The history of Dacia's forests in the Orăştie Mts. region.

Abstract

The paper contributes to the knowledge of forest history during the Dacian Civilization, focusing on the mountainous region where the Dacian fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains were located. Some historical and archaeological evidence has been reviewed regarding the use of trees by the Dacians. Emphasis was laid on the analysis of the papers that present indirect evidence in this respect, namely the palynological sequences from the region, belonging to the period of interest, the Subatlantic. On the basis of these, it was possible to reconstruct the natural environment and especially the forest dynamics in the studied region. The palynological analyses performed demonstrate the millennial age of the forests in the area, and aim at further comparisons with the current situation of forests in the region.

Social Context of Late Medieval and Early Modern Deforestation Periods in the Apuseni Mountains (Romania) based on an Integrated Evaluation of Historical and Paleobotanical Records

“…The inferred tree species composition and vegetation dynamics from the Calul de Piatră pollen record agree well with other investigated pollen sequences from the Apuseni Mountains (Bodnariuc et al 2002;Fărcaş et al 2007;Feurdean, Willis, and Astaloş 2009;Willis 2008a, 2008b). Despite the differences in altitude, most palynological studies show the four periods of deforestation found in Calul de Piatră peat cores.…”

“…Paleoecological studies suggest seasonal grazing at high elevation in the Romanian Carpathians started much earlier than the written sources indicate (e.g. Fărcaş et al 2007;Feurdean et al 2011;Feurdean and Willis 2008a;Tanţău et al 2003). In the South Carpathian Retezat Mountains, paleoecological proxy-based vegetation, treeline and timberline reconstructions suggested alpine grazing on naturally open meadows as early as 4200 calibrated years BP (cal yr BP), with intensive clearance of the dwarf pine zone (Pinus mugo) already in the Iron Age, from 2650 and 2200 cal yr BP (Vincze et al 2017).…”

“…Feurdean et al 2012;Magyari et al 2012aMagyari et al , 2018Salisbury, Bácsmegi, and Sümegi 2013;Willis et al 1995Willis et al , 1998 and in the mountain belt of the Carpathians (e.g. Bodnariuc et al 2002;Carter et al 2020;Fărcaş et al 2007;Feurdean et al 2011;Willis 2008a, 2008b;Magyari et al 2012b;Schumacher, Schier, and Schütt 2016;Šolcová et al 2018;Tanţău et al 2003Tanţău et al , 2009, but some of the details (e.g. environmental, social and economic background) are still not well defined.…”

Evaluating the Landscape and Ecological Aspects of Urban Planning in Byblos: A Multi-Faceted Approach to Assessing Urban Forests

“…It has carefully curated a mix of both native and exotic trees, with native species abundance making up 47% of the plantation-a figure in line with UPF guidelines [1]. The city center, being a prominent tourist destination, strategically incorporates specific plants like Ceiba speciosa for ornamental purposes and culturally significant species like Olea europaea and Nerium oleander, which evoke the Roman era in Byblos [40]. This deliberate selection of trees to reflect Byblos' cultural heritage underscores the existence of a comprehensive management plan.…”

The late Quaternary sedimentological-geochemical-based enviromental history of a peat sequence of Kerek-tó from Transylvania

“…Today Round Lake is surrounded by a wet meadow with shrubs and trees (Tapody et al 2018). Our work was mainly motivated by the fact that the examined site is located near the lower part of the mid-mountain zone and up to now Transylvanian environmental historical works, based on geochemistry and pollen analyses, focused solely on high mountains or hillyalluvial areas (Fărcaş et al 2003(Fărcaş et al , 2006Feurdean et al 2008Feurdean et al , 2009Feurdean and Willis, 2008a, b;Tanţău et al 2006Tanţău et al , 2009Magyari et al 2009Magyari et al , 2012Magyari et al , 2018Grindean et al 2017).…”