FORESTS IN ROMANIA,    FORESTS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Romanian forests show off a sizable diversity and wealth in terms of wooden and herbaceous species providing for a considerable stability of forest ecosystem and environment protection.
Out of the 50 vegetal formations identified at national level, 34 are forest formations wherein the most important species with zonal area can be found: Swiss pine, Norway spruce, fir, beech, durmast, oak, Turkish oak and Quercus frainetto – as well as some species with intrazonal areas such as larch, Pinus nigra, ash elm, indigenous poplars and willows.

Beech and Norway spruce, the most common tree species in Romania

Within the natural forests of Romanian Carpathians some relict species survived the glacial ages the following one worth to be mentioned: Syringa josikaea, Hepatica transsilvanica, Betula nana, Betula humilis, Salix stareana and Vaccinium oxycoccus.
Some endemic species have been identified as well: these are Dianthus tenuifolius, Dianthus spiculifolius, Ranunculus carpaticus, Silene dubia, etc, and the well-known Dianthus callizonus (Symbol of the Piatra Craiului Massif).

Dianthus callizonus

The forest fauna is representative for the main groups of animals identified in Romania: 36 species out of the 43 mammals exist in the forest area, 156 species of birds out the total number of 250 species, 13 species of the total number of 15 and 13 fishes out of the 21 species reported at the national level.
Valuable fauna species in Romanian forests: bear (Ursus arctos), about 50 % of the European population, wolf (Canis lupus) about 40 % of the European effective, red deer (Cervus elaphus), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), wild boar (Sus scrofa), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), lynx (Lynx lynx), hare (Lepus europaeus), wild cat (Felis sylvestris) and pheasant (Phasianus colchicus).

Wolf and bear, ones of the most important fauna species in Romanian forests