TY - JOUR

T1 - Abundance of large old trees in wood-pastures of Transylvania (Romania)

AU - Hartel, Tibor

AU - Hanspach, Jan

AU - Moga, Cosmin I.

AU - Holban, Lucian

AU - Szapanyos, Árpád

AU - Tamás, Réka

AU - Hováth, Csaba

AU - Réti, Kinga Olga

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2018/2/1

Y1 - 2018/2/1

N2 - Wood-pastures are special types of agroforestry systems that integrate trees with livestock grazing. Wood pastures can be hotspots for large old tree abundance and have exceptional natural values; but they are declining all over Europe. While presence of large old trees in wood-pastures can provide arguments for their maintenance, actual data on their distribution and abundance are sparse. Our study is the first to survey large old trees in Eastern Europe over such a large area. We surveyed 97 wood-pastures in Transylvania (Romania) in order to (i) provide a descriptive overview of the large old tree abundance; and (ii) to explore the environmental determinants of the abundance and persistence of large old trees in wood-pastures. We identified 2520 large old trees belonging to 16 taxonomic groups. Oak was present in 66% of the wood-pastures, followed by beech (33%), hornbeam (24%) and pear (22%). For each of these four species we constructed a generalized linear model with quasi-Poisson error distribution to explain individual tree abundance. Oak trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures and in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region of Transylvania. Beech abundance related positively to elevation and to proximity of human settlements. Abundance of hornbeam was highest in large wood-pastures, in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region, and in places with high cover of adjacent forest and a low human population density. Large old pear trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures that were close to paved roads. The maintenance of large old trees in production landscapes is a challenge for science, policy and local people, but it also can serve as an impetus for integrating economic, ecological and social goals within a landscape.

AB - Wood-pastures are special types of agroforestry systems that integrate trees with livestock grazing. Wood pastures can be hotspots for large old tree abundance and have exceptional natural values; but they are declining all over Europe. While presence of large old trees in wood-pastures can provide arguments for their maintenance, actual data on their distribution and abundance are sparse. Our study is the first to survey large old trees in Eastern Europe over such a large area. We surveyed 97 wood-pastures in Transylvania (Romania) in order to (i) provide a descriptive overview of the large old tree abundance; and (ii) to explore the environmental determinants of the abundance and persistence of large old trees in wood-pastures. We identified 2520 large old trees belonging to 16 taxonomic groups. Oak was present in 66% of the wood-pastures, followed by beech (33%), hornbeam (24%) and pear (22%). For each of these four species we constructed a generalized linear model with quasi-Poisson error distribution to explain individual tree abundance. Oak trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures and in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region of Transylvania. Beech abundance related positively to elevation and to proximity of human settlements. Abundance of hornbeam was highest in large wood-pastures, in wood-pastures from the Saxon cultural region, and in places with high cover of adjacent forest and a low human population density. Large old pear trees were most abundant in large wood-pastures that were close to paved roads. The maintenance of large old trees in production landscapes is a challenge for science, policy and local people, but it also can serve as an impetus for integrating economic, ecological and social goals within a landscape.

KW - Conservation

KW - Eastern Europe

KW - Ecological keystone

KW - Large old tree

KW - Remarkable trees of Romania

KW - Transylvania

KW - Veteran tree

KW - Wooded pasture

KW - Environmental planning

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029279482&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.048

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.048

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 28915462

AN - SCOPUS:85029279482

VL - 613-614

SP - 263

EP - 270

JO - The Science of The Total Environment

JF - The Science of The Total Environment

SN - 0048-9697

ER -