the reasons is that of all places in Romania DDBR is the most exposed to alien
species through the many possible gates of their introduction: Constant ¸a, Sulina,
Tulcea, Bra ˘ila, and Galat ¸i harbours (Anastasiu and Negrean 2009). Another reason is
that certain plants communities are not well established. Therefore, in a climate
change-induced changing landscape invasive species find opportunities for settling
themselves by different dispersal factors (e.g. hydrological, wind). Presently,
DDBR’s management plan (2007–2013) provides only the action of inventorying
invasive species and recommends some precautionary measures for their management that are not related to climate change. Also, in accordance with the 5th
Convention on Biological Diversity and key directions of Seville’s Strategy
(UNESCO 1996), it recommends control or attenuation of climate changes in order
to maintain a good habitat state. Among the potential measures that may be taken
within DDBR in order to prevent negative effects of the invasive species in relation
with extreme climate events are keeping the present population of some invasive
species in control; maintaining a good habitat status in strictly protected areas by
monitoring the newly arrived species; identifying new potential areas in order to
replant species with decreasing populations because of environment frequent variations; changing the management of some habitat types by means of reducing climate
change effects with minimum long-term consequences. The biggest challenge is the
uncertainty of long-term effects that actions taken in present climate change conditions might have. Even if the present actions seem to be the most appropriate for
the actual conditions there is no certainty that they will have the same effect in future
climatic conditions. Scenarios combined with expert knowledge are needed at
the local level in order to reduce this uncertainty. In this regard one example are
mechanical control methods that are useful to some species in particular portions of
their range. If warmer winter temperatures allow these plants to overwinter, management will have to be more aggressive and sustained and, thus, will be more
expensive (Hellmann et al. 2008). Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure high-quality
information about climate changes is available for park rangers training in order to
enhance the capability of adapting and applying the required measures.
Climate change adaptation is being undertaken through management measures
in order to reduce potential impacts of invasive species spreading in DDBR
habitats. Priority challenges, responsive measures and their actions with possible
risks are listed below for the Natura 2000 habitat types 1210, 1310, 1410, 1530*,
2110, 2130*, 2160, 3130, 3150 and 91E0*.
I. Challenge: habitat conservation; (a) Measure: identify areas that are likely to be
resilient to climate change and support a broad range of plant species under changed
conditions; Actions: identify and map high priority areas for conservation using
information on species distributions, habitat classification, and land cover; spot the
most problematic invasive plant species, their coverage, and spreading potential areas.
Risks/Uncertainty: lack of implementation capacity because of the knowledge gap on
habitats conservation; in the long term unpredictable changes of climate can sustain
the propagule availability and, thus, the spreading of invasive plant species.
(b) Measure: restore habitat features; Action: restore degraded habitats to
reduce species vulnerability by creating refuge areas in a changing climate;
18 Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Habitats and Their Effects. . .
275
species through the many possible gates of their introduction: Constant ¸a, Sulina,
Tulcea, Bra ˘ila, and Galat ¸i harbours (Anastasiu and Negrean 2009). Another reason is
that certain plants communities are not well established. Therefore, in a climate
change-induced changing landscape invasive species find opportunities for settling
themselves by different dispersal factors (e.g. hydrological, wind). Presently,
DDBR’s management plan (2007–2013) provides only the action of inventorying
invasive species and recommends some precautionary measures for their management that are not related to climate change. Also, in accordance with the 5th
Convention on Biological Diversity and key directions of Seville’s Strategy
(UNESCO 1996), it recommends control or attenuation of climate changes in order
to maintain a good habitat state. Among the potential measures that may be taken
within DDBR in order to prevent negative effects of the invasive species in relation
with extreme climate events are keeping the present population of some invasive
species in control; maintaining a good habitat status in strictly protected areas by
monitoring the newly arrived species; identifying new potential areas in order to
replant species with decreasing populations because of environment frequent variations; changing the management of some habitat types by means of reducing climate
change effects with minimum long-term consequences. The biggest challenge is the
uncertainty of long-term effects that actions taken in present climate change conditions might have. Even if the present actions seem to be the most appropriate for
the actual conditions there is no certainty that they will have the same effect in future
climatic conditions. Scenarios combined with expert knowledge are needed at
the local level in order to reduce this uncertainty. In this regard one example are
mechanical control methods that are useful to some species in particular portions of
their range. If warmer winter temperatures allow these plants to overwinter, management will have to be more aggressive and sustained and, thus, will be more
expensive (Hellmann et al. 2008). Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure high-quality
information about climate changes is available for park rangers training in order to
enhance the capability of adapting and applying the required measures.
Climate change adaptation is being undertaken through management measures
in order to reduce potential impacts of invasive species spreading in DDBR
habitats. Priority challenges, responsive measures and their actions with possible
risks are listed below for the Natura 2000 habitat types 1210, 1310, 1410, 1530*,
2110, 2130*, 2160, 3130, 3150 and 91E0*.
I. Challenge: habitat conservation; (a) Measure: identify areas that are likely to be
resilient to climate change and support a broad range of plant species under changed
conditions; Actions: identify and map high priority areas for conservation using
information on species distributions, habitat classification, and land cover; spot the
most problematic invasive plant species, their coverage, and spreading potential areas.
Risks/Uncertainty: lack of implementation capacity because of the knowledge gap on
habitats conservation; in the long term unpredictable changes of climate can sustain
the propagule availability and, thus, the spreading of invasive plant species.
(b) Measure: restore habitat features; Action: restore degraded habitats to
reduce species vulnerability by creating refuge areas in a changing climate;
18 Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Habitats and Their Effects. . .
275