Kun Annamária Preliminary study viewing the fl ora of the Upper Mureş hydrographic basin Kun Annamária RO-540361 Târgu Mureş, str. Măgurei 7/14, Romania, [email protected] Abstract Th e Mureş is one of the most important rivers in the Tisa catchments area. Th e studied area’s surface is about 42 000 hectares and it lies on altitudes between 400-1470 m above sea level. Th is paper presents the taxons found until this moment in the area, comprising a list of taxons of 670 positions. Th e taxons are listed describing their life form, fl oristic element, ecological indexes and protection status. Th e analysis of the fl oristic elements shows that the area’s fl ora is char- acterized by the predominance of the Eurasian element. Th e Carpathian, Dacic, Balcanic and endemic species are about 3,15 %. Th e analysis of life forms shows a high percentage of hemicryptophytes, a fact, which is closely connected to the large surfaces of grasslands and the presence of the grass- layer in diff erent other habitats. Analyzing the ecological indexes, we can see that most of the species belong to the mesophytic (U3-3,5), micromesothermic (T3-3,5) and weaker acid-neutrophiluos (R4-4,5) categories. Key words: Mureş hydrographic basin, species-list. Introduction Th e Mureş River, with its 768 km length is the largest waterway in the Tisa catchment area. Its 30 000 km2 hydrographic area makes it one of the most important rivers of the Carpathian Basin. Its spring is to be found in the Hăşmaşu Mare Mountains, from where, through the Gheorgheni-basin, it gets between the volcanic mountains 63 Biologia | Acta Scientiarum Transylvanica, 15/1, 2007 (Harghita, Gurghiu, Călimani). Passing the Mureş-Gorge, between the Călimani and Gurghiu Mountains, it arrives in the high hilly area, which is the transition to the Transylvanian Basin. After passing the Transylvanian Basin, it fl ows through the Zam-Gorge (between the Poiana Ruscă-moun- tains and Metaliferi Mountains) to the plains, where, fi nally, at Szeged, it joins the Tisa. Figure 1. Map of the area (topographical map). 1. ábra: A terület térképe. 64 Kun Annamária Limits of the studied area Th e area described in this paper lies in the hydrographic basin of the Mureş River between Deda and Reghin. Its northwestern and western limit is the watershed between the Mureş and the Luţ rivers; the Southern and South- western limit is the watershed of the Mureş and Gurghiu rivers. Th e area’s North-eastern limit is divided in two: at the right side of the Mureş is the watershed between the Pietriş and Casei brooks, while on the Mureş’s right side the watershed between the Sebeş and Iod brooks (fi g. 1). Th e highest points of the area are to be found on the watersheds: Sânio- ara-peak (754 m), Şanţ-peak (1281 m), Cetăţii-peak (748 m). Th e surface of the studied area is 42 571 ha. Geology and geomorphology Th e area lays on the edge of the volcanic Călimani-Gurghiu-Harghita area, at its limit with the Transylvanian basin. Th e geomorphologic units of the area are the following (Mac 1972): • Intercollinar basin of Reghin • Subcarpathian basin of Deda-Vălenii de Mureş • Th e Călimani-Gurghiu foothills • Th e Şieu-Sânioara ridge Soils Th e most widespread soil-types are: andosoils (developed on the volca- nic rock) (Höhn 1998):, brown forest-soils (between 600–1000 m altitude), meadow-soils (in fl oodable areas of the valleys and some terraces) and salty soils (in small spots around Ideciu and Brâncovenesti). Hydrographic considerations Th e area’s “vertebral column” is the Mureş River, which passes it in NE-SW direction. On the upper limit-zone of the area, the fl ow of the Mureş is quick; it has an upper-segment character. Between Vălenii de Mureş and Brâncoveneşti the riverbed widens, getting a middle-segment character. 65 Biologia | Acta Scientiarum Transylvanica, 15/1, 2007 Th e average fl ow-rate at Reghin is 33 m3/sec. Affl uents from the right side are small brooks arriving from the Călimani-foothills. Th eir fl ow-rate is usually small, excepting the Pietriş and Râpa brooks. Affl uents on the left side have usually bigger low-rate, they are longer and their spring is on higher altitude. More important val- leys are: Sebeş, Fiţcău, Idicel. As a characteristic of the high hilly/low mountain areas, the precipita- tion during winter falls as snow, that is why the water gets smaller amounts of water supply. Because of this, winter-months can be considered the dry period. During springtime, when the snow melts quickly, the fl ow-rates of these waterfl ows increases, so that the water-supply originating from the melting snow and rainfalls can be 50–60 mm at 500–1500 m altitude. Climate Th e area’s climate has a temperate continental infl uence. Th e closest meteorological station is at Batoş. Th e multi-annual aver- age temperature is 8,83°C and the average annual precipitation-amount is 641,68 mm. Dominant winds blow from East and North-East (from the direction of the mountains), these winds are very dry during the spring-months. Air- streams, which bring precipitation, arrive from the Transylvanian Plane, from West and South-West. Population, settlements and human impact Th e studied area is relatively dense inhabited (40,65 persons/km2), the ma- jor part of settlements being on the lower terrace of the Mureş River, but villages can be found in the bigger brook-valleys, as well. Data viewing the land-use of communities and population are inserted in table 1. Th e population’s main activity in this area is agriculture, mostly stock- breeding (Balás 1999). Th is has a serious impact on the environment, most- ly over the grasslands. A very common situation is the overgrazing, which’s side eff ect often is the apparition of mat-grass (Nardus stricta) grasslands (Sârbu et al. 2003). Th is is very common in the Vătava area, where a big 66 Kun Annamária Table 1. Land use and population in the studied area (based on “Anuarul statistic al judeţului Mureş, ediţia 2005”). 1. táblázat: Földhasználat és népesség a vizsgált területen („Anuarul statistic al judeţului Mureş, ediţia 2005” alapján). Agri- Plough- Pas- Hay- Orchard Popula- Community cultural land ture meadow (ha) tion area (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) Aluniş 4053 788 568 1179 5 3300 Brâncoveneşti 8762 1862 2348 1925 49 4518 Ideciu de Jos 4270 897 641 1145 22 2005 Ruşii Munţi 4282 709 675 1110 4 2252 Suseni 3064 1363 726 176 0 2319 Vătava 16981 1369 1908 3968 15 2113 Pietriş (Deda) 1159 910 800 Total 42571 17307 number of sheepherders graze their herd. A sad fact is the expansion of these herders, who lease practically all the pastures of the upper Mureş- Valley, even from other communities. A serious problem is, that sheep- herds do enter in other lands than pastures (cultivated land, hay meadows, forests), where they cause damages. In the plant-cultivation there is a decrease of the pesticide-use in the last 15 years, which has a positive eff ect on the resettlement of the original fl ora. An important economical resource in the area is the wood, that is why practically all the forests are exploited. Th e direct and indirect eff ects of this activity are clearly seen: cut wood, eroded soil, and destroyed brook- valleys. Another important activity is the gravel mining in the Mureş riverbed. Its eff ect is the riverbed’s deepening, the increased water-speed and turbid- ity, facts, which cause important changes in the river’s biodiversity. Other human activities in the area are: hunting, collecting of mush- rooms, medicinal plants and forest fruits and fi shing. Industry, except wood-industry is hardly present. 67 Biologia | Acta Scientiarum Transylvanica, 15/1, 2007 Materials and methods Th e presentation of the area’s fl ora was made based on my own research. I began studying the territory in 2000, but the methodical research took place in 2005–2006. Th is paper presents the data set collected in the last period. During the fi eldwork in the area I noted the species observed, re- spectively, I took home the unknown species for their identifi cation. Th e identifi cation was made based on the following literature: Simon (2000), Ciocârlan (2000), Anderberg et Anderberg (2007), Buttler (2000), Grau et al. (1998), Săvulescu (1951–1976). Th e major part of the collected species is inserted in a herbarium. Data viewing the species’ taxonomy was taken from the Flora Europaea. Th e genuses in families, as well as the species ge- nuses are listed alphabetically. Data viewing the fl oristic element, life form and ecological index was taken from Sanda (1983). Th e species were introduced in an Excel database and fi lters were used for easier search. Th e database contains data on the species’ life form, fl o- ristic element, ecological index, distribution in the area and in diff erent habitats and their protection status. During the fi eldwork, several hundreds of photos of plants and habi- tats were made, using a Fuji FinePix A205 camera. Photos refl ecting diff er- ent situations were made as well, for example, the overgrazing eff ect, etc. In the paper I used the following abbreviations: For life-forms: MPh – Megaphanerophyton Ch – Chamaephyton mPh – Mezophanerophyton Th – Th erophyton nPh – Nanophanerophyton TH – Hemytherophyton H – Hemycryptophyton Hh – Helohydatophyton G – Geophyton For the fl oristic elements: Alp-Karp – Alp-Carpathian Kozm – cosmopolitan Atl – Atlantic M – Mediterranean Adv – adventive P – pontic B – Balcanic Pn – pannonic Cp – circumpolar Dac – Dacic bor – boreal E – European K – continental 68 Kun Annamária Ec – central-European end – endemic Eua – Eurasian mont – montan For the protection status: WWF – Carpathian List of Endangered Species, Carpathian Ecoregion Initiative (Witkowski.