Riparian broad-leaved forests are one of the most wide-spread type of plant community in temperate and boreal Europe; concurrently, they are classified as Natura 2000 habitat type 91E0 * Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae), which encompass more habitat sub-types (sensu EUR 28) and various plant associations (sensu PHYSYS-Palearctic, DEVILLERS et al., 2010). In spite of their floristic heterogeneity, these forests, even those patches without red-list indexed or annex-indexed species, play a great role within both semi-natural and agricultural landscapes (ecosystems services, aesthetic value, migration corridors etc.). We present the results of field studies conducted between April 2012 and October 2013 in the Cheile Nerei - Beușnița National Park (Caraș-Severin County, S-W Romania), which constitutes (with minor changes in their spatial limits) also a Site of Community Importance (ROSCI 0031) and a Special Protection Area for birds (ROSPA 0020); from a biogeographical point of view, Cheile Nerei-Beușnița belongs to Romanian continental region. Within the studied area, the habitat 91E0* occupies mainly the Nera valley, but also the valleys of smaller rivers: Miniș, Bei, Beușnița, Șușara, Lăpușnic, Valea Mare. The tree species that define this habitat are Alnus glutinosa, Fraxinus excelsior, and Salix sp.; the herbaceous layer is diverse (Angelica sylvestris, Aegopodium podagraria, Equisetum sp., Stellaria nemorum, Telekia speciosa etc.) and discontinuous. According to the Romanian habitats system (DONIȚĂ et al., 2005, 2006, GAFTA & MOUNTFORD, 2008), the vegetation we identified could be classified within types R4401, R4402, and R4405. As main threats we catalogued anthropic actions both on river bed (e.g. D01.01, D01.02, E03.01) and riparian vegetation (e.g. B06). A specificity of this habitat in Cheile Nerei-Beușnița is the significant ingression of species from proximate habitats (9180*, 91K0, 91Y0). The conservation status is unadequate, on most patches. The future management plan of the site should consider this habitat as one of the more impacted by the tourism development (rafting, cycling, traffic etc.), giving the high potential of Nera Gorges and Sasca Montană area (ZOTA, 2012); SCHRÖTT, prior to 1972, recorded degradation signs (ruderalization) in Salicetum albae-fragilis, Salicetum triandrae, Salicetum purpureae, and Aegopodio-Alnetum coenoses on Nera and Bei. A map with the habitat 91E0* in the studied area is provided.

Natura 2000, Cheile Nerei-Beușnița, alluvial forests, habitat, 91E0, conservation

Presentation: oral