Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii „Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi http://www.bio.uaic.ro/publicatii/anale_vegetala/anale_veg_index.html s. II a. Biologie vegetală, 2020, 66: 13-29 ISSN: 1223-6578, E-ISSN: 2247-2711 ASPECTS REGARDING FLORA AND THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SOME PLANT SPECIES FROM THE LOCAL MEADOWS OF BĂICENI (BOTOȘANI COUNTY) Florentina ȘCHIOPU1, Anișoara STRATU2*, Irina IRIMIA2 Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to inventory the plant species in the meadows on the territory of Băiceni and highlight their economic importance. The floristic studies were carried out in the vegetation season from 2018 to 2019. Based on the literature, plant species were identified and then processed in terms of bioforms, floristic elements and ecological indices. Also, the economic categories in which the identified species fall were analysed. 66 species belonging to 21 botanical families have been identified. The families Fabaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae were distinguished by the higher number of species. Most of the species identified in the study area are hemicryptophytes, heliophiles, eurytherms, which grow on dry to moderately moist soils, euritrophs. Over 50% of the identified species belong to several categories of useful plants (fodder, medicinal, melliferous). Keywords: flora, meadows, bioforms, floristic elements, ecological indices, economic categories. Introduction In Romania, in 2014, hayfields and pastures occupied 31.9% of the country's agricultural area (Raport anual privind starea mediului în România, anul 2017). In Botoșani County, at the level of 2019, pastures, hayfields and natural meadows represented 23% of the agricultural area of the county, the pastures having a higher share (19%) (Raport privind starea mediului în județul Botoșani în anul 2019). The meadow is a source of food for domestic animals, habitat and source of food for wild animals, a means of preventing and combating soil erosion, a means of improving soil structure and fertility (Vîntu et al., 2004). Meadows also contribute to water resources management, atmospheric carbon storage, biodiversity conservation; it beautifies the landscape and offers spaces for recreational activities (Marușca et al., 2010; Dragomir, 2019). The flora of the meadows is rich and varied, comprising numerous economically valuable species (fodder, medicinal, melliferous etc.), and the presence of legume species in the floristic composition of the meadows contributes to the nitrogen enrichment of the soil. Flora of the meadows from different areas of Romania has been studied by many specialists. Focus of these studies was based on economic importance from the point the view of fodder value, and also on ecological importance. Recent articles about these studies were published by: Dărăban et al., 2013; Melut et al., 2013; Dincă et al., 2014; Pleșa et al., 2014; Oroian et al., 2016; Jalobă et al., 2018. The flora and vegetation of Botoșani County has been studied by numerous botanists, among whom we mention: Răvăruț et al., 1956; Mihai, 1969, 1970, 1971; 1 ”Ion Neculce” Theoretical High School, 65 Cuza Vodă street, 705300, Târgu Frumos, Iași, Romania 2 “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Faculty of Biology, 20A Carol I Blvd., 700506, Iași, Romania * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] Șchiopu, F. et al. 2020/ Analele Stiint. Univ. Al. I. Cuza Iasi, Sect. II a. Biol. veget., 66: 13-29 Vițalariu and Zanoschi, 1972; Zanoschi and Turenschi, 1975, 1978; Mititelu and Chifu, 1994; Huțanu, 2004. The present paper aims to inventory the plant species in the grassland ecosystem on the territory of Băiceni and highlight their economic importance. Materials and methods Băiceni is located in the northern part of Romania, in the south-west of Botoșani County. It is a component village of Curteşti commune (47°42ʹ59.4ʺ N şi 26°38ʹ44.9ʺ E), which is part of the Moldavian Plateau, the Dorohoi - Botoşani depression, respectively at the contact between the Siretului Hills to the west and the Jijiei Plain to the east. The relief is hilly, with an average altitude below 200 m, and the climate is temperate continental (Posea, 1982; https://www.primariacurtestibt.ro). The meadows from Băiceni locality fall into the category of secondary and natural meadows (secondary meadows or pastures). Two meadows were studied: one used as pasture (P1) and the other as hayfield (P2). The inventory of plant species was made between 2018 and 2019 in the vegetation seasons; for identification and nomenclature were used the field guides elaborated by Ciocârlan, 2009; Sârbu et al., 2013. Common names were made according to Plants For a Future (PFAF) database (https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx). Based on the specialized literature, for each species was indicate the bioform (Ciocârlan, 2009; Sârbu et al., 2013), the floristic element (Ciocârlan, 2009; Sârbu et al., 2013), ecological indices (Sârbu et al., 2013; Păcurar and Rotar, 2014) and economic importance (Crăciun et al., 1976-1977; Kovács, 1979; Cîrnu, 1980; Pop, 1982; Popescu, 1984; Bărbulescu and Motcă, 1987; Pârvu, 2000, 2002-2005; Vîntu et al., 2004; Muntean et al., 2007; Dihoru and Boruz, 2014; PFAF, 2020). Results and discussions Following the field trips made in the meadows near Băiceni, 66 species and subspecies were inventoried, belonging to 21 botanical families (Table 1). In Fig. 1 it can be seen that the families with the most representatives are Fabaceae (14 species and subspecies), Poaceae (13 species and subspecies) and Asteraceae (11 species and subspecies), which can be correlated with the type of ecosystem in which the observation was made. The rest of the botanical families participate with a small number of species. The analysis of the spectrum of bioforms highlights the predominance of hemicryptophytes (Table 1, Fig. 2) which are characteristic of the temperate zone and the grassland ecosystem, where grassy vegetation predominates. Therophytes (17.17%) and hemitherophytes (8.8%) participate in a not very large proportion, species that indicate an anthropozoogenic influence through grazing or in the vicinity of agricultural crops, so segetal and ruderal weeds migrating to pastures and hayfields. The other bioforms participate in a small proportion. The analysis of the floristic elements reveals the largest share of the Eurasian elements, followed by the European ones, thus confirming the temperate character of the climate (Table 1, Fig. 3). The presence of thermophilic elements, Pontic-Mediterranean, is 14 Șchiopu, F. et al. 2020/ Analele Stiint. Univ. Al. I. Cuza Iasi, Sect. II a. Biol. veget., 66: 13-29 very poorly represented, but participates in highlighting the forest-steppe physiognomy of the region: Eryngium campestre, Ranunculus illyricus, Salvia nemorosa ssp. nemorosa. The presence of Cosmopolitan elements shows a moderate anthropo-zoogenic pressure in the study area. Figure 1. Distribution of species by botanical families Figure 2. The bioforms spectrum In order to obtain an overview of the flora that makes up the vegetation of the meadows in Băiceni, ecological indices were also analysed. The ecological characteristics 15 Șchiopu, F. et al. 2020/ Analele Stiint. Univ. Al. I. Cuza Iasi, Sect. II a. Biol. veget., 66: 13-29 of the identified species are presented in Table 1, Fig. 4. Analysing a grassland ecosystem it can be observed the predominance of heliophiles species (L7 = 42.42%, L8 = 42.42%), eurytherms (Tx = 66.66%) and mesotherms (T6 = 27.27%), which develop on dry to moderately moist soils (H4 = 33.33%, H5 = 19.69%, H3 = 16.66%), euritrophs (Nx = 25%) or grow on soils poor to moderate in mineral nitrogen (N3 = 12.5%, N4 = 12.5%). Figure 3. The floristic elements spectrum Figure 4. The ecological indices spectrum 16 Șchiopu, F. et al. 2020/ Analele Stiint. Univ. Al. I. Cuza Iasi, Sect. II a. Biol. veget., 66: 13-29 63 of the 66 species identified in the studied meadows were grouped by categories of plants of economic importance as follows: - 42 species are weak to good fodder. Among the plants identified in the study area, considered very good and respectively good forage, we list: Bromus inermis, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca pratensis, Lolium perenne, Poa annua, Trifolium pratense, Medicago falcata (Table 2, Fig. 5); - 40 species are used for medicinal purposes. In the category of medicinal plants were included well-known species and lesser-known species, but whose therapeutic action has been scientifically confirmed. Among the latter we list: Rumex acetosella (Mantle et al. 2000), Prunella vulgaris (Sarosi and Bernath, 2008), Tripleurospermum inodorum (Mahernia et al., 2015; Šibul et al., 2019), Achillea setacea (Rezaei et al., 2017). For medicinal purposes can be used the underground part for some species, certain aerial organs or the whole plant for other species (Table 2, Fig. 5); - 39 melliferous species that are sources of pollen and nectar. Among the identified angiosperm species, 20% have white flowers, 53.84% have variously coloured flowers (yellow, red, blue, purple and shades of these colours), and the rest have green flowers. The colour of the flowers has a role in attracting pollinating insects, but it is also a decorative element of the landscape in the studied area. The flowering period for the identified angiosperm species and especially for the plants with melliferous potential coincides with the active season for bees (Table 2, Fig. 5); - 29 species used in food, 3 as aromatic and spicy species (Artemisia absinthium, Convolvulus arvensis, Thymus pannonicus), 26 as well as culinary