fens are least invaded; only approximately 10% of aliens in Europe occur there. Intentional introductions to Europe (62.8% of the total number of naturalized aliens) prevail over unintentional (37.2%). Ornamental and horticultural introductions escaped from cultivation account for the highest number of species, 52.2% of the total. Among unintentional introductions, contaminants of seed, mineral materials and other commodities are responsible for 1091 alien species introductions to Europe (76.6% of all species introduced unintentionally) and 363 species are assumed to have arrived as stowaways (directly associated with human transport but arriving independently of commodity). Most aliens in Europe have a native range in the same continent (28.6% of all donor region records are from another part of Europe where the plant is native); in terms of species numbers the contribution of Europe as a region of origin is 53.2%. Considering aliens to Europe separately, 45.8% of species have their native distribution in North and South America, 45.9% in Asia, 20.7% in Africa and 5.3% in Australasia. Based on species composition, European alien flora can be classified into five major groups: (1) north-western, comprising Scandinavia and the UK; (2) west-central, extending from Belgium and the Netherlands to Germany and Switzerland; (3) Baltic, including only the former Soviet Baltic states; (4) east-central, comprizing the remainder of central and eastern Europe; (5) southern, covering the entire Mediterranean region. The clustering patterns cut across some European bioclimatic zones; cultural factors such as regional trade links and traditional local preferences for crop, forestry and ornamental species are also important by influencing the introduced species pool. Finally, the paper evaluates a state of the art in the field of plant invasions in Europe, points to research gaps and outlines avenues of further research towards documenting alien plant invasions in Europe. The data are of varying quality and need to be further assessed with respect to the invasion status and residence time of the species included. This concerns especially the naturalized/casual status; so far, this information is available comprehensively for only 19 countries/regions of the 49 considered. Collating an integrated database on the alien flora of Europe can form a principal contribution to developing a European-wide management strategy of alien species

Lower Cretaceous Provenance and Sedimentary Deposition in the Eastern Carpathians: Inferences for the Evolution of the Subducted Oceanic Domain and its European Passive Continental Margin

Abstract Reconstructing orogenic systems made up dominantly by sediments accreted in trenches is challenging because of the incomplete lithological record of the subducted oceanic domain and its attached passive continental margin thrusted by collisional processes. In this respect, the remarkable ~600 km long continuity of sediments exposed in the Eastern Carpathian thin-skinned thrust and fold belt and the availability of quantitative reconstructions for adjacent continental units provide excellent conditions for a paleogeographical study by provenance and sedimentological techniques constraining sediment routing and depositional systems. These sediments were deposited in the Ceahl?u-Severin branch of the Alpine Tethys Ocean and over its European passive continental margin. We report sedimentological, paleomagnetic, petrographic, and detrital zircon U-Pb data of Lower Cretaceous sediments from several thin-skinned tectonic units presumably deposited in the Moldavides domain of the Eastern Carpathians. Sedimentological observations in the innermost studied unit demonstrate that deposition took place in a deepwater basin floor sheets to sandy turbidite system. Detrital zircon age data demonstrate sourcing from internal Carpathian basement units. The sediment routing changes in more external units, where black shales basin floor sheets to sandy mud turbidites were sourced from an external, European continental area. Although some degree of mixing between sources located on both margins of the ocean occurred, constraining a relatively narrow width of the deep oceanic basin, these results demonstrate that the internal-most studied unit was deposited near an Early Cretaceous accretionary wedge, located on the opposite internal side relative to the passive continental margin domain of other Moldavides units

Lower Cretaceous Provenance and Sedimentary Deposition in the Eastern Carpathians: Inferences for the Evolution of the Subducted Oceanic Domain and its European Passive Continental Margin

Reconstructing orogenic systems made up dominantly by sediments accreted in trenches is challenging because of the incomplete lithological record of the subducted oceanic domain and its attached passive continental margin thrusted by collisional processes. In this respect, the remarkable similar to 600 km long continuity of sediments exposed in the Eastern Carpathian thin-skinned thrust and fold belt and the availability of quantitative reconstructions for adjacent continental units provide excellent conditions for a paleogeographical study by provenance and sedimentological techniques constraining sediment routing and depositional systems. These sediments were deposited in the Ceahlau-Severin branch of the Alpine Tethys Ocean and over its European passive continental margin. We report sedimentological, paleomagnetic, petrographic, and detrital zircon U-Pb data of Lower Cretaceous sediments from several thin-skinned tectonic units presumably deposited in the Moldavides domain of the Eastern Carpathians. Sedimentological observations in the innermost studied unit demonstrate that deposition took place in a deepwater basin floor sheets to sandy turbidite system. Detrital zircon age data demonstrate sourcing from internal Carpathian basement units. The sediment routing changes in more external units, where black shales basin floor sheets to sandy mud turbidites were sourced from an external, European continental area. Although some degree of mixing between sources located on both margins of the ocean occurred, constraining a relatively narrow width of the deep oceanic basin, these results demonstrate that the internal-most studied unit was deposited near an Early Cretaceous accretionary wedge, located on the opposite internal side relative to the passive continental margin domain of other Moldavides units.6 month embargo; first published: 20 April 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Lower Cretaceous Provenance and Sedimentary Deposition in the Eastern Carpathians: Inferences for the Evolution of the Subducted Oceanic Domain and its European Passive Continental Margin

Reconstructing orogenic systems made up dominantly by sediments accreted in trenches is challenging because of the incomplete lithological record of the subducted oceanic domain and its attached passive continental margin thrusted by collisional processes. In this respect, the remarkable similar to 600 km long continuity of sediments exposed in the Eastern Carpathian thin-skinned thrust and fold belt and the availability of quantitative reconstructions for adjacent continental units provide excellent conditions for a paleogeographical study by provenance and sedimentological techniques constraining sediment routing and depositional systems. These sediments were deposited in the Ceahlau-Severin branch of the Alpine Tethys Ocean and over its European passive continental margin. We report sedimentological, paleomagnetic, petrographic, and detrital zircon U-Pb data of Lower Cretaceous sediments from several thin-skinned tectonic units presumably deposited in the Moldavides domain of the Eastern Carpathians. Sedimentological observations in the innermost studied unit demonstrate that deposition took place in a deepwater basin floor sheets to sandy turbidite system. Detrital zircon age data demonstrate sourcing from internal Carpathian basement units. The sediment routing changes in more external units, where black shales basin floor sheets to sandy mud turbidites were sourced from an external, European continental area. Although some degree of mixing between sources located on both margins of the ocean occurred, constraining a relatively narrow width of the deep oceanic basin, these results demonstrate that the internal-most studied unit was deposited near an Early Cretaceous accretionary wedge, located on the opposite internal side relative to the passive continental margin domain of other Moldavides units.6 month embargo; first published: 20 April 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]