IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL MOVEMENT ROUTES FOR EUROPEAN BISON IN THE NORTH-EAST OF ROMANIA

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1 Analele Științifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LVII, 2011 IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL MOVEMENT ROUTES FOR EUROPEAN BISON IN THE NORTH-EAST OF ROMANIA Răzvan DEJU The Vânători Neamț Nature Park Administration, Romania, Abstract. The paper aims to identify and assess potential migration routes of European bison once released in freedom in the Vânători Neamț Natural Park (Chitele area). Were taken for analysis the migration routes between Vânători Neamț Natural Park and other 5 protected areas located in the north east of Romanian Carpathians. Keywords: European bison, migration routes, protected areas. Rezumat. Identificarea şi evaluarea potenţialelor rute de migraţie a zimbrului în nord-estul României. Lucrarea îşi propune să identifice şi evalueze potenţialele rute optime de migraţie a zimbrului o dată cu reintroducerea sa în libertate planificată în Parcul Natural Vânători Neamț (zona Chitele). Au fost luate spre analiză rutele de migraţie dintre Parcul Natural Vânători Neamț si alte 5 arii protejate situate in nord-estul Carpaților românești. Cuvinte cheie: zimbru, rutele de migraţie, arii protejate Introduction The European bison (Bison bonasus Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest herbivore in Europe, being an indigenous species for the Carpathian Mountains fauna until its extinction at the end of the 18th century (Nahlyk, 1992) from Transylvania region. The reason of its extirpation was mainly overpoaching, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. The European bison is a prime example of large herbivore that nearly became extinct due to habitat loss and overhunting (Krasinska & Krasinski, 2007; Pucek et al., 2004). Thanks to a systematic breeding program, there are now about 3000 European bison, 1600 which occur in about 30 reintroduced herds throughout Eastern Europe (Daleszczyk & Bunevich, 2009; Krasinska & Krasinski, 2007; Pucek et al., 2004). The goal of this study is to identify and assess the potential migration routes from Vânători Neamț Nature Park (which intend to release first group of bison in freedom in the winter ) to five big protected areas located nearby. According to experiences gained from other bison introduction projects in the Carpathians, after an initial period the herd will extend range of its movements, searching for optimal conditions that can secure easy access to forage and shelter during winter, and minimal human related disturbance during summer. Therefore, this herd will require a routine monitoring to identify its preferred habitats and major movement corridors, which will be necessary for delineating boundaries of its summer and winter refuges. Because of relative proximity of other five parks (Călimani, Ceahlău, Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș, Rodnei Mountains and Maramureș Mountains) bison movements among those units are very likely, which implies the necessity to identify and protect adequate migration corridors. Material and methods The present paper intends to identify and evaluate the potential optimal migration routes for the European bison herds starting from the planned reintroduction location in Vânători Neamț (Chitele area). There were taken into consideration a group of 5 protected

2 Răzvan Deju areas situated in the north-eastern part of the Romanian Carpathians, nearby the Vânători Neamț Nature Park (Călimani, Ceahlău, Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș, Maramureș Mountains and Rodnei Mountains parks). These areas will be assessed as potential home ranges of free-ranging European bison. There were delineated 2 routes (using the informatics soft Corine Land Cover 2000) from the reintroduction site (Chitele area) to each protected area from N-E of Romania. For each route, will be identified, evaluated and discussed the potential barriers, obstacles etc. Land cover information is crucial for the delineation of migration route and ecocorridors since it represents the most substantial characteristics of the habitat availability or absence of vegetation, its type and spatial pattern (Deodatus et al., 2010). In order to determine the potential migration route from the reintroduction site, located in Chitele area, the first step was to take into consideration the ecological profile of species. The ecological profile basically embrace landscape features determining the suitability of habitat. It should also be noted that the characteristics in the ecological profiles are to a great extent determined by the availability of geospatial data. The following geo-datasets were used for modelling: land cover, the altitude (meters above sea level) and relative elevation (parameter which represents roughness of the terrain which impedes the movement of some species, or, sometimes, makes the area less accessible to humans. In our case was calculated as the relative elevation for a square km). Results and discussions The national and natural parks in Romanian Carpathians provide the largest potential area for free-ranging bison population, covering over 1,000,000 ha from Romanian Carpathians. The distribution of these protected areas allows establishing green corridors between parks and suitable condition for further development in freedom. Within the Romanian part of this eco-region there are some 20 national and natural parks amounting together to almost 10 thousand sq. km out of which over 6.3 thousand sq. km are forested (Perzanowski & Deju, 2005). The group of protected areas from the North-East of Romania comprise the area of over 265 thousand ha, out of which almost 163 thousand ha is forested. They are separated by commercial forests and rather sparsely populated agricultural land which considering and average distance of only several tens of kilometres, makes a possibility of spontaneous bison migrations among them quite real. The Vânători Neamț Nature Park is situated at the north-eastern edge of Romanian Carpathians is separated only by 55 km from Ceahlău National Park and by 140 km from Munții Rodnei National Park (Fig. 1). Except of the large agricultural zones and some terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems which are negatively influenced by polluting sources, and where changes in the structure and dynamics of the biological diversity have already been registered, a considerable part of natural environment of Romania remains in good condition allowing for the conservation of biological diversity. Main threats that are presently identified for the north-east of Romanians Carpathians include the lack of sustainable forest management, development of intensive agriculture and transportation infrastructure, improper water management and uncontrolled tourism activities

3 Analele Științifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LVII, 2011 Figure 1. General map of the virtual migration routes between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and other 5 protected areas. Table 2. The area and proportion of forests within the north-eastern Carpathian protected areas in Romania. Surface with forest No. Name of protected area Total surface ha % 1. The Calimani National Park % 2. The Ceahlău National Park % 3. The Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș National Park % 4. The Maramureș Mountains Natural Park % 5. The Rodnei Mountains National Park % 6. The Vânători Neamţ Nature Park % TOTAL % 1. The route between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Ceahlău National Park In this case, there were assessed two migration routes from Vânători Neamţ Nature Park and Ceahlău National Park (Fig. 2). The first route has a length of 44.7 km, the elevation is between sea level and 980 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bicaz stream and two times the national road and a very close distance to Bicaz town (a settlement with 5000 inhabitants).the second route has a length of 39.8 km, the elevation is between sea level and 800 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrița river, Bistricioara stream, two times the national road (15B and 17B) and very close to Poiana Largului commune, a settlement with 1000 inhabitants. Taking in comparison the above potential routes, each of them has several advantages and disadvantages, but the most suitable route is route

4 Răzvan Deju Figure 2. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Ceahlău National Park. 2. The route between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Cheile BicazuluiHășmaș National Park In this case, there were assessed two migration routes from Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Cheile Bicazului National Park (Fig. 3). The first route has a length of 57.4 km, the elevation is between sea level and 970 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bicaz stream and Bistrița river and nearby is located the Bicaz town. From the Bicaz town, the only possibility for animal movement to Cheile Bicazului is a big valley for about 30 kilometres with several big communes, a national road (12 C) and Bicaz stream. The second route has a length of 70.8 km, the elevation is between sea level and 115 meters (it is well known that European bison very rarely use the habitats with an elevation over 1000 meters), has for a length of 30 km the same route as route 2 Vânători - Ceahlău, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrita river, Bistricioara stream, three times the national road (15 B, 17B, 12 C) and several settlements with a population over 5000 inhabitants. Taking in comparison the above potential routes, both routes seem to be not very favourable for bison movements

5 Analele Științifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LVII, 2011 Figure 3. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Cheile Bicazului National Park. 3. The route between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Călimani National Park In this case, there were assessed two migration routes from Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Călimani National Park (Fig. 4). The both route has until the Poiana Teiului commune the same direction (15 kilometres). The first route has a length of km, across a big and wide valley, the elevation is between sea level and 970 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrita river, two national roads (15 B, 15 C) and several settlements (Poana Teiului, Grințieș, Corbu, Lunca Bradului). The second route has a length of 99.4 km, across a narrow valley, the elevation is between sea level and 1200 meters (approximately 40 kilometres from the last part of the route are situated at the elevation over 800 meters), and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrita river, Bistricioara stream, two times the national road (15 B, 17B) and several settlements with a population over inhabitants (Poiana Teiului, Fărcașa, Broșteni, Borca, Crucea, Cojoci, Neagra Șarului, Gura Haitii). Taking in comparison the above potential routes, the first route, despite the fact of long distance is the most suitable for bison movement taking in consideration the known habitat preferences for the European bison

6 Răzvan Deju Figure 4. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Călimani National Park. 4. The route between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Rodnei National Park In this case, there were assessed two migration routes from Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Rodnei Mountains National Park (Fig. 5). The both route has until the Cozănești commune the same direction (95 kilometres). The first route has a length of km, across a wide valley, the elevation is between sea level and 980 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrița river, Dorna, Someșul Mare and Ilva streams, three national roads (15 B, 17 B, 17 D) and several settlements with a population over inhabitants (Poiana Teiului, Fărcașa, Broșteni, Borca, Crucea, Cozănești, Ilva Mare, Maieru). The second route has a length of km, across a narrow valley, the elevation is between sea level and 1000 meters (approximately 40 kilometres from the last part of the route are situated at the elevation over 800 meters), and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrița river, Bistricioara stream, two times the national road (15 B, 17B, 18) and several settlements with a population over inhabitants (PoianaTeiului, Fărcașa, Broșteni, Borca, Crucea, Cozănești, Iacobeni). Taking in comparison the above potential routes, the both of them are feasible to be used by the European bison during their movements for new refugees and food resources

7 Analele Științifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LVII, 2011 Figure 5. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Rodnei Mountains National Park. 5. The route between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Maramureș Mountains National Park In this case, there were assessed two migration routes from Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Maramureș Mountains National Park (Fig. 6). The both route has until the Cozănești commune the same direction (95 kilometres). The first route has a length of km, across a wide valley, the elevation is between sea level and 980 meters, and as potential obstacles, the animals must pass the Bistrița river, Bistricioara stream, two times the national road (15 B, 17B, 18) and several settlements with a population over inhabitants (Poiana Teiului, Fărcașa, Broșteni, Borca, Crucea, Cozănești, Iacobeni, Ciocănești, Cârlibaba). The second route has a length of km, across a narrow valley, the elevation is between sea level and 1180 meters (approximately 50 kilometres from the last part of the route are situated at the elevation over 800 meters), and as potential obstacles the animals must pass the Bistrița river, Dorna, Someșul Mare and Ilva streams three national roads (15 B, 17 B, 17 D) and several settlements with a population over inhabitants (Poiana Teiului, Fărcașa, Broșteni, Borca, Crucea, Cozănești, Ilva Mare, Sângeorz Băi, Parva, Vișeu de Sus). Taking in comparison the above potential routes, the first route identified has optimal characteristics for bison usage

Răzvan Deju Figure 6. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Maramureș Mountains National Park.

8 Răzvan Deju Figure 6. Migration simulated routes of the European bison between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Maramureș Mountains National Park. Conclusions Analysing the potential migration routes of the European bison and the obstacles that they have to face during the virtual movements between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and other 5 protected areas, we have observed that the most suitable corridors are those between Vânători Neamț Nature Park and Rodnei National Park and the less favourable are the routes to Cheile Bicazului Hășmaș National Park due to the highly number of anthropic and natural obstacles found between these protected areas. The analysis of the simulated routes to the other 3 protected areas (Ceahlău National Park, Călimani National Park, Maramureș Mountains National Park) shows that at least one of them are suitable for the movements of the bison herds (Fig. 7). This assessment signalise that at least at level of scenario the European bison herds once released in freedom will have possibility to move between different safe places in searching for food and shelter and to meet the European bison herds found near to the Ukrainian border in order to assure and maintain the gene flow among herds. The Carpathians, Europe s largest mountain range, has an exceptional conservation value. Romania encompasses over 50% of the whole area of the Carpathians, the largest mountain chain in Central Europe, covering in total about 210 thousand of sq. km (Webster et al., 2001)

9 Analele Științifice ale Universității Al. I. Cuza Iași, s. Biologie animală, Tom LVII, 2011 Figure 7. Virtual migration corridors of the European Bison in the north-east of Romanian Carpathians with the natural and anthropic obstacles. Considering the total area of protected areas in the north-east of Romania a total potential range of free ranging bison can be estimated at the level of 150 thousands. Therefore, the north-east of Romania may be regarded as a future core area for the largest mountain population of the European bison in Europe. Establishing the first European Bison meta-population in the Romanians Carpathians would be a milestone in efforts to conserve this species in the wild and demonstrate a significant and hopeful step towards conserving large grazers and their ecological roles in human-dominated landscapes across the Europe. References Daleszczyk, K., Bunevich, A.N., Population viability analysis of European bison populations in Polish and Belarusian parts of Bialowieza Forest with and without gene exchange. Biological Conservation, 142: Deodatus, F.D.,Protsenko, L. (eds.), Creation of ecological corridors in Ukraine. A manual on stakeholder involvement and landscape ecological modelling to connect protected areas, based on a pilot in the Carpathians. State Agency for Protected Areas of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine, Altenburg & Wymenga Ecological Consultants, InterEcoCentre. Kiev, pp Krasinska, M., Krasinski, Z.A., 2007.European Bison, a nature monograph. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bialowieza. Kuemmerle, T., Perzanowski, K., Chaskovskyy, O., Ostapowicz, K., Halada, L., Bashta, A.T., Kruhlov, I., Hostert, P., Waller, D.M., Radeloff, V.C., European Bison habitat in the Carpathian Mountains. Biological Conservation, 143 (4): Nachlyk, A., Pro transilvanskjhozubra. Lisovehospodarstvo, lisova, papirovaiderevobrobnapromyslovist, 2: (in Ukrainian)

10 Răzvan Deju Perzanowski, K., Deju, R., Romanian free ranging bison as a part of the Carpathian population of the species. In Deju, R., Cătănoiu, S., (eds.) Studies and research in Vânători Neamț Natural Park, vol. 1, Ed. Terra Design, Gura Humorului. Pucek, Z., Belousova, I.P., Krasińska, M., Krasiński, Z.A., Olech, W., Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan European Bison. IUCN the World Conservation Union. Webster, R., Holt, S., Avis, C., (eds.), The Status of the Carpathians. A reportdeveloped as a part of The Carpathian Ecoregion Initiative. November 2001.WWF

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