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ANALYSIS OF THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL VARIABILITY OF THE LANDSCAPE FROM CIUCULUI MOUNTAINS OVER THE PAST 150 YEARS

Roxana Cuculici

Abstract

Sub-unit of the Moldo-Transylvanian Carpathians, the Ciucului Mountains are individualized in the central-southern part of them as a well-established mountain unit, limited to the west by the Ciucului Depression, with a total area of about 93720 hectares. As a whole, Ciucului Mountains, with its altitudes exceeding 1500 m, is wrapped in the form of a large isosceles triangle, based on the West, the Ciucului Depression, and a north-south ridge orientation as in general with the major structures of Carpathian Flis. This article analyses during a reference period corresponding to the last 150 years (1864-2018), the natural and anthropic characteristics identifying and defining the landscape of the Ciucului Mountains in the context of socio-political, economic and climate changes. This analysis of the multidimensional variability of the Ciucului Mountains landscape will highlight the state of ecosystems in terms of their structure, function or dynamics under the conditions changes in land management. In this study were used the historical maps from 1864, 1923, 1945, vector data Corine Land Cover 1990/2018 that were correlated and verified by GIS and Remote Sensing methods. Because of the altitude, Ciucului Mountain belongs to the belts of deciduous and coniferous forests. Initially, before 1864, traditional livestock activities have led to the extension of grassland surfaces. But the situation has changed lately. Geostatistical studies revealed that in 1864 there were 7768.88 ha (8.29%) covered by forests and 84375.61 ha (90.03%) covered with pastures and hay fields and in 2018 there was only 15078.18 ha (16.09%) covered with pastures and hay fields. At the level of the entire mountainous unit it register a process of decline of areas covered with pastures and hay fields due to abandonment of traditional activities of mowing and grazing and cover them with other types of vegetation. From the year 2011 a large portion of this area (59640.80 ha) was included in the European Natura 2000 ecological network, as the site of Community Importance (ROSCI0323). However, even if there is a process of return to the forest vegetation, there are still important areas with grassland. Even if they are secondary (derived) grasslands, they are in a good ecological condition and deserve to be valorizated for traditional agricultural or tourist purposes.

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