DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-831-3-0101

Dobrogea soils - An ecosystem approach

Constantin-Răzvan Oprea, Roxana Cuculici, Iulian Săndulache

Soil resources, essential components of natural capital are necessary to analyze from the perspective of sustainable development, due to their role in relations with the components of the environment and with the socio-economic capital of a territory. In territorial planning, the study of soil resources is very important, from the perspective of ensuring ecological and social security. Being vulnerable to degradation processes, when used without observing the protective and conservative conditions, it can be degraded in a short time, and the subsequent recovery is long and expensive. Starting from these considerations, our analysis aims at evaluating the ecosystem services offered by the soils of the Dobrogea Plateau. Ecosystem services are one way to harness biodiversity by looking at what it does and how we value the function that soil performs. They generate a series of services that are essential for our health and well-being. Our study makes use of FAO (FAO and ITPS. 2015. Status of the World's Soil Resources – Main Report) assessments by correlating the soil reference groups according to the WRB with the soil units of the Dobrogea Plateau, a region characterized by the domination of the bio-climatically determined soils, to which various intrazonality situations are added. These include types of food security, climate regulation, water regulation, and socio-cultural services.

Keywords: Dobrogea Plateau, soils, and ecosystem services

pages: 101-105, Published: 2022, online: 2022