A statistical analysis of distribution and evolution of forest potential in Romania, between 1990-2010, especially for Suceava county

Abstract

Romanian forest covers 6.37 millions ha (about a quarter of the country area). From this, 6.23 millions ha are covered by forests, representing 26.7% of the country area. In the early years, forests used to cover 80% of the country, but the need for practicing agriculture or other economic interests consistently reduced the area, decreasing the ratio below European average of 33%. Forest management has become even more unbalanced because of the economic interests which were promoted instead of a rational management, leaving aside biodiversity’s conservation. Catastrophic floods that swept the whole country have shown how seriously the ability of hydrological and anti-erosion protection of our forest has been reduced. The major threatens for the forests are the uncontrolled cuttings for timber and the appropriation of former owners. This phenomena will increase if no measures are taken. The forests play an ecological part, so that 50% of Romanian forests are classified into categories of water, soil and climate protection. So, the way forests are managed significantly affects environment’s quality. The choice of statistical data is motivated by the fact that deforestation is one of the main risk factors favoring the occurrence of climatic and geo-morphological risk phenomena. The goal of this paper is the achievement of a complete statistical analysis of the forests in our country, with general applicability for all Romanian counties and particularly for Suceava county. To avoid “distortion” of analysis and representation, Bucharest was not taken into account.