© Foundation Conservation Carpathia & OAK Foundation
Carpathian forests
Romania’s forests, especially those in Transylvania and the Carpathians, are renowned for their biodiversity and cultural importance.
The country boasts some of Europe’s most extensive virgin forests, covering approximately 250,000 hectares, making it home to the continent’s largest remaining old-growth forests. In contrast, the rest of Europe has seen significant depletion of its old-growth forests, with less than 1% remaining in most countries.
The forest ecosystems here are diverse, ranging from temperate deciduous forests to subalpine coniferous forests. In the lowlands and hills, you’ll find predominantly mixed forests dominated by species like beech, oak, hornbeam and maple. These temperate, deciduous forests are rich in biodiversity, with a lush understory of shrubs, ferns, and wildflowers. Higher up in the Carpathian Mountains, the landscape transitions to subalpine forests, characterised by coniferous species such as spruce, fir, and pine.
However, Romania’s forests are threatened by logging, habitat fragmentation and climate change. In the effort to protect these ecosystems, Foundation Conservation Carpathia is working towards the establishment of a National Park in the Făgăraș Mountains, the south-central part of the Carpathians. Through its work of protecting forest ecosystems, restoring clear-cut areas, and allowing alpine areas to recover, forests and those that call them home can still thrive in today’s anthropogenic era. Travel Carpathia and the Foundation’s other conservation enterprises bring together community-based conservation initiatives and offer locals an alternative, more sustainable way of life.
Ancient forests
These ancient forests play a vital role in storing carbon, regulating water cycles and offering protection from natural disasters like floods and droughts, or landslides and avalanches. They stand as vital sanctuaries for a wide range of plant and animal species, including iconic carnivores such as the European brown bear and Eurasian lynx. Moreover, keen bird-watchers flock to the region to catch a glimpse of rare avian species such as the Ural owl, white-backed woodpeckers or capercaillie.
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