Chapter 18
Potential Impacts of Climate Change
on Habitats and Their Effects on Invasive
Plant Species in Danube Delta Biosphere
Reserve, Romania
Mihai Doroftei and Paulina Anastasiu
18.1 Introduction
It is widely accepted that climate change effects have repercussions everywhere
around us; the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) is no exception. The
spreading of invasive plant species is mainly influenced by climatic factors. Most
invasive species, regardless the place of occurrence, follow the same climatic
pattern as in their place of origin (Richardson and Pyse ˇk 2006). Changes of climatic
features showed habitat alteration by decreasing, increasing or shifting of species’
range in size and abundance (Leech et al. 2011). In climate change context, one of
the effects is the spread and persistence of invasive plant species in natural habitats
and the interference on plant community’s structure. These opportunist species take
advantage of every climatic change in order to expand their survival rate leading to
the loss of the native species (Hellmann et al. 2008). The aim of the study was to
identify the spreading potential of invasive species within DDBR habitats by their
present features of adaptation and their occurrence in plant communities considering climate change impacts. Annual climatic values (temperature, precipitation)
collected between 1961 and 2007 from the eastern (Sf. Gheorghe – Black Sea
shore) and western (Tulcea) meteorological stations located in DDBR were used
and processed. DDBR is situated in South-East Europe, respectively in SouthEastern Romania. As a biosphere reserve, this wetland is also the largest
(5,800 km
2 ) Romanian Natura 2000 site (ROSCI 0065 and ROSPA 0031). It is
a fluvial-maritime floodplain on two bioregions, a steppic and a pontic one
M. Doroftei (*)
Department of Biodiversity Conservation, Danube Delta National Institute for Research and
Development, Babadag Street, No. 165, 820112 Tulcea, Romania
e-mail: doroftei@indd.tim.ro
P. Anastasiu
Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Bucharest, Aleea Portocalelor 1-3,
Sector 5, 060101 Bucures ¸ti, Romania
e-mail: anastasiup@yahoo.com
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_18, © The Author(s) 2014
267
Potential Impacts of Climate Change
on Habitats and Their Effects on Invasive
Plant Species in Danube Delta Biosphere
Reserve, Romania
Mihai Doroftei and Paulina Anastasiu
18.1 Introduction
It is widely accepted that climate change effects have repercussions everywhere
around us; the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) is no exception. The
spreading of invasive plant species is mainly influenced by climatic factors. Most
invasive species, regardless the place of occurrence, follow the same climatic
pattern as in their place of origin (Richardson and Pyse ˇk 2006). Changes of climatic
features showed habitat alteration by decreasing, increasing or shifting of species’
range in size and abundance (Leech et al. 2011). In climate change context, one of
the effects is the spread and persistence of invasive plant species in natural habitats
and the interference on plant community’s structure. These opportunist species take
advantage of every climatic change in order to expand their survival rate leading to
the loss of the native species (Hellmann et al. 2008). The aim of the study was to
identify the spreading potential of invasive species within DDBR habitats by their
present features of adaptation and their occurrence in plant communities considering climate change impacts. Annual climatic values (temperature, precipitation)
collected between 1961 and 2007 from the eastern (Sf. Gheorghe – Black Sea
shore) and western (Tulcea) meteorological stations located in DDBR were used
and processed. DDBR is situated in South-East Europe, respectively in SouthEastern Romania. As a biosphere reserve, this wetland is also the largest
(5,800 km
2 ) Romanian Natura 2000 site (ROSCI 0065 and ROSPA 0031). It is
a fluvial-maritime floodplain on two bioregions, a steppic and a pontic one
M. Doroftei (*)
Department of Biodiversity Conservation, Danube Delta National Institute for Research and
Development, Babadag Street, No. 165, 820112 Tulcea, Romania
e-mail: doroftei@indd.tim.ro
P. Anastasiu
Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Bucharest, Aleea Portocalelor 1-3,
Sector 5, 060101 Bucures ¸ti, Romania
e-mail: anastasiup@yahoo.com
S. Rannow and M. Neubert (eds.), Managing Protected Areas in Central
and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change, Advances in Global Change Research 58,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7960-0_18, © The Author(s) 2014
267