The fig tree, Ficus carica L., 1753, is a woody species native to southwest Asia, common in the Mediterranean area. Although it sporadically appeared as a spontaneous plant in southern and southeastern Romania, it hardly survives the cold season. Therefore, in central and northern Romania it appeared mostly as a small shrub. This paper aims to signal the expansion of the species to the north, as a result of climate change in the region (Transylvania). Our studies are based on measuring and tracking the dynamics of stem diameter each winter for six years (2016 - 2021). The experimentally planted fig plants in Cluj - Napoca show an increase in the diameter of the stem in the last four years to a size that will allow them to withstand the frost of winter. Thus, from a creeping shrub (Ficus carica L., 1753), the plant begins to take on the appearance of a tree with erect stems. Measurement data are presented in the paper. Even if global warming is considered by some authors to be a fact, and by others a spontaneous geological trend and only with regional effects, we can say that, at the country level, climate warming is certain in Romania.

creeping shrub, erect stems, climate change, mild winters, Ficus carica

biology

Presentation: poster