Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXI, Issue 2
Written by Marius-Ion MANEA, Gheorghe-Florian BORLEA
The total forest area in Romania has been sustainably managed based on ten years plans for more than 50 years. Tilia sp. (lime tree species) area in Romanian forests covered around 214,000 ha in 1966 (1% of the total forest area) but recent data show that the lime - tree species proportion has easily been increasing in the last decades. From the 40 genera and over 350 species of the Tilliaceae family that are spread especially in the tropical and subtropical regions, in Western Romania the lime tree species are represented by three native species of the same Tilia genus: Tilia cordata Mill., Tilia tomentosa Moench. and Tilia platyphyllos Scop. Data from the national forest inventory, data from succesive forest management plans for the period 1968-2016 and recent field research data from Western Romania were analysed. The research studies and official reports from the region present lime-tree species as resistent to abiotic (draught, pollution) and biotic stress (no important parasite or disease of Tilia sp. has been reported in the Western part of Romania). An interesting situation is presented in Caransebes area, in the same region. Recent data analysis shows that in this area, the lime-tree species have maintained or even increased their total area in spite of all silvicultural management measures which were performed in the last decades in accordance with the management plans stipulations and which have favoured the beech, oak or coniferous species against the lime trees. The lime tree ecological demands and also its reproductive systems (both vegetative and sexuate) seem to be a competitive advantage in the present-day climate change local context. The future forest management planning activities should consider adequate measures to use the lime-tree species competitive advantage in order to promote a sustainable forest management in the region. The aesthetic species wood qualities and their numerous uses in wood industry are also very important arguments in this respect.
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