No abstract

The present study was realized in Banatului Mountains (Romanian Carpathians) within Nera, Caransebeș and Băile Herculane Forest Districts, based on forest management plans from 1991-2008 and has led to the identification of 394 stand elements older than 200 years. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the trees’ main qualitative characteristics (age), the stands’ structural characteristics (consistency, composition, average diameter and average height) as well as the stational characteristics (altitude, slope, soil type). The main focus was to identify the oldest stands from Banatului Mountains.  The present paper presents the oldest 18 stands as well as their most representative characteristics: diameter, height, consistency, slope, altitude, soil, site and structure. The oldest stand identified in this area is a 260-year-old common beech stand from Nera with heights between 36-38 meters and a diameter of 98 meters. Furthermore, it has been observed that common beech stands have a normal consistency, while their structure is relatively uneven-age. The research has shown that the surface occupied by old common beech stands that have reached their exploitability age is of 60.978 ha, namely 13% of the total surface of these forests. The site conditions where they are spread are characterised by preponderantly Northeast and South-West expositions, fields with slopes of 21-30 degrees, average altitudes of 900-1000 m, eutric cambisol and luvisol soils and medium and superior reliability sites.