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An assessement of the alien plants of Romania was conducted which considered the requirements of Regulation 1143/2014 of the European Union (EU). Thus, available data about the presence, invasiveness, distribution, pathways of introduction and their known impact in the territory of Romania were analysed. We found that of 36 plant species of EU concern, four are already established in Romania and widespread, at least locally or regionally: Ailanthus altissima, Asclepias syriaca, Elodea nuttallii and Impatiens glandulifera. For Humulus scandens there are some reports, but its presence and status require confirmation. Heracleum sosnowskyi and Ludwigia peploides are confirmed for only one location for each species. The presence of Cabomba caroliniana and Myriophyllum aquaticum in Romania is not confirmed. Most of the records are intentional introductions for ornamental purposes. Regarding their invasiveness, given the geographical origin and history of invasion in warmer climate regions (e.g., tropical, subtropical), many of the species listed as being of EU concern do not currently constitute a real threat to Romania, for the time being, but may do in a climate change scenario for the 2070s. Data about the impact of alien plant species and their management in Romania are scattered or completely missing. Coordinated institutional efforts are needed to increase the efficiency of the management of alien species at national and local level. These efforts should include: enhancing the legislation and the capacity of public institutions to manage invasive species, increasing the research interest in the science of this topic and promoting real measures to mitigate, control and remove alien plants.

Located in the Iron Gates Natural Park, Romania, at the foot of the Locvei Mountains, the Sfanta Elena Karst Plateau is a very picturesque territory, characterized by a karst relief, covered by High Nature Value grasslands. In the last decade this territory has been subjected to increasing anthropogenic pressures, and specific concerns on biodiversity have been raised after the construction of a wind farm in 2011. Starting from a concern expressed by a scientist, our study aims to provide current data on plant species with conservation value and to assess the conservation status of orchid-rich grasslands around wind turbines after ten years of wind farm operation. During the operation period we identified 19 plant taxa with conservation value, eight of which which are orchid species. Four of them are new reports for this territory: Gymnadenia conopsea, Neotinea ustulata, Neottia nidus-avis and Orchis simia, as well other rare taxa such as Cirsium grecescui, Lathyrus sphaericus, Linum hologynum and Rumex thyrsiflorus, are mentioned for the first time. The orchid-rich grasslands in the wind farm area correspond to the Natura 2000 habitat 6210* whose structure and floristic composition are within the acceptable limits of Favourable conservation status. The conservation status of plant species is directly dependent on the quality of their habitat, as well as the variety of pressure and threat factors in the area.

Ludwigia peploides (Kunth) P.H.Raven - Floating primrose-willow - is native to wetlands of North, Central, and South America, and widely distributed across Africa, Australia, and Asia, and in Europe, where it is listed by EU Regulation no. 2016/1141 as an Invasive Alien Species (IAS) of Union concern. A photograph of the species from Romania taken in the Sai River Valley (Teleorman County) was published on the Facebook online platform in 2018. This first record, however, lacked further details on the observed specimen or any accompanying herbarium material that would ascertain its correct taxonomic assignation. By carrying out our own field surveys between October and November 2020 we hereby confirm the presence of the species Ludwigia peploides as a new addition to the Romanian alien flora. We identified many specimens occurring along the Sai River Valley, between Olteanca and Turnu Magurele localities. We further present preliminary data regarding the distribution, affected habitats, and population extent of Ludwigia peploides in the investigated area. Although several hypotheses can be proposed on the origin of this species in Romania, our current data cannot strongly support any of them. Plant specimens were deposited in the Herbarium collection of the D. Brandza Botanic Garden of the University of Bucharest (BUC).

"The first list of non-native ornamental plants (nNOP) reported as escaped, aturalised or invasive in Romania was published 15 years ago. Since then, new additions to the non-native ornamental flora of Romania ave been reported, while others plants have changed their status. As ornamental horticulture is one of the most important pathways for non-native plant introduction worldwide, we evaluated nNOP at the national level and updated the previous list in order to contribute to the development of tools for preventing, detecting, monitoring and managing the spread of nNOP. The updated list includes 264 taxa. Most of these are casual (199 taxa), 37 taxa are naturalised, and 28 taxa are invasive. In addition, the following characteristics were analysed: family, native range, life form, abundance in the country reported as number of localities and temporal trends. Non-native ornamental flora of Romania is dominated by American and Asian taxa, phanerophytes, hemicryptophytes and therophytes. The most widespread species is Robinia pseudoacacia, used not only for ornamental purposes, but also for its economic value. Many taxa (108 taxa) occur only in two to ten localities. 78 nNOP have been reported in the last 20 years. Six taxa are species of European Union concern (Ailanthus altissima, Asclepias syriaca, Cabomba caroliniana, Humulopsis scandens, Impatiens glandulifera, Myriophyllum aquaticum) and require special measures to control and mitigate their populations."

The essential oil from inflorescences of S. canadensis L. (Goldenrod) obtained by hidrodistillation was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and it was qualitatively and quantitatively tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The samples were also subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity by using DPPH assay and the influence on intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species). The main components identified were a-pinene, germacrene D, and limonene. The tested microbial strains proved to be susceptible to S. canadensis essential oil which exhibited good anti-biofilm activity, inhibiting the adhesion to the inert and cellular substrate, decreasing the Acinetobacter baumannii adhesion index to 17.52% and changing the adherence pattern. Goldenrod essential oil showed good free-radical scavenging activity, but it increased the production of free radicals in Hep-2 tumor cells.

Background Wind energy farms have become a popular solution to produce green energy worldwide. Their development within protected areas has increased dramatically in the past decade, and the effects on the rare, endemic and threatened plant species (i.e., protected plant species), essential for habitat conservation and management, are little known. Only a few studies directly quantify the impacts of wind energy farms on them. Our study analyzes the impact of wind energy farms on rare, endemic, and threatened plant species in steppic habitats and their recovery potential over a ten-year period on a wind energy farm within the Dealurile Agighiolului Natura 2000 site (Dobrogea Region, SE Romania). Methods We surveyed the rare, endemic, and threatened plant species within a radius of approximately 50 m around each of the 17 wind towers during the wind farm operational phase. We selected 34 plots to allow the investigation of two types of areas: (1) a disturbed area overlapping the technological platform, where the vegetation was removed before construction, and (2) an adjacent undisturbed area. To understand the effects of the wind energy farm on the rare, endemic, and threatened plant species diversity and the differences between the disturbed and undisturbed areas, we calculated under both conditions: (1) plant species richness; (2) sample-size-based rarefaction and extrapolation with Hill numbers parameterized by species richness; (3) non-metric multidimensional scaling of Jaccard dissimilarity index; (4) functional diversity; (5) beta-diversity (including replacement and nestedness of species). Results As a result of the disturbances caused by the wind energy farm’s development, we identified a sharp contrast between the diversity of rare, endemic, and threatened plants inhabiting disturbed and undisturbed areas near the wind towers. Our research showed that less than 40% of the total inventoried rare, endemic, and threatened species colonized the disturbed sites. Species turnover within undisturbed plots was higher than disturbed plots, implying that the plant community’s heterogeneity was high. However, a higher richness in rare, endemic, and threatened plant species was found in the plots around the wind towers in grasslands of primary type. Sample-size-based rarefaction and extrapolation with Hill numbers by observed species richness indicated an accurate estimation of species richness in disturbed habitats, demonstrating that recovery after wind energy farm construction was incomplete after ten years of low-intensity plant restoration and conservation activities. Thus, we consider that operating activities must be reconfigured to allow the complete recovery of the communities with rare, endemic, and threatened plant species.

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 Romania9s current terrestrial Natura 2000 network and coarse-scale terrestrial species occurrence. 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). 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. The planning exercise uses 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. Species occurrences in terrestrial Natura 2000 and 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) and separately for each biogeographic region (i.e., Alpine, Continental, Pannonian, Steppic and Black Sea). The performance of national-level planning of top priorities is low. On average, when considering 10% of the landscape of Natura 2000 sites as protected, 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 reduced 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; thus, 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 targets for the representation of species and habitats at the biogeographical region level.

An important step in managing invasive species is determining the factors responsible for their current and potential distribution, especially when species distribution is climatically determined like in Reynoutria taxa case. The main aim of this paper was to integrate all available distribution data of the Reynoutria taxa in SE Europe and to predict in which habitats and along which corridors its future spread can be expected. Distribution data of the Reynoutria taxa were obtained from extensive field studies in the period from 2006 to 2016, as well as from the literature and herbarium sources. A total of 4081 localities in Serbia and the Kosovo region, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania have been recorded, most frequently in riparian and human-made habitats. Ecologically suitable ranges for the Reynoutria taxa were predicted using the MaxEnt program and 19 bioclimatic variables which were derived from the WorldClim data set. Results of this study showed that the most frequent Reynoutria taxa in SE Europe are R. japonica var. japonica and hybrid R. × bohemica. The most suitable geographical areas for R. japonica and R. sachalinensis are mostly located in the north, while for R. × bohemica the central part of SE Europe is suitable. The precipitation of the warmest quarter had a high influence on the potential distribution modelling of these closely related species. Potential distribution modelling revealed R. × bohemica’s high temperature tolerance in different seasons with high durability of drought (up to 60 mm per year less precipitation than parental species). Moreover, this research predicts which areas are most likely to be invaded, and makes suggestions where to focus management efforts for survey and removal of these invaders, especially in protected areas. According to the future climate analysis R. japonica and R. × bohemica could expand their range in riparian habitats up to 30–40%. Consequently, invasion in Slovenia’s and Croatia’s rivers requires urgent preventative measures. This study provides empirical evidence that these plants could become widespread throughout SE Europe within 25 years under the current trend and emphasizes that regionally specific management plans should be implemented to prevent further spread of these taxa.

Of the 37 species of the European Union concern eight are already present and two present a future potential risk for Romania. This paper brings updated information regarding these species in Romania. The presence of eight invasive alien species of concern to the European Union have already been recorded in Romania: two plant speciesCabomba carolinianaandHeracleum sosnowskyi, two crustaceansOrconectes limosusandEriocheir sinensis, two fish speciesPseudorasbora parvaandPerccottus glenii, one reptileTrachemys scriptaand one mammalMyocastor coypus. Other two species of Union concern (Lithobates catesbeianusandProcyon lotor) may soon become invaders in Romania. We emphasize the urgent need to assess their current distribution and impact or potential to establish and possible impact at national level.

This study was carried out in the Bucegi Natural Park, a protected area of the Romanian Carpathians. It aims at documenting the potential sensitivity of six widespread Natura 2000 habitat types and of all plants with conservative value (200 taxa) in the mountain area, to the changes in temperature and humidity, predicted for this century. Regional expert knowledge and environmental indicator values were considered in assessing the potential habitat’s sensitivity. The results support the evidence that sensitivity to temperature may be potentially higher for habitats at alpine and subalpine levels (bushes and grasslands) and medium for forest habitats. Sensitivity to moisture was detected as potentially high for forest habitats and as medium for bushes and grasslands at high mountain elevation. Microthermophilic plants have shown a greater share (76-79%) in alpine and subalpine communities, and the hydrophilic plants (86-96%) in forest communities. About 80% of plants of conservation value (microthermophilic or hydrophilic plants) may be potentially sensitive to predicted warming and drought and 44% of them (microthermophilic and hydrophilic plants) to the changes of both parameters. Climate scenarios (2011-2100) and sensitivity maps (Sat – image interpretation with GIS for the whole mountain area) are included.

International audience; The emergence of renewable energy infrastructures calls for a better understanding of their impact on biodiversity. The aim of the present study was to investigate in a mountain region the impact of a wind turbine on plant communities in their vicinity. A field survey was conducted in a wind farm situated in the Southern Romanian Carpathians, five years after the turbines were installed. We tested for the effects of the presence of the turbine and the distance to the turbine on plant species richness, on five plant ecological indicators and on the quality of the pastures. Overall, 33 plant species belonging to 16 families were recorded, and among them 21 were recorded in both the presence and the absence of wind turbine. The presence of a turbine did not affect the structure of the plant community, as the majority of the plots exhibited similar plant species richness and composition. Finally, the values of the ecological indicators and the pasture quality were not altered by the presence of the turbine. Such analyses could be extended over longer time periods so as to capture potential long-term effects and by integrating other environmental factors such as microclimatic conditions or soil properties.

Polymeric materials such as polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP) are the most common packaging materials used for soft drink, water, or syrup bottles, and also for yogurt tubs, bottle caps, or coffee cups. The use of plastic bottles generated big problems, especially because they are not degradable or are difficult to degrade, and the process is time consuming. The increased use of nonbiodegradable synthetic packaging films led to serious global environment and human health problems. In this context, we aimed to reveal the beverage packaging fields that are focused on the chemical modification of packaging materials and the development of new advanced polymers, which cannot influence the product qualities or the environment.

New chorological data about seven rare vascular plant taxa are reported in the present paper: Conringia austriaca, Jurinea multiflora, Linaria arvensis, Nonea pallens, Ophrys apifera, Ophrys scolopax subsp. cornuta, Saponaria officinalis. For Linaria arvensis, previously considered doubtful in the absence of the herbarium material, we confirm its presence in Romania. The report of Nonea pallens is the first for Dobrogea, while the report of Jurinea multiflora is the first for Muntenia region of Romania.

International audience; To better manage invasive populations, it is vital to understand the environmental drivers underlying spatial variation in demographic performance of invasive individuals and populations. The invasive common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, has severe adverse effects on agriculture and human health, due to its vast production of seeds and allergenic pollen. Here, we identify the scale and nature of environmental factors driving individual performance of A. artemisiifolia, and assess their relative importance. We studied 39 populations across the European continent, covering different climatic and habitat conditions. We found that plant size is the most important determinant in variation of per-capita seed and pollen production. Using plant volume as a measure of individual performance, we found that the local environment (i.e. the site) is far more influential for plant volume (explaining 25% of all spatial variation) than geographic position (regional level; 8%) or the neighbouring vegetation (at the plot level; 4%). An overall model including environmental factors at all scales performed better (27%), including the weather (bigger plants in warm and wet conditions), soil type (smaller plants on soils with more sand), and highlighting the negative effects of altitude, neighbouring vegetation and bare soil. Pollen and seed densities varied more than 200-fold between sites, with highest estimates in Croatia, Romania and Hungary. Pollen densities were highest on arable fields, while highest seed densities were found along infrastructure, both significantly higher than on ruderal sites. We discuss implications of these findings for the spatial scale of management interventions against A. artemisiifolia.

Botanic gardens are important centres for the conservation of plant diversity, but at the same time they can be responsible for plant invasions. As such it is paramount that botanic gardens evaluate their collections of exotic plants, monitor them and seek to minimise the risk of some species becoming invasive. In this context an evaluation of the collection of woody plants in the „Dimitrie Brandza” Botanic Garden, Bucharest, Romania was carried out, and it was established that although there are over 70 species with invasive potential, these do not represent a source of dispersal as the botanic garden is surrounded by artificial habitats undergoing regular maintenance. Nevertheless, indirectly, the Botanic Garden might have contributed to the process of invasion of some species as over the years it has offered vegetal material of plants known as invasive in international exchanges with other botanic gardens and even to the general public for private gardens.

The Danube Delta is a relatively young territory, formed about 14,000 years ago. It has quadruple status: Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar site, UNESCO World Heritage site, Natura 2000 site. Water and human activities are the most important factors influencing the flora of this area, including the penetration and spread of alien plants. The main goal of our research in this area was to inventory the alien plants and to identify those species which are invasive and potentially invasive in the natural and semi-natural ecosystems in order to propose measures for their prevention and mitigation. An inventory of these plants, conducted between 2009 and 2012 and based on bibliography and field research, comprises over 160 taxa. About half of them originated from America and less than a quarter of them from Asia. A relatively high number of species have unknown status in the Danube Delta; they were reported only from one or two localities and we did not record them during our extensive field work. In this category we also included some taxa of Xanthium without a very clear taxonomy. The taxa recorded as casual are usually ornamental plants escaped from cultivation; however among them there are some species which are known as invasive in other areas of Romania, as well as in Europe. There are 26 naturalised species, two of which established here over one hundred years ago. 37 invasive species were identified, many of them recorded in natural or seminatural places. In order to prevent and mitigate the spread of plants recognised as invasive, we propose the implementation of some measures such as providing relevant information to local communities and raising awareness about the damages caused by the alien species, and promoting further research on alien plant species in this protected area.

The Plopul salt marshes, Tulcea County, developed within the perimeter of Lake Beibugeac, have been identified as having a high concentration of halophytes on a relatively small area of about 100 ha. These have formed vegetal communities that fit within two types of Natura 2000 habitats: 1310 Communities of Salicornia and other annuals colonising mud and sand and 1530* Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes. Four of the 57 species recorded are rare at national level: Halocnemum strobilaceum, Limonium bellidifollium subsp. danubiale, Limonium meyeri and Salicornia prostrata. The area currently has a SPA (Special Protection Area) status, but the unique concentration of halophytes, the presence of Natura 2000 habitats and of rare species, also recommend the area for designation as a SCI (Sites of Community Interest).

The current chapter aims to highlight some of the potential threats that alpine habitats in Bucegi Natural Park might face given the anticipated climate changes, to document the potential prediction of vulnerability of one representative alpine grassland (Natura 2000 code 6150) and to promote the need to reduce the anthropic stress as an element of the adaptive management, in conditions of climate change.

The present work is the result of research carried out within the framework of IPAs project, a practical application of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (2002 Hague) in Romania. The data provided constitute a scientific basis support for enlargement of the national network of protected areas and for selection of Natura 2000 sites in Romania. A significant part is occupied by studies performed in Dobrogea. New information regarding 16 threatened taxa at Global (4 species) or European (12 species) level, that still occur in Dobrogea, are provided.