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Volume XX |

Identifying gaps in conservation and habitat management – Natura 2000 site Târnovu Mare-Latorița

Abstract: The study aims to identify the main gaps in conservation and proposes objectives in the management of protected areas. The physical characteristics of the protected area, the land use, the identification of current pressures and future threats are analyzed. Geomorphological and geological analysis is the component that highlights the correlations between relief and the distribution of habitat types. Among the features that make it unique in the Carpathian landscape, the protected area consists of a very rugged calcareous ridge with calcareous rocky slopes and chasmophytic vegetation, alpine calcareous grass-lands and a habitat of community interest consisting of forests with Larix decidua (the largest larch area in the Romanian Carpathians). The site is also home to a viable population of large carnivores (Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx).The main current pressures that are also mostly identified as future threats to the site are intensive grazing, the extension of access roads, poaching, creating of conditions for invasive species, reduction of habitat connectivity due to anthropogenic causes, antagonism with domestic animals, and off-road driving of the motor vehicles.Future threats are anticipated due to growing forestry activities, with a negative impact especially by complete deforestation, which is favoured by the restitutio in integrum of forests to the private domain without any conditionality for those that lie within the protected natural areas.Intensive grazing leads to grassland degradation (impoverishment in species, changes in plant association). Among the proposed conservation measures, we mention: strict control of grazing livestock and grazing period, payment of compensation for private forests with high conservation value, limitation of buildings and access roads in the high areas.

Volume XX |

Phylogenetic diversity and EDGE approach in conservation of birds of prey in Europe

Abstract: Biodiversity of our planet is rapidly eliminated, at rates much higher than ever observed in human history. The birds of prey, among others few groups of bird species in Europe, have the highest proportion of threatened and near threatened species per taxonomic group and also, 25% of birds of prey species are experiencing population decline. Today, more than never in our modern life, we have to fight for nature conservation. Our understanding of biological diversity has broadened due to the fact that the use of phylogenies in ecology is increasingly common. If our conservation efforts are directed to maximize the preservation of biodiversity in a broad sense, we have to think beyond species. If we treat the species as evolutionary units, and not like types, our conservation efforts will preserve not only the organism, but the organism capacity to responde to environmental changes. In this paper I aimed to highlight the importance of phylogenetic information in conservation of birds of prey species in Europe through the EDGE approach. This metric has been implemented to prioritise species, beeing the only global initiative to focus on conservation of threatened species with significant amount of unique evolutionary history. Using this approach in conservation, we can be more confident that we will have the potential to preserve more functional trait diversity than expected. The top five birds of prey EDGE species in Europe are: osprey (Pandion haliaetus), the black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), the egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), the european honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), according their EDGE scores.

Volume XIX |

Sensitivity, Exposure, and Vulnerability to Climate Change of the Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) in Europe

Abstract: Species response to climate change can be viewed in three main directions: range changes, phenological changes, and genetic selection of different traits to ensure adaptation to new conditions. Climate-niche factor analysis (CNFA) is a tool developed in order to assess species vulnerability to climate change. In order to test the usefulness of CNFA method, we have chosen the long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) as a case study. This species breeds in south-east Europe, from the southern Balkans to north-western Mongolia and China, preferring open areas, arid steppes and semi-desert or mountains. According to CNFA model, long-legged-buzzard habitat receives less precipitation during the warmest period (PWQ), relative to European area, and exhibits less temperature variations during the year (TS). On the other hand, the presence of the long-legged-buzzard is associated with high values for mean diurnal range (MDR) and precipitation variations (PS). The greatest sensitivity of this species came from amount of precipitation during the warmest period (PWQ) and temperature and precipitation variations during the seasons (TS and PS). Long-legged-buzzard shows the most vulnerability in relation to precipitation of warmest period (PWQ), temperature seasonality (TS) and annual mean temperature (AMT).