Amphibian conservation in farming landscapes should address two challenges. First, to understand the relationship between landuse and amphibian habitat quality and second, to understand and support of the capacity of the local communities to continue those farming practices which supports amphibian friendly habitats. While the first challenge is addressed by several studies, there is virtually no study addressing the socio-economic drivers of landuse change. The major aim of this study to fill this knowledge gap by (i) documenting the temporary pond loss in 10 years in a traditionally managed pasture as a result of land abandonment and (ii) exploring the socio-economic and environmental drivers of abandonment. The results show a dramatic increase of scrub cover in the study area as a result of land abandonment. The formation of temporary ponds was negatively influenced by the increase of scrub cover in the vicinity of ponds. There were no differences between the amphibian species assemblages nor the species richness between the lost-and persisting ponds. The social component of the research highlights possible maladaptive paths in pasture management reinforced by the village depopulation, wrong interpretation of nature protection .

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AbstractAmphibian conservation in farming landscapes should address two challenges. First, to understand the relationship between landuse and amphibian habitat quality and second, to understand and support of the capacity of the local communities to continue those farming practices which supports amphibian friendly habitats. While the first challenge is addressed by several studies, there is virtually no study addressing the socio-economic drivers of landuse change. The major aim of this study to fill this knowledge gap by (i) documenting the temporary pond loss in 10 years in a traditionally managed pasture as a result of land abandonment and (ii) exploring the socio-economic and environmental drivers of abandonment. The results show a dramatic increase of scrub cover in the study area as a result of land abandonment. The formation of temporary ponds was negatively influenced by the increase of scrub cover in the vicinity of ponds. There were no differences between the amphibian species assemblages nor the species richness between the lost- and persisting ponds. The social component of the research highlights possible maladaptive paths in pasture management reinforced by the village depopulation, wrong interpretation of nature protection law by officials, scrub encroachment caused decrease in pasture quality and the demotivation of locals to restart traditional grazing. Conservation efforts in traditional farming landscapes facing land abandonment should (i) target the maximization of the quality of the remaining ponds for amphibians and (ii) should support reviving traditional farming practices within the local community.

Freshwater fishes are in a serious state of decline across the world, making them one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates. The Danube River catchment area in Europe holds the richest freshwater fish community, but our knowledge of the current distribution of these species is limited. Transylvania, the largest region of Romania, is one of the important tributaries of the Danube, from where 77 fish and two lamprey species were recorded until now. Despite this large diversity of freshwater fishes, there is a lack of systematic survey of the fish fauna in this region for the past 50 years. In this study, we present data on the occurrence and distribution of fishes and lampreys collected in Transylvania from 2007 to 2022. This data covers 43% of Romania’s surface and includes all major rivers from Transylvania. 65 species of fish and three species of lampreys are recorded, and an additional nine fish species are also reported based on information from competent people. Of the 77 fish and lamprey species recorded 19 (24.7%) are non-native, although their relative abundance was low (5.1%) compared to other similar regions in Europe. The first records of Eudontomyzon mariae, Neogobius melanostomus, Piaractus brachypomus, Pygocentrus nattereri, and Salvelinus alpinus in Transylvanian rivers are presented, as well as the first record of Cobitis elongata outside the Nera River basin (from the Caraș River) and the detection of three new populations of the vulnerable Umbra krameri. Data on changes in distribution that have occurred since the last comprehensive survey 50 years ago are also provided and the importance of our results in conservation planning are discussed, including the designation of new protected areas for freshwater bodies and the compilation of the Romanian Red List of fishes.