Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32-34. (2014)
Botany
Marilena ONETE, Roxana ION, Florian Paul BODESCU 4. Typology: i.e. the location of the emerging springs and the water volume may be low but must be constant. Tufa may also be called calcite, limestone, etc, and inactive tufa fossil deposits (formed thousands of years ago) are termed travertine. Petrifying springs with tufa formation are so named because the twigs, mosses, leaves, etc, are in time covered by calcite and seem to be petrified, like statues. ‘Cratoneurion’ is the scientific name for the petrifying springs typical of Europe, reflecting the fact that the moss Cratoneuron commutatum (synonym: Palustriella commutata) together with some other moss species are normally abundant in these sites. The mosses precipitate carbonate on their stems, “petrifying” them, whilst active growth continues in front of this process. It must be noted that Cratoneuron commutatum is not a species characteristic only of petrifying springs with tufa formation, but can be found in areas with wetlands and springs with a more normal base-status [19]. Biologists have been fascinated by the flora and fauna of actively-depositing travertines for many centuries. Because of the specialised physical and chemical features of the travertine, this habitat is home to a great diversity of plants and animals, most of them having some peculiar adaptations to an environment of rapid deposition [23]. Many petrifying springs have suffered from human interference and they are also highly sensitive to changes in their surroundings. If the conditions (shade, microclimate and pH of the water) are not suitable, the mosses and algae on which the habitat depends decline [24]. Material and methods Due to their restricted distribution at a world level, the habitat 7220* Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion) is listed in Annex I of Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC as a priority habitat of community interest [6]. A review of the literature summarised information on the characterisation of the habitat in Romania and elsewhere, its classification, and the plant species and plant associations’ characteristic of the habitat. However, this habitat has received rather limited coverage in the scientific literature. Different sources [1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9] described the bryophyte species (Cratoneuron sp., Bryum sp.) characteristic of this habitat as being those living in wet places, on substrates rich in bases, but that they are also characteristic of calcareous wet cliffs, springs and cascades that flush the calcareous substrate. Cratoneuron commutatum var. commutatum (synonym Palustriella commutata) and Cratoneuron filicinum may form mats of mosses at the surface of calcareous cliffs that become wet, flushed by water, provided the water flow is continuous. As well as tufaforming habitats, Bryum pseudotriquetrum may appear on the abandoned areas at the edges of the lakes and wet cliffs. Tufa formation at the base of the stems of both mosses and other plants is obvious, and this habitat has characteristic and faithful species represented by bryophytes and other species with ecological requirements specific to wetlands and mineral basic springs [11, 14, 19, 25]. Results and discussions The habitat in Europe The habitat 7220* Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion) can occur at a variety of scales, typically in stands of a few square metres or less [1, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 25, 26]. For instance in Latvia the habitat is very rare, occupying approximately 52 ha of the whole 72
