WILD GRAPEVINE (VITIS VINIFERA SUBSP. SYLVESTRIS) IN THE DANUBE BASIN OF THE SOUTHERN OLTENIA (ROMANIA): CHOROLOGY, ECOLOGY, CONSERVATION AND AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR VITICULTURE

Abstract

The wild grapevine (Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris) is a woody vine, widespread through out most of Eurasia. In Romania this wild vine is founds poradically, entering the floristic composition of the woody plant communities of meadows, in the plain and hilly areas, on the banks of the waters, preferring alluvial soils. In southern Oltenia, the most important populations are found in the Danube meadow, in the lower Jiu basin but also at the Jiu-Danube Confluence. Following population studies, it was found that in general, the identified populations consist of less than ten individuals, with variable vigor, depending on ecologicaL and anthropogenic factors, and the distances between populations vary, ranging from a fewtens of meters to hundreds of meters. In southern Oltenia, the distribution area of ​​wild grapevine is very fragmented. From a phytosociological point of view, wild grapevine populations have been identified in the floristic composition of the following plant communities: Salici-Populetum Meijer-Drees 1936, Stellario nemorum-Alnetum glutinosae (Kästner 1938) Lohmeyer 1957, Carici remotae-Fraxinetum Koch ex Faber 1936, Salicetum albae Issler 1924, Fraxino pallisae-Quercetum pedunculiflorae (Popescu et al. 1979) Oprea 1997, Quercetum roboris pedunculiflorae Simon 1960 (syn.: Fraxino angustifoliae-Quercetum pedunculiflorae Chifu et al. (1998) 2004). Al though this wild vine can reproduce vegetatively, it has been observed by specialists that in the longterm thereis a risk of senescence and genetic weakening of populations. Given global climate change, the anthropogenic factors that threaten wild vine populations need to be defined in order to impose effective protection measures for wild grapevine. Considering the importance of conserving the genetic resources of wild grapevines at a European level and beyond, he believes that the chorological, population, phytosociological, and ecological studies carried out in the Danube and Jiu basins, including the Jiu-Danube Confluence, have an essential role both for the conservation of biodiversity and for viticulture.