VIRGIN FORESTS AT THE HEART OF EUROPE The importance, situation and future of Romania’s virgin forests by Rainer Luick, Albert Reif, Erika Schneider, Manfred Grossmann & Ecaterina Fodor Mitteilungen des Badischen Landesvereins für Naturkunde & Naturschutz e.V. (BLNN), 2021, Band 24. DOI 10.6094/BLNN/Mitt/24.02 Content Recommended citation: R. Luick, A. Reif, E. Schneider, M. Grossmann & E. Fodor (2021). Virgin forests at the heart of Europe - The importance, situation and future of Romania’s virgin forests. Mitteilungen des Badischen Landesvereins für Naturkunde und Naturschutz 24. ISSN 0067-2528 Doi: 10.6094/BLNN/Mitt/24.02 A German version of the report (Urwälder im Herzen Europas) is available as hard cover. Order is possible via: Badischer Landesverein für Naturkunde und Naturschutz e.V. (BLNN), Gerberau 32, D-79098 Freiburg. E-Mail:
[email protected] Cover Photos: Ion Holban, Christoph Promberger (Fundația Conservation Carpathia) Layout: Annelie Moreira da Silva 2 1 Virgin and old-growth forests and their ecological significance This report will provide an overview of the distribution, situation and (in particular), perception of the last remaining large-scale virgin forests in Central Europe, with a particular focus on Romania. s well as being a scene of forest destruction, 1 Spared from the direct influence of civilisation, ARomania is an EU Member State and a country virgin forests (wilderness areas) contain vital with close and good relations with Germany1. reserves of evolutionary genes. Intra-species Numerous observers and stakeholders are variability that has evolved over thousands able to provide us with reliable and up-to-date or even millions of years has been spared information.