Analele Științifice ale Universității „Al. I. Cuza” Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LV, 2009

HERPETOFAUNA OF THE MEADOWS FROM THE SITE OF COMMUNITY INTEREST “THE FOREST AND THE MEADOWS

FROM MÂRZEȘTI” (IAȘI, ROMANIA) AND NOTES ON HABITATS

Ștefan R. ZAMFIRESCU, Oana ZAMFIRESCU, Alexandru STRUGARIU and

Iulian GHERGHEL “Al. I. Cuza” Iasi University, Faculty of Biology, Carol I, 20A, 700505, Iasi, România. e-mail: zamfi@uaic.ro

Abstract. Steppe is one of the most altered biome of the world. The majority of the Romanian steppes have been converted into arable land. Our aim was to we aim to present the herpetofauna of a grassland zone, part of a protected area, emphasising on species with protective value and habitat situation. The study area lies at 14 km northward from the city of Iași and it is represented by the meadows of the Site of Community Interest (SCI) “ROSCI0171 The forest and the meadows from Mârzești”, which has been establish in 2007. During the spring and summer of 2008 and 2009 we studied the herpetofauna and the vegetation of the area. The herpetofauna of the meadows from the studied area includes 8 species of amphibians (one of these is a klepton) and 5 species of reptiles, which are recorded for the first time for this location. One reptile and two amphibians are species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special conservation area. Other three species of amphibians and three species of reptiles are species of Community interest in need of strict protection. Some of the investigated plant communities belong to associations that indicate 2 natural habitat types of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation. Because of the high number of protected species, the studied area is important for the protection of amphibians and reptiles at national and European level. Nevertheless, our observations show that the habitat vegetation is in a severe state of degradation due to human activities (especially over-grazing) that may render the area unsuitable for amphibians and reptiles. Keywords: steppe, amphibiens, reptiles, habitats, Directive 92/43/EEC. Rezumat. Herpetofauna pajiștilor din situl de importanță comunitara „Pădurea și pajiștile de la Mârzești” (Iași, România) și note asupra habitatelor. Stepa este unul dintre cele mai modificate biomuri ale planetei. Mare parte din stepele României au fost transformate in teren arabil. Scopul lucrării a fost studiul herpetofaunei din formațiunile ierboase ale unei arii protejate accentuând pe speciile importante din punctul de vedere al protecției și pe situația habitatelor. Zona de studiu se găsește la 14 km nord de orașul Iași și este reprezentată de pajiștile din Situl de Importanță Comunitară (SCI) „ROSCI0171 Pădurea și pajiștile de la Mârzești” declarat în 2007. Studiul herpetofaunei și vegetației a avut loc în primăvara și vara anului 2008 și 2009. Herpetofauna pajiștilor din zona de studiu este compusă din 8 specii de amfibieni (dintre care un klepton) și 5 specii de reptile, care au fost semnalate pentru prima dată din această localitate. O specie de reptile și două de amfibieni sunt specii de interes comunitar a căror conservare necesită desemnarea unor arii speciale de conservare. Alte trei specii de amfibieni și trei de reptile sunt specii de interes comunitar care au nevoie de protecție strictă. Unele dintre comunitățile vegetare investigate fac parte din asociații ce indică 2 tipuri de habitate naturale de interes comunitar a căror conservare necesită desemnarea ariilor speciale de conservare. Datorită numărului mare de specii protejate, zona de studiu este importantă pentru protecția amfibienilor și reptilelor al nivel național și european. Cu toate acestea, observațiile noastre au arătat că vegetația habitatelor este puternic degradată datorită activităților umane (mai ales suprapășunat), care pot face ca zona să nu mai fie propice pentru amfibieni și reptile. Cuvinte cheie: stepă, amfibieni, reptile, habitate, Directiva 92/43/EEC.

Introduction The steppes have provided, for centuries, a favourable environment for nomadic

pastoral activities and remained relatively unchanged by human activities for centuries due to a sustainable exploitation. Extensive ploughing of the steppes only began in the 19th century. Today 75 % of the total area has been converted into arable land (EEA,

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2006). Almost the same percentage applies to the steppes of the European Community which are all part of Romania (Sundseth, 2009). Consequently, the biodiversity of the steppic habitats should be a target for the protection efforts.

Among animals, the amphibians and the reptiles play an important part in the protection of the steppic habitats. According to Romanian and European environmental regulations, the presence of some of these species represents arguments for the establishment of protection area in steppic habitats (European Council Directive 92/43/EEC, transposed as Romanian Government Ordinance no. 57/20.06.2007).

Hence, we aim to present the herpetofauna of a grassland zone, part of a protected area, emphasising on species with protective value and habitat situation.

Additionally, the most recent study of the herpetofauna of the county (Strugariu et al., 2008), makes no reference to the study area. Therefore, this study represents a contribution to the knowledge regarding the distribution of the amphibians and reptiles in Romania.

Material and Methods The study area (Fig. 1) lies at 14 km northward from the city of Iași (acces:

county road DJ 282) and it is a part of the Site of Community Interest (SCI) “ROSCI0171 Pădurea și pajiștile de la Mârzești” (The forest and the meadows from Mârzești), which has been establish in 2007 (Order of the Minister of Environment and Durable Development 776/05.09.2007). The area of the SCI is 232.1 ha and the meadows cover approximately half of it. The relief is represented by hill slopes with general SE and NW orientation. Between these slopes, there is a wet area with several temporal small ponds.

Figure 1. The study area ROSCI 0171 ( forest, meadows).

The herpetofaunistic study consisted of extensive transect surveys

(Cogălniceanu, 1997; Sutherland, 2006) carried out during spring and summer of 2008 and 2009. The specimens were identified following the literature (Fuhn, 1960; Fuhn & Vancea, 1961; Nöllert & Nöllert, 1995; Cogălniceanu, 2000; Arnold & Burton, 2002) and

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photographed. Species protection status has been set according to Directive 92/43 EEC, RGO 57/2007 and the Red Data Book of Romanian Vertebrates (Iftime, 2005) Habitat situation has been assessed through vegetation analysis. The vegetation study was done according to the Braun-Blanquet methodology (Braun-Blanquet, 1964, Cristea et al. 2004).

Results and Discussion During the investigations we recorded 7 amphibian species and 3 reptile species

(Table 1).

Table 1. Identified amphibian and reptile species and protection status.

Class Order Family Species Directive

92/43/EEC 1992

RGO 57/2007

Red list (Iftime 2005)

Amphibia

Caudata Salamandridae Triturus cristatus 2a 3a Vulnerable Lissotriton vulgaris – 4Ba Threatened

Anura

Bombinatoridae Bombina bombina 2a 3a Threatened Bufonidae Bufo viridis 4a 4Aa Threatened Hylidae Hyla arborea 4a 4Aa Vulnerable

Ranidae

Pelophylax ridibundus 5a 5Aa –

Pelophylax kl. esculentus 5a 5Aa –

Pelophylax lessonae 4a 4BA

Reptilia

Chelonii Emydidae Emys orbicularis 2a 3a Vulnerable

Squamata

Lacertidae Lacerata viridis 4a 4Aa – Lacerta agilis 4a 4Aa –

Colubridae Natrix natrix – – – Coronella austriaca 4a 4aA vulnerable

Directive 92/43/EEC/1992 2a – Annex IIa: Animal species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation 4a – Annex IVa: Animal species of Community interest in need of strict protection 5a – Annex Va: Animal species of Community interest whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures RGO 57/2007 3 – Annex 3a: Animal species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation 4Aa – Annex 4Aa: Animal species of Community interest in need of strict protection 4Ba – Annex 4Ba: Animal species of national interest in need of strict protection 5Aa – Annex 5a: Animal species of Community interest (except birds) whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures

The crested newt (Triturus cristatus – Fig. 2) and the common newt (Lissotriton

vulgaris ) were found in the wet area, between the hill slopes. In the same habitat, we also found the fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina – Fig. 3), the marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), the green frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus), the pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae – Fig. 4) and the European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis – Fig. 5). The common tree frog (Hyla arborea – Fig. 6) was found in the wet area as well as on the north-oriented slopes, together with the green toad (Bufo viridis Fig. 7) and the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis – Fig. 8). We located the sand lizard, the green lizard (Lacerta viridis – Fig. 9) and the grass snake (Natrix natrix) on the south-oriented slopes, which are rougher (there are small bumps and bluffs). The smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) was also identified in the area (I.E. Popescu personal communication).

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Figure 2. Triturus cristatus, male (original photo). Figure 3. Bombina bombina, male (original photo).

Figure 4. Pelophyax lessonae, male (original photo). Figure 5. Emys orbicularis, immature (original photo).

Figure 6. Hyla arborea, male (original photo). Figure 7. Bufo viridis, male (original photo).

Figure 8. Lacerta agilis, male (original photo). Figure 9. Lacerta viridis, male (original photo).

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From herpetofaunistic perspective, all the identified species have been recorded

for the first time from the study area. The herpetofauna is typical for the steppic habitats of the forest steppe as results when compared to the herpetofaunistic composition of the surrounding habitats presented in latest and most comprehensive research carried out from 2003 to 2007 (Strugariu et al., 2008).

Regarding the vegetation, most of the study area is covered by steppic plant communities of the association Taraxaco serotinae-Festucetum valesiacae (Burduja et al., 1956; Răvăruț et al., 1956) Sârbu, Coldea & Chifu, 1999, where the cover of the dominant species - Festuca valesiaca - varies between 25% and 75%. On strongly eroded slopes, these communities occur mostly towards hill foots. The higher parts of the hill slopes are covered by plant communities of Taraxaco serotinae-Botriochloetum ischaemi (Burduja et al., 1956) Sârbu, Coldea & Chifu, 1999, and patches of vegetation belonging to the association Jurineo arachnoideae-Stipetum lessingianae Dobrescu, 1974. Plant communities of the association Artemisio austriacae-Poëtum bulbosae Pop, 1970 appear as small patches scattered on the hill slopes. On the flat area, the vegetation patchy because of the salty areas, wet zones and water bodies. On dry soils with high salinity, appear plant communities of the association Camphorosmetum annuae (Rapaics, 1916) Soó, 1933, whereas on moist alkaline soils, communities of Puccinellietum limosae Rapaics ex Soó, 1936. As the soil humidity rises and the salinity decreases, the species change to form communities of Agrostio-Caricetum distantis (Rapaics, 1927) Soó, 1939. Very small patches of salty moist substratum are covered by communities of the association Astero tripoli-Juncetum gerardii Šmarda, 1953. Damp areas around the water bodies are covered by communities of Phragmitetum vulgaris Soó, 1927.

Some of indentified associations indicate natural habitat types of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation included in the Annex I of the Directive 92/43/EEC: Taraxaco serotinae-Festucetum valesiacae, Taraxaco serotinae-Botriochloetum ischaemi and Artemisio austriacae-Poëtum bulbosae indicate 62C0 - Ponto-Sarmatic steppes and 40C0 - Ponto-Sarmatic deciduous thickets; Camphorosmetum annuae and Puccinellietum limosae indicate 1530 - Pannonic salt-steppes and salt-marshes (Gafta & Mountford, 2008).

Concerning the situation of the study area as a whole, we consider that the habitat is strongly degraded. The most altering cause is the overgrazing (Fig. 10) that results in a strong decrease of the vegetation cover.

The overgrazing causes the alteration of the plant communities of Taraxaco serotinae-Festucetum valesiacae. Our observations revealed the invasion of weeds in patches were the original vegetation had been almost entirely stripped. In addition, the presence of communities of the associations Taraxaco serotinae-Botriochloetum ischaemi and Jurineo arachnoideae-Stipetum lessingianae are associated with intensely grazing (Chifu et al., 2006). We observed most of the individuals on the south-oriented slopes, which is less accessible for sheep because of the rough relief.

If overgrazing disturbs mainly the slopes, the flat area is altered by flock watering, ploughing of some small patches, mowing, littering and vandalism (Figs. 11, 13). All these factors are recognised as major threats for grassland herpetofauna, because they destroy the vegetation layer, compact the soil, destroy borrows, and directly kill the animals (e.g. Újvári et al., 2000; Kammel, 2001; Korsós, 2001; van Roon et al., 2006).

The degree of degradation indirectly supports the fact that we have not been able to find the Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) although the studied area is relatively close to the two known populations of “Valea lui David” and “Dealul lui Dumnezeu” protected areas (see Zamfirescu et al., 2008).

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Figure 10. Sheep flock (left) and sheepfold (right) on the north-oriented slopes.

Figure 11. Small temporary pond littered with non-degradable wastes.

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Figure 12. European pond terrapin with the carapace destroyed probably by treading; note that both

bony and horny layers are missing except for some marginal plates (original photo).

From the vegetation composition perspective, the habitats of the study area resemble the meadows from the previously mention sites. However, habitat degradation may be associated with the absence of the meadow viper, as it resulted from the comparison of the habitats where the viper population persists with the ones where the viper presence could not be confirmed recently (Zamfirescu et al., 2007). We consider that the limitation of grazing may easily lead to habitat rehabilitation and the possibility of meadow viper introduction in the area. This consideration is supported by the relatively high similarity (77.8%) of the study area and the sites with persistent viper population (Fig. 13). The study area is also similar (48.7%) to the site “Călărași”, which is also steppic. The other sites, from where the meadow viper was recorded in the past, have mostly mesophilous vegetation (Zamfirescu et al., 2007).

Figure 13. Similarity of vegetation and terrestrial reptiles of the study area, the sites with persistent

meadow viper populations and the sites where the meadow viper has not been confirmed.

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Conclusions The herpetofauna of the meadows from the studied area includes eight species of

amphibians (one of these is a klepton) and five species of reptiles, which are recorded for the first time for this location.

Eleven of the identified species are included in the annexes of the Directive 92/43/EEC/1992. One reptile and two amphibians are species of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special conservation area. Other three species of amphibians and three species of reptiles are species of Community interest in need of strict protection.

All the identified species are included in the annexes of the RGO 57/2007. From the Romanian Red List perspective, four of the identified species are

vulnerable and four are threatened. Some of the investigated plant communities belong to associations that indicate

two natural habitat types of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation.

Because of the high number of protected species, the studied area is important for the protection of amphibians and reptiles at national and European level.

Nevertheless, our observations show that the habitat vegetation is in a severe state of degradation due to human activities (especially over-grazing) that may render the area unsuitable for amphibians and reptiles.

Further studies are needed for monitoring the state of the meadows and to see if other forest amphibians and reptiles are using the meadow habitats for reproduction and foraging, respectively.

Acknowledgements We wish to thank Mihail V. Huțuleac-Volosciuc, Andrei Mizeruș and Valentina

Moraru for their valuable assistance during fieldwork. Part of this study was possible through the project PN‐II‐IDEI‐PCE1041/2009

funded by the Romanian Education and Research Office (UEFISCSU).

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