Changes in the land cover inside the NATURA 2000 sites in Oltenia SW Development Region

Abstract

The Oltenia SW Development Region has 29,212 square kilometers and 2,300,000 habitants. The diversity of the relief, but also the climatic and soil conditions explain the existence of a very important natural capital which is very often exposed to human pressure. In order to respect the provisions of the community directives, the Romanian Government designated the Natura 2000 sites for the protection of the most important community species and habitats. The aim of this paper is to present the land cover changes, after 1990, in the Oltenia’s Natura 2000 sites. Although the sites were designated in 2007, so they didn’t exist in 1990, the results of this paper are only a first step of a more complex process which is aimed to analyze if the designation of the Natura 2000 sites and the management measures will have any impact on the land use in Oltenia Region.