... ts of the higher elevations are coniferous, consisting largely of pine and spruce trees. Above the timberline approximately 1,750 m5,740 ft, the vegetation is alpine.ild animal life is abundant in most parts of Romania. The larger animals, found chiefly in the Carpathian Mountains, include ild boar, olves, lynx, foxes, bears, chamois, roe deer, and goats. In the plains, squirrels, hare, badgers, and polecats are common. Many species of birds are abundant the Danube delta region, no partly a nature preserve, is a stopover point for migratory birds. Among species of fish found in the rivers and offshore are pike, sturgeon, carp, flounder, herring, salmon, perch, and eel.D Natural Resources The principal resources of Romania are agricultural, but the country also has significant mineral deposits, particularly petroleum, natural gas, salt, hard coal, lignite bron coal, iron ore, copper, bauxite, chromium, manganese, lead, and zinc. Timber is also an important natural resource.About 43 percent of land in Romania is cultivated for crops or used for orchards, and the soils in most parts of the country are fertile. In Banat, alachia, and Moldavia, soils consist mainly of chernozem, or black earth, highly suited for groing grain. Soils in Transylvania are generally loer in nutrients.E Climate Romania has a temperate climate ith four distinct seasons. Temperatures are generally cooler in the mountains, hile the hottest areas in summer are the lolands of alachia, Moldavia, and Dobruja. The average daily temperature range in Bucharest is -7 to 1C 19 to 34F in January and 16 to 30C 61 to 86F in July. Rainfall is heaviest during the months of April, May, June, September, and October. Yearly rainfall averages about 650 mm about 25 in, ranging from about 500 mm about 20 in on the plains to about 1,020 mm about 40 in in the mountains. The climate of Dobruja is extremely dry.F Environmental Issues Air and ater pollution by industry are serious environmental problems in Romania. The countrys factories, chemical plants, and electric poer plants depend heavily on burning coal, a process that emits dangerous levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. The industrial centers of Copsa Mica, in central Romania, and Giurgiu, in the south, have severe air pollution problems. Bucharest, the capital, also has serious air pollution. Industrial runoff ends up in the Danube and other rivers, making ater unsafe for drinking and threatening the diverse ecosystems of the Danube delta. The delta, the largest in Europe, as declared a orld Heritage Site in 1991. Its lakes and marshes are home to hundreds of species of birds and dozens of fish and reptile species. As a result of air and ater pollution, hoever, many species are threatened ith extinction.Unsystematic farming practices, particularly poor crop rotation, have led to severe soil degradation and erosion in Romania. In the 1980s large tracts of marshland along the Danube ere drained and converted to cropland to aid food production. Nevertheless, deforestation is not a problem in Romaniain 1995, 27.1 percent of the countrys total land area as forested. The government has designated 4.7 percent 1997 of the countrys area protected. It has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, desertification, endangered species, environmental modification, hazardous astes, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, and etlands.III THE PEOPLE OF ROMANIA A Population and Settlement At the 1992 census, Romania had a population of 22,760,449. The 2002 estimated population is 22,317,730, yielding an average population density of 9 ... Download