Ovidiu M . Ionescu | Transylvania University of Brasov (original) (raw)

Papers by Ovidiu M . Ionescu

Research paper thumbnail of Hunting legislation in the Carpathian Mountains: implications for the conservation and management of large carnivores

Research paper thumbnail of Cercetări privind etologia caprei negre în Bucegi

Revista Pădurilor, Oct 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Total Economic Value of Natural Capital - A Case Study of Piatra Craiului National Park

Research paper thumbnail of Shapefiles of maps in Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes (Science)

Research paper thumbnail of QUALITY PARAMETERS OF GAME MEAT (Sus scrofa ferus) HUNTED IN FRASIN AREA

The aim of this study was to evaluate the current quality of hunted meat through physicochemical,... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the current quality of hunted meat through physicochemical, technological and sensorial parameters (m. longissimus dorsi and m. semitendinosus), a total of 19 intact carcasses of wild boars (males and females) being investigated. Texture profile analysis (TPA) and Warner Bratzler shear forces have described meat tenderness in correlation with thermal treatment, total fats and collagen content. Technological parameters were higher at males than females, having a maximum percentage at m. longissimus dorsi, 40.25% WHC and 4.98% drip losses. Colour affected by packaging, preserving and harvest conditions describes a meat with a lower lightness of tissue muscles from female's carcasses than males (31.58 vs. 35.42 and 33.68 vs. 34.29). To summarize the obtained results it can be concluded that, despite the specific method of harvest, wild boar meat quality variables confirm high culinary usability of game. Frasin is a traditional agro-pastoral are...

Research paper thumbnail of Testing the influence of habituation on genetic structure of brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Annals of Forest Research, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic differentiation of Carpathian brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations reflects the human caused isolation

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of climate and anthropogenic changes on a periurban forest surface albedo derived from MODIS satellite data

Earth Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing/GIS Applications IV, 2013

ABSTRACT Due to anthropogenic and natural factors, forest land covers changes result is the land ... more ABSTRACT Due to anthropogenic and natural factors, forest land covers changes result is the land surfaces albedo changes. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the albedo patterns dynamics due to the impact of atmospheric pollution and climate variations on a periurban forest Cernica-Branesti placed to the North-Eastern part of Bucharest city, Romania based on satellite remote sensing MODIS Terra/Aqua (Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer) data over 2003-2012 time period. This study is based on MODIS derived biogeophysical parameters land surface BRDF/albedo products and in-situ monitoring ground data (as air temperature, aerosols distribution, relative humidity, etc.). For forest land cover changes over the same investigated period have been used also Landsat TM/ETM and IKONOS imagery. Have been analyzed also other biogeophysical effects of forest land cover change in addition to surface albedo, particularly changes in the surface moisture budget leading to shifts in the ratio of latent and sensible heat fluxes and changes in rate of land surface temperature and precipitation. Due to deforestation albedo change appears to be the most significant biogeophysical effect in temperate forests. Satellite data and climate station observations show that surface albedo changes of a forested zone placed close to a large urban area highly respond to atmospheric pollution influence and climate variations. As the physical climate system is very sensitive to surface albedo, forest ecosystems could significantly feedback to the projected climate change modeling scenarios through albedo changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative Bacteriological Study of Two Wild Boar Populations in Sierra Morena (Jaén, Spain)

Research paper thumbnail of Microsatellite diversity and structure of Carpathian brown bears (Ursus arctos): consequences of human caused fragmentation

Conservation Genetics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

Annals of Forest Research, 2014

We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species... more We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species of conservation interest (Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris and Canis aureus). Population size estimations were done by the game management authorities and integrated by the competent authorities on the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Trends in data were detected using non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. This test was chosen considering the short length of data series and its usefulness for non-normal distributed data. The trend was tested at three spatial scales: game management units (n=1565), biogeographical region (n=5) and national. Trends depicted for each game management unit were plotted using ArcGIS, resulting species trend distribution maps. For the studied period increasing population trends were observed for Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Canis aureus and Lynx lynx, while for Felis silvestris there was no trend recorded. Such an analysis in especially useful for conservation proposes, game management and reporting obligations under article 17 of the EC Habitat Directive, using population trend as a proxy for population dynamics. We conclude that the status of the five carnivore species is favourable during the study period.

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Hunting legislation in the Carpathian Mountains: implications for the conservation and management of large carnivores

Research paper thumbnail of Urban vegetation land covers change detection using multi-temporal MODIS Terra/Aqua data

Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XV, 2013

ABSTRACT Urban vegetation land cover change is a direct measure of quantitative increase or decre... more ABSTRACT Urban vegetation land cover change is a direct measure of quantitative increase or decrease in sources of urban pollution and the dimension of extreme climate events and changes that determine environment quality. Spatio- temporal monitoring of urban vegetation land cover changes is a very important task for establishing the links between policy decisions, regulatory actions and subsequent land use activities. Former studies incorporating two-date change detection using Landsat TM/ETM data had limited performance for urban biophysically complex systems applications. In this paper, we describe recent results using data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and NOAA/AVHRR satellite to study urban vegetation land cover dynamics. This study explored the use of time-series MODIS Terra/Aqua Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf Area Index (LAI), data to provide change detection information for metropolitan area of Bucharest in Romania. Training and validation are based on a reference dataset collected from IKONOS high resolution remote sensing data. The mean detection accuracy for period 2002- 2012 was assessed to be of 89%, with a reasonable balance between change commission errors (21.7%), change omission errors (28.5%), and Kappa coefficient of 0.69. Annual change detection rates across the urban/periurban areas over the study period (2002-2012) were estimated at 0.78% per annum in the range of 0.45% (2002) to 0.75% (2012).Vegetation dynamics in urban areas at seasonal and longer timescales reflect large-scale interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and the climate system.

Research paper thumbnail of Ground level ozone (O3) associated with radon (222Rn) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations in Bucharest metropolitan area and adverse health effects

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2014

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to contribute with new information in the application of ground... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to contribute with new information in the application of ground based radon (222Rn) observations to atmospheric research, namely its relation with air pollution due to ground-level ozone (O3) and particle matter in two size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) for Bucharest metropolitan area in Romania. During January 1–December 31, 2011, ground levels of radon, ozone and particulate matter (PM) have been continuously monitored in synergy with the main meteorological parameters (air temperature, humidity and pressure), and daily global air quality indices. A systematic analysis of surface ozone observations of ground level radon, ozone and PM is presented. Observational results indicate the following yearly daily mean ground level concentrations: 40.26 ± 7.54 Bq/m3 for radon, 90.51 μg/m3 for ozone, 35.96 μg/m3 for PM2.5, and 40.91 μg/m3 for PM10. The assessment of the results showed the influence of local and meteorological conditions on the daily mean radon, ozone and PM concentrations. However, in densely populated metropolitan area of Bucharest the mean daily values of ozone, PM2.5, PM10, and attached 222Rn are sometimes higher than European Community limit values leading to serious public concern during the last years. Due to the high risk of increased levels of O3, PM2.5, PM10, and attached 222Rn on human health respiratory function (especially for children and older persons), and urban green, the results are very useful for atmospheric, radiological protection, epidemiological and environmental studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Recovery of large carnivores in Europe's modern human-dominated landscapes

by Martin Váňa, Miha Krofel, Petter Wabakken, Aleksandër Trajçe, Robin Rigg, Yorgos Mertzanis, Ferdinand Bego, Ilpo Kojola, Ovidiu M . Ionescu, Katja Holmala, Paolo Ciucci, Vaidas Balys, Peter Bedo, László Szemethy, and Miroslav Kutal

Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 19, 2014

The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Usi... more The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Using a data set on the past and current status of brown bears (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), gray wolves (Canis lupus), and wolverines (Gulo gulo) in European countries, we show that roughly one-third of mainland Europe hosts at least one large carnivore species, with stable or increasing abundance in most cases in 21st-century records. The reasons for this overall conservation success include protective legislation, supportive public opinion, and a variety of practices making coexistence between large carnivores and people possible. The European situation reveals that large carnivores and people can share the same landscape.

Research paper thumbnail of Hunting legislation in the Carpathian Mountains: implications for the conservation and management of large carnivores

Research paper thumbnail of Cercetări privind etologia caprei negre în Bucegi

Revista Pădurilor, Oct 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Total Economic Value of Natural Capital - A Case Study of Piatra Craiului National Park

Research paper thumbnail of Shapefiles of maps in Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes (Science)

Research paper thumbnail of QUALITY PARAMETERS OF GAME MEAT (Sus scrofa ferus) HUNTED IN FRASIN AREA

The aim of this study was to evaluate the current quality of hunted meat through physicochemical,... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the current quality of hunted meat through physicochemical, technological and sensorial parameters (m. longissimus dorsi and m. semitendinosus), a total of 19 intact carcasses of wild boars (males and females) being investigated. Texture profile analysis (TPA) and Warner Bratzler shear forces have described meat tenderness in correlation with thermal treatment, total fats and collagen content. Technological parameters were higher at males than females, having a maximum percentage at m. longissimus dorsi, 40.25% WHC and 4.98% drip losses. Colour affected by packaging, preserving and harvest conditions describes a meat with a lower lightness of tissue muscles from female's carcasses than males (31.58 vs. 35.42 and 33.68 vs. 34.29). To summarize the obtained results it can be concluded that, despite the specific method of harvest, wild boar meat quality variables confirm high culinary usability of game. Frasin is a traditional agro-pastoral are...

Research paper thumbnail of Testing the influence of habituation on genetic structure of brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Annals of Forest Research, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic differentiation of Carpathian brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations reflects the human caused isolation

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of climate and anthropogenic changes on a periurban forest surface albedo derived from MODIS satellite data

Earth Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing/GIS Applications IV, 2013

ABSTRACT Due to anthropogenic and natural factors, forest land covers changes result is the land ... more ABSTRACT Due to anthropogenic and natural factors, forest land covers changes result is the land surfaces albedo changes. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the albedo patterns dynamics due to the impact of atmospheric pollution and climate variations on a periurban forest Cernica-Branesti placed to the North-Eastern part of Bucharest city, Romania based on satellite remote sensing MODIS Terra/Aqua (Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer) data over 2003-2012 time period. This study is based on MODIS derived biogeophysical parameters land surface BRDF/albedo products and in-situ monitoring ground data (as air temperature, aerosols distribution, relative humidity, etc.). For forest land cover changes over the same investigated period have been used also Landsat TM/ETM and IKONOS imagery. Have been analyzed also other biogeophysical effects of forest land cover change in addition to surface albedo, particularly changes in the surface moisture budget leading to shifts in the ratio of latent and sensible heat fluxes and changes in rate of land surface temperature and precipitation. Due to deforestation albedo change appears to be the most significant biogeophysical effect in temperate forests. Satellite data and climate station observations show that surface albedo changes of a forested zone placed close to a large urban area highly respond to atmospheric pollution influence and climate variations. As the physical climate system is very sensitive to surface albedo, forest ecosystems could significantly feedback to the projected climate change modeling scenarios through albedo changes.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative Bacteriological Study of Two Wild Boar Populations in Sierra Morena (Jaén, Spain)

Research paper thumbnail of Microsatellite diversity and structure of Carpathian brown bears (Ursus arctos): consequences of human caused fragmentation

Conservation Genetics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

Annals of Forest Research, 2014

We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species... more We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species of conservation interest (Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris and Canis aureus). Population size estimations were done by the game management authorities and integrated by the competent authorities on the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Trends in data were detected using non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. This test was chosen considering the short length of data series and its usefulness for non-normal distributed data. The trend was tested at three spatial scales: game management units (n=1565), biogeographical region (n=5) and national. Trends depicted for each game management unit were plotted using ArcGIS, resulting species trend distribution maps. For the studied period increasing population trends were observed for Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Canis aureus and Lynx lynx, while for Felis silvestris there was no trend recorded. Such an analysis in especially useful for conservation proposes, game management and reporting obligations under article 17 of the EC Habitat Directive, using population trend as a proxy for population dynamics. We conclude that the status of the five carnivore species is favourable during the study period.

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Hunting legislation in the Carpathian Mountains: implications for the conservation and management of large carnivores

Research paper thumbnail of Urban vegetation land covers change detection using multi-temporal MODIS Terra/Aqua data

Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XV, 2013

ABSTRACT Urban vegetation land cover change is a direct measure of quantitative increase or decre... more ABSTRACT Urban vegetation land cover change is a direct measure of quantitative increase or decrease in sources of urban pollution and the dimension of extreme climate events and changes that determine environment quality. Spatio- temporal monitoring of urban vegetation land cover changes is a very important task for establishing the links between policy decisions, regulatory actions and subsequent land use activities. Former studies incorporating two-date change detection using Landsat TM/ETM data had limited performance for urban biophysically complex systems applications. In this paper, we describe recent results using data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and NOAA/AVHRR satellite to study urban vegetation land cover dynamics. This study explored the use of time-series MODIS Terra/Aqua Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf Area Index (LAI), data to provide change detection information for metropolitan area of Bucharest in Romania. Training and validation are based on a reference dataset collected from IKONOS high resolution remote sensing data. The mean detection accuracy for period 2002- 2012 was assessed to be of 89%, with a reasonable balance between change commission errors (21.7%), change omission errors (28.5%), and Kappa coefficient of 0.69. Annual change detection rates across the urban/periurban areas over the study period (2002-2012) were estimated at 0.78% per annum in the range of 0.45% (2002) to 0.75% (2012).Vegetation dynamics in urban areas at seasonal and longer timescales reflect large-scale interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and the climate system.

Research paper thumbnail of Ground level ozone (O3) associated with radon (222Rn) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations in Bucharest metropolitan area and adverse health effects

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2014

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to contribute with new information in the application of ground... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to contribute with new information in the application of ground based radon (222Rn) observations to atmospheric research, namely its relation with air pollution due to ground-level ozone (O3) and particle matter in two size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) for Bucharest metropolitan area in Romania. During January 1–December 31, 2011, ground levels of radon, ozone and particulate matter (PM) have been continuously monitored in synergy with the main meteorological parameters (air temperature, humidity and pressure), and daily global air quality indices. A systematic analysis of surface ozone observations of ground level radon, ozone and PM is presented. Observational results indicate the following yearly daily mean ground level concentrations: 40.26 ± 7.54 Bq/m3 for radon, 90.51 μg/m3 for ozone, 35.96 μg/m3 for PM2.5, and 40.91 μg/m3 for PM10. The assessment of the results showed the influence of local and meteorological conditions on the daily mean radon, ozone and PM concentrations. However, in densely populated metropolitan area of Bucharest the mean daily values of ozone, PM2.5, PM10, and attached 222Rn are sometimes higher than European Community limit values leading to serious public concern during the last years. Due to the high risk of increased levels of O3, PM2.5, PM10, and attached 222Rn on human health respiratory function (especially for children and older persons), and urban green, the results are very useful for atmospheric, radiological protection, epidemiological and environmental studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Developments in the Romanian forestry and its linkages with other sectors

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, Feb 11, 2009

The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly in... more The evolution of the forestry sector in the last two decades in Romania has been significantly influenced by the post 1989 political and economic changes, forest restitution and the European Union accession process. Based on the analysis of forestry statistics, legislation and institutional changes this paper underlines the main developments in the forestry sector in the last twenty years and the linkages with other sectors that had an impact on its development. The significant change in forest ownership (based on which 45% of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Recovery of large carnivores in Europe's modern human-dominated landscapes

by Martin Váňa, Miha Krofel, Petter Wabakken, Aleksandër Trajçe, Robin Rigg, Yorgos Mertzanis, Ferdinand Bego, Ilpo Kojola, Ovidiu M . Ionescu, Katja Holmala, Paolo Ciucci, Vaidas Balys, Peter Bedo, László Szemethy, and Miroslav Kutal

Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 19, 2014

The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Usi... more The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Using a data set on the past and current status of brown bears (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), gray wolves (Canis lupus), and wolverines (Gulo gulo) in European countries, we show that roughly one-third of mainland Europe hosts at least one large carnivore species, with stable or increasing abundance in most cases in 21st-century records. The reasons for this overall conservation success include protective legislation, supportive public opinion, and a variety of practices making coexistence between large carnivores and people possible. The European situation reveals that large carnivores and people can share the same landscape.