THE IMPACT ON LANDSCAPE FRAGMENTATION INDUCED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NATURA 2000 NETWORK IN ROMANIA

Habitat fragmentation is a significant threat to biodiversity conservation and the establishment of protected areas has been proposed as one of the main strategies for mitigating its impacts. Romania has established numerous Natura 2000 sites to protect habitats and species of European importance, but their effectiveness remains unclear. In Romania, the Natura 2000 network was established in 2007. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sites of Community Importance (SCI), part of Natura 2000 network in Romania, in reducing habitat fragmentation. Using the Corine Land Cover database (CLC2006 and CLC2018), we analyzed changes in landscape fragmentation from SCIs between 2006 and 2018 (before and after the establishment of Natura 2000 sites in Romania). We calculated a set of landscape metrics using Patch Analyst version 5.2.0.16, in order to assess habitat fragmentation and configuration in this period. Our results indicate that, at landscape level, habitat fragmentation has decreased in protected areas for the analyzed period. At class level, the most significant changes for land use and land cover were registered for arable land and semi natural areas (increases in surfaces) and permanent crops, pastures and heterogeneous agricultural areas (decreases in surfaces). Our findings suggest that the establishment of Natura 2000 sites has been effective in reducing habitat fragmentation in protected areas of Romania. This study provides a baseline for monitoring the effectiveness of Natura 2000 sites in Romania, only terrestrial SCI, and highlights the need for better management and conservation practices to mitigate habitat fragmentation.