The ecoclimatic indexes specic for the Biau Drainage Basin,

Vlcea, Romnia
Andrei Brsoianu, Bianca Ovreiu, Alexandru Nedelea, Constantin Nistor and Laura Comanescu
Bucharest University, Faculty of Geography, Geomorphology-Pedology Department, 010041. No 1. N. Balcescu Avenue, Bucharest, Romania.

INTRODUCTION
The study area is situated in the central-southern part of Romania, more exactly in the middle part of the Southern Carpathians, on the western slope of the Fagaras Mountain and at
the contact with the Getic Subcarpathians. The investigated area occupies a small area (90 kmp), the elevation over 1400 m, the structural and lithological dierences, as well as the dierent orientation
of the relief surfaces, make the landscape complex and extremely diverse. Knowledge of ecological features and eco-metric indexes helps us to interpret geoecological particulates as accurately as
possible. Landscape ecology is the one that studies the natural factors of the landscape that may be natural (re, oods, storms) or human origins (forest exploitation, quarries, etc.). A series of indices and
coecients have been calculated and analyzed to highlight the features of the geomorphological landscape.

METHODOLOGY
The natural potential of the landscape is analyzed by calculating some indices based on data recorded at weather stations. Analyzing the digital maps made with the distribution of the main eco-metric
indices (aridity of Martonne, Gams, hydrothermal and pluviothermic), it was found that the dierences between the obtained values are imposed by relief: altitude, slopes, aspect, the main climatic
parameters: temperatures, precipitations, insolation degree, air mass circulation, etc.

Fig.1 - Mean anual temperature map Fig.2 - Average january temperature map Fig.3 - Average july temperature map

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The pluviothermal index (Chiri, 1977) is expressed by the formula: I = P/T10C, where P is the mean annual precipitation in millimeters and T10C is the sum of the mean monthly temperatures
greater or equal to 10C. The ratio between the annual values of precipitation and temperature is known as Lang`s rain factor (Lang, 1920). On altitudinal steps, this index ranges from 40 to 70 units. This
describes the degree of climate favorability for forest vegetation.
The De Martonne's aridity index De Martonne (1926) obtained the aridity index from the formula: I = P/T + 10. Where; P is annual precipitation in millimeters and T is the average annual
temperature in degrees Celsius. The variations of this index reect the sequence of bio-geographical altitudinal zones and of vegetal groups. The values of the index are inversely proportional to

Fig.4 - Mean annual precipitation map Fig.5 - The pluviothermal index map Fig.6 - The De Martonnes aridity index

The hydrothermal index (Ptroescu, 1988).This is obtained from the formula: P T/1000 (Ptroescu, 1988), where; P is the mean annual precipitation in millimeters and T is the average annual
temperature in degrees Celsius. The small dispersion is mainly dictated by temperature inversions and the presence of local topoclimates.
The continentality index of Gams (1932) show the continental character of a vertical climate zone and is expressed by the relation: I=P/Alt. Where P is the annual precipitation in millimeters and Alt. is
the elevation of the weather station in meters. The index of Gams (mm/m) is also known as the favorability index for beech (Fagus sylvatica. The closer the value obtained to 1 mm/m the higher the
favorability for beech. If the values are less than one,then the favorability decreases to the advantage of the coniferous. If the values are more than one, the favorability decreases to the advantage of the
oak.

2 2
0.93
r=0.93 r=0.92

a b

2 2

c d

r=0.94 r=0.84

Fig.7 - The hydrothermal index map Fig.8 - The continentality index of Gams map Fig.9 - The corelation between altitude and the ecoclimatic indexes
(a - the hydrothermal index, b - the De Martonnes aridity index,
CONCLUSION c - the pluviothermal index, d - the continentality index of Gams)
The analysis of the previously mentioned indexes shows that mountain ranges are an important topographic barrier, which breaks up the habitat through spatial isolation and the alteration of climatic
parameters. One can notice the existence of high and medium height mountain areas, with forests and mountain grasslands, showing very diverse natural topoclimates (mountain planar areas, valley
corridors, slopes with dierent aspect, summits and ridges) and microclimates (oodplain, lakes, grasslands, steep slopes, etc). The great extension of the surfaces explains the presence of thermophilous
and mesophilous species in the vegetation of the investigated mountain area. The quantitative ecometric indexes may dene and dierentiate the landscape's natural and anthropogenic
elements.
The changes suered by the upper tree line in time and space with the alteration of physical conditions are hard to gauge, because apart of the natural factors human impact has been rather active.
However, the correlated analysis of these indexes supports the general conclusion that the upper tree line depends primarily on the climate, which clearly shows that starting with the last century the forest
has continuously climbed higher. The area shows an obvious climatic zoning, but on this background one can notice local dierences imposed by the orientation of the mountain ridges, by the relation
between the negative relief forms and these ridges, as well as by the vegetation and other elements.
REFERENCES
1. Dumitrof Elena, 2010, Relaia dintre clim si vegetaia spontan i cultivat din judeul Vrancea, PhD Thesis, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography.
2. Nedelea A., Comnescu Laura, Oprea R., The ecoclimatic indexes specic for the Arges valley (Fagaras Mountains, the Southern Carpathians, Romania), International Journal of Physical Sciences Vol. 4 (12), pp. 796-805, December, 2009.