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Volume XXII |

Fire signal in lakes and peatlands in Romania during the Holocene: A review of methods, groundwork and achievements

Abstract: In this article, we provide a review of research that explores the extensive history of wildfires across Europe, focusing specifically on Romania’s territory. Lakes and peatlands serve as ideal sources for reconstructing charcoal fluxes resulting from vegetation burning. These natural resources are extremely sensitive to local environmental changes, and the deposition of allochthonous material is exclusively atmospheric. The analysis of macro-charcoal is the primary method for reconstructing local and regional wildfires. This article aims to emphasize the significant studies on paleofires, and the processing and identification methods of macroscopic charcoal particles, which include charcoal number, morphology, and CharAnalysis. The review of scientific achievements in Europe and Romania provides valuable insights into these methods. We aim to investigate the potential of modern international paleofire databases, such as the Global Charcoal Database and Reading Palaeofire Database, which provide updated information on local and regional paleofire occurrences during the Holocene period. We will also make use of software tools that generate maps based on network data, such as VOSviewer Bibliometric Analysis, to visualize and study the wildfire in Romania. Furthermore, we will analyze the publications related to this topic that are available in the Web of Science database. We analyzed the results of paleofire studies in Europe and Romania to determine the primary research directions linked to fire reconstruction. Our review revealed that most of the study sites in Romania are in the Carpathians, particularly at higher elevations, followed by mid-elevation areas. However, lowlands have been less investigated up to this date.

Volume XX |

Combining geomorphological approach and thermal monitoring for permafrost research in Rodna Mountains, Northern Romanian Carpathians

Abstract: This paper aim to investigate the possibility of permafrost occurrence in the alpine area of Rodna Mountains by describing the rock glaciers distribution and characteristics and by monitoring the ground surface temperature and spring water temperature during late summer. Rock glaciers have a rather scarce distribution between 1670 and 1960 m a.s.l., their morphology is completely relict even at the highest altitudes which indicate they are inherited landforms. Thermal regime indicates improbable permafrost at Bila talus slope (1844 m a.s.l.) and an ambiguous outcome at Curmătura Buhăescului talus slope (1980 m a.s.l.) where average temperature during the BTS period was warmer than the -2°C threshold only in one year of the two monitored. Alpine spring water temperatures are above 3°C indicating absence of permafrost and they are moderately correlated with altitude. Iezeru Pietrosu cirque headwall is affected only by seasonal frost at 2100 m a.s.l. for almost 9 months. It seems that in Rodna Mountains the past and present climate conditions were and are milder in comparison to Southern Carpathians as the latitude increase does not compensate the lower altitudes.