DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY OF THE INVASIVE ALIEN PLANTS IN THE COTMEANA PLATFORM PROTECTED AREA, ROMANIA

The investigated area is situed in the Cotmeana Platform protected area from Romania. This protected area includes a vegetation, flora and fauna very varied, so this corner of the country has been declared a protected area by the community interest ROSCI 0354 "Cotmeana Platform". The protected aria ROSCI 0354 "Cotmeana Platform" covers a surface of approximately 12.529 ha [14] and it comprises the precincts of 16 settlements: Milcoiu, Nicolae Balcescu, Galicea, Stoilesti, Olanu, Vitomiresti, Danicei, Ciomagesti, Topana, Uda, Cocu, Babana, Draganu, Cuca, Moraresti, Cotmeana. In the territory investigated meet Natura 2000 habitats edified of the specific plant communities which can be found in the European Natura 2000 Directives and in Romanian legislation of protected natural areas. The general aspect of vegetation in this area represents an image of the very different stationary conditions, to which one can add the influence of the anthropo-zoogenous factors. The wooden vegetation is represented by forests, underwoods and riverside coppices. Herbous vegetation is represented by the meadow vegetation, aquatic and paludous vegetation, ruderal vegetation. In this area, the forests occupy the largest area. The intensive abiotic activity, but not only that, has brought about the invasion of allochtone (non-native) species in the natural and semi -natural degraded ecosystems in our country [5]. The geobotanical research in the "Cotmeana Platform" in the last years resulted in the identification of 52 invasive alien species. For each species of invasive alien plants in the researched territory, we shall also refer to: chorology, ecology and the vegetal association in which this species develop. Most of invasive species are highly aggressive and damaging ecosystems and is characterized by great dominance abundance within some phytocoenotic [4] [5].