Overview of the Environment and Vegetation of the Danube Basin

Abstract

The River Danube rises in the Black Forest (Germany), crosses 19 European states during its journey: Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Hungary and pours into the Black Sea (Romania), after a journey from west to east of 2860 km. Its water catchment area covers an area of 805,000 km2 and is surrounded by mountain groups such as the Alps, the Tatra, the Carpathians and the Dinarids. His territory is characterized by a temperate macrobioclimate with the exception of a strip along the coasts of the Black Sea, which possesses steppe characteristics. Of particular importance is the azonal vegetation of the Danube. These vegetation corresponds mainly to forests of deciduous species, among them Salix alba, S. fragilis, Alnus incana, A. glutinosa, Pinus sylvestris, Populus alba, P. nigra, Ulmus minor, U. laevis, Prunus padus, Quercus robur, Q. pedunculiflora, Fraxinus excelsior, F. angustifolia, F. pallisae, Tilia cordata, T. tomentosa and Carpinus betulus, with many associations that follow upon each other longitudinally from the mountains to the plains and transversely, from the center of the watercourse to the external terraces.