Romania

Pollarding/pruning of a lime (Romania). Note the presence of a few larger trees within a patch of much younger (c150 yr old) trees

A study of practical tree pollarding techniques in Europe - Helen Read’s diary, read the section on Romania

 

500 year old beech pollard in the Carpathian Mountains

Study Tour of Romania (Dobrogea, Danube Delta and Carpathian Mountains) 22 Oct to 1 Nov 2003

Report by Andy Law, CCW

Romania is a fascinating country to visit. Seeing the vast plains, wetlands and forest still under traditional land-uses feels like going back in time. It is a country with a very different climate to the UK. The inclusion of countries such as Romania into the EU is likely to have far reaching implications for agriculture and nature conservation.

We found ancient trees in many landscapes. Many people still rely on trees for heating, cooking, fodder and everday items. The ad-hoc pruning of branches and shredding was widely observed.

Details of an ATF study tour of Romania

The Breite reserve near Sighisoara

The Mihai Eminescu Trust Campaign to save an ancient living landscape



The most venerable oak tree on the plateau is over 700 years old and bursting with vitality

Luminita Holban, MET Administration www.mihaieminescutrust.org  has sent us the following information:

We are a British registered charity involved in the conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage in Transylvania, a uniquely beautiful and unspoilt part of Romania.
As part of our work, we manage a 70-hectare ancient oak tree reserve called Breite, near the Transylvanian city of Sighisoara (a UNESCO World Heritage site). It contains more than 450 oak trees, of which 163 are estimated to be over 500 years old. The oldest is thought to be nearly 800 years old.

Breite – a Unique European Treasure

On the Breite Plateau, near Sighişoara, lies the largest, most representative and beautifully preserved wood pasture habitat with multi-secular oak trees (Querqus robur and Querqus petraea) in Central and Eastern Europe. From the point of view of its origin, the Breite Plateau is a “culturally modified forest”, created not only by eight centuries of local Saxon culture, but also by a rich and diverse natural environment. It is this dual origin that gives the Breite Reserve its multiple and exceptional values – historical, cultural, ecological, aesthetic and sentimental. A rich natural heritage and living evidence of the history of Sighişoara, Breite represents a unique treasure of European value.

New Management for the Breite Reserve

In order to protect this treasure and to safeguard its future, the management of the 70-hectare multi-secular oak reserve was entrusted on the 29th of March 2006 to a partnership between The Mihai Eminescu Trust and Sighişoara City Council, for a period of five years. MET, the City Council and their partners pledged to preserve the ancient oak trees on Breite, to ensure the regeneration of the reserve by planting new trees, to promote the value of the reserve in Romania and abroad and to create a management plan within a year, based on scientific studies and public consultations.

The Breite reserve near Sighisoara came under threat in 2002, when the Romanian Govern-ment of the time proposed to build a Dracula Theme Park on it. Although this particular danger was averted, the reserve subsequently fell into neglect.

Now The Mihai Eminescu Trust, together with the local authorities s in charge of managing the reserve for the next five years. With your sup-port, we can hire trained park rangers to prevent illegal fires, ancient trees being cut down, un-checked grazing, waste, off-road motorcycle races and poaching.

Adopt an oak tree hundreds of years old
Benefit from free support when you visit Transylvania.

Further information pdf (482KB)

Luminita has prepared a short newsletter of activities on Breite this year - download pdf (586KB)