RESEARCH ON THE POROSITY OF THE MESO-METAMORPHIC CRYSTALLINE SCHIST IN SOME SCREE IN LEAOTA MOUNTAINS

Scree, as the main result of the gelivation (gelifraction) processes, represents a very interesting habitat type through the ecologic particularities it has. The formation and the spreading of scree is strongly related to the type of rock that generated it. Different types of rock lead to a different behavior against gelifraction and also against meteorization and bio-meteorization (chemical and biochemical alteration). Some of the mechanical features of rocks are defining regarding the higher or lower susceptibility of generating scree. The present paper is the result of the research on the porosity of meso-metamorphical crystalline schist extracted from different types of scree located on the north-western side of Leaota Mountains. It represents the continuation of some research of similar researches on limestone scree in the previously mentioned geographical area, leading to the conclusion that one can make a comparison between the two categories of rocks (limestone and schist) regarding their porosity and the way through which this geo-mechanical feature makes its mark on their behavior against the action of external features. The present paper is part of a complex assembly of researches on the way through which the geological component of the mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) (in our case, the scree) leads, in a direct or indirect manner, to defining ecologic particularities of this habitat type and thus it influences the distribution of some zoocoenosis components

STUDY REGARDING THE SIDE EROSION PROCESSES ON THE MIDDLE REACH OF DOAMNEI RIVER AND METHODS OF PREVENTING THEM

Doamnei River is a stream of small length in Romania, but that traverses a mountainous area and another one of the hills, flowing through Arges County. This last area is heavily anthropogenic effects of human intervention and is seen almost everywhere. The major result of human actions is the side erosion of the banks. This work aims to identify the banks affected by erosion, the banks that were done building works and identifying methods that can be stopped or diminished action-erosion

STUDY ON THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE IN AREAS COVERED BY COLLUVIAL MESOVOID SHALLOW SUBSTRATUM (CRYSTALLINE SCHISTS SCREE) IN THE LEAOTA MOUNTAINS, 2014

This paper present and discussed the results of the monitoring of the dew point values, recorded in October and November 2014, in an ecological station in the Leaota Mountains. In this station, two polls were located in areas covered by colluvial mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) formed by epi- and mesometamorphic crystalline schists. In the ecological stations we located in the Leaota Mountains, almost always we found condensation on the walls of the polls tubes placed at different depths. Most often in spring or autumn or in other cold days, the dew point is more revealing regarding the recording actual amount of moisture in the air, than the relative humidity indicator. This work is part of a larger project that seeks correlations between ecological factors (humidity, temperature and dew point) registered in various types of screes (limestone and crystalline schists) and some zoocenotic components (invertebrates). This research aim to know the importance of mesovoid shallow substratum for invertebrates or small vertebrates fauna and represents a premiere for Leaota Mountains, not only regarding the continuous monitoring of some ecologic factors of these types of ecosystems (MSS), rarely researched even at global level, and also regarding the inventory of the invertebrate fauna in scree for these mountains

THE ANTHROPIC IMPACT IN THE NORTH-WESTERN SIDE OF LEAOTA MOUNTAINS

Leaota Mountains are located between Bucegi Mountains and the Piatra Craiului Massive, being separated from the last ones through the Bran-Rucar-Dragoslavele Corridor. Their human intervention degree is much lower than in the case of the neighboring Massive, Bucegi, also due to the fact that they are less known by tourists and by the lower degree deforestation which had been made here. Though the tourism has reduced, being limited only to the Cheii Valley and rarely, during summer, to the Ghimbav Valley, can have a negative impact on the environment through the waste left at the camping places or edge of the road or in the waters. It is mandatory, for the area’s sustainable development, the urgent limitation of the negative human intervention

STUDY ON THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE IN AREAS WITH SUPERFICIAL LIMESTONE UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT (SCREE) IN THE GHIMBAV AREA, LEAOTA MOUNTAINS, 2014

The dew point of a mixture of a gas (air) and the water vapors represents the temperature at which the cold air becomes saturated in water vapors and they condensate. Sometimes, especially in colder periods, it is more revealing regarding the water quantity in the air as vapors, than the relative humidity indicator. The field observations have shown that, always, in the surveys in the ecologic stationaries I have installed in limestone scree in Leaota Massive, condense is formed on the walls of the PVC tubes, irrespective of the season. The continuous measuring, for a period of several months, of more abiotic parameters, amongst which the temperature of the dew point was carried out with dataloggers, which were installed at different depths in limestone scree. This type of continuous monitoring of abiotic parameters at different scree depths is a premiere for Leaota and even is a first for Romania

THE NEED OF EXTENDING THE PROTECTED AREA STATUS IN LEOATA MOUNTAINS

Leaota Mountains have not been studied nearly at all until our researches, from the perspective of the invertebrate fauna. Subsequently to these studies carried out in the north-western sector of this Massive, we have identified 248 taxons at the level of species and other 5, at the level of the genre. The cause of this remarkable biodiversity is represented by the diversified geological and geomorphological composure, alongside with a multitude of micro-climates types, all these taking shape through the development of diverse environmental conditions which are thus responsible for the existence of a very wide invertebrate fauna diversity also, which is though not fully known. In Leaota Mountains, the Natura 2000 ROSCI0102 site was created, with a surface of only 1393 hectares (Antofie and Pop, 2013); when it was created, the existing invertebrate species in these mountains were unknown. The identification, through our researches, of a large number of species, of a endemicity degree of more than 9%, as well as of some new and rare invertebrate species for the Romanian fauna, corroborated with the need of also protecting the karstic relief in this area, leads us to the conclusion that the extension of the protected area status for the north western sector of Leaota Mountains also is extremely necessary

THE STUDY OF THE POROSITY OF THE LIMESTONES IN SOME OF THE SCREE IN LEAOTA MASSIF

The screes are the result of interaction between pre-existing rocks and exogenous agents, forming by mechanical disintegration processes, mainly due to cryoclastic (gelivation) processes. Cryoclastic processes are generated by the pressure exerted by water from pores or cracks and microcracks of the rocks. The result of these processes is known in the literature as cryo-nival relief. The main representatives of the cryo-nival relief are the screes; these are detritus mobile rocks, with angular ranges of various sizes (unsorted). This scree, in most cases, are areas that are unaffected or less anthropically affected; they represent habitats with certain microclimatic peculiarities, named mesovoid shallow substrate (MSS) or shallow subterranean habitats (SSHs) by the specialists. These terms being outlined and being used more and more frequently since the 1980s. One of the most important peculiarities of the MSS is represented by the high relative humidity values, a main ecological factor that depends on the interclastic porosity but also on the microporosity of the clasts that are part of the scree. Moreover, the processes of chemical and biochemical alteration are dependent on the presence of water in the rocks and therefore, indirectly, on porosity. For this reason, we examined the porosity of limestone clasts belonging to the scree. The generation of the scree itself, disgregation process on the masses, depends on the geomechanical characteristics of the rocks from which the nude slopes are made, how rock behaves in the cryoclasting processes, which is fundamentally influenced by porosity