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In many European countries Arnica montana is decreasing due to intensification or abandonment of traditional extensive land use and thus is considered endangered. In Romania the species is also decreasing due to excessive collecting for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes, but it is still relatively common in montane nutrient-poor grasslands and successional vegetation of forest clearings on acidic soil. In this study we analysed habitats and population structure of A. montana in the Romanian NE Carpathians. We asked for differences in population structure between habitat types and how population structure is related to environmental conditions. We investigated population structure and habitat characteristics in 25 populations of A. montana on three 1 m x 1 m-plots each (total of 75 plots). The plot-based assessment of the population structure included the numbers of rosettes (rosette density), flower heads (flower head density), flowering rosettes and flower stems per flowering rosette. From these variables we calculated the proportions of flowering and vegetative rosettes and the number of flower heads per flowering rosette. Habitats were characterised using climatic data (including elevation), land use types (grazing, mowing or abandonment), vegetation types, soil measurements (pH, several nutrient elements, organic matter content) and N supply on basis of plant indicator values. Vegetation types were defined by using hierarchical clustering and linked to phytosociological syntaxa based on diagnostic species. Observed habitat types included Mountain hay meadows, Species-rich Nardus grasslands and Alpine and subalpine heathlands according to the European Habitats Directive. DCA analysis was used for detecting floristic gradients, which were subsequently correlated to environmental conditions. Relationships between rosette density, proportion of vegetative rosettes, flower head density and number of flower heads per flowering rosette and environmental variables were assessed using GLMs. Five syntaxa with A. montana were identified: Festuco rubrae-Agrostietum capillaris nardetosum strictae, Scorzonero roseae-Festucetum nigricantis, Violo declinatae-Nardetum strictae, Cetrario-Vaccinietum gaultherioidis and Campanulo abietinae-Vaccinietum myrtilli. While vegetation composition was mainly correlated with altitude and soil variables such as pH and organic matter content, altitude was an important predictor for the proportion of flowering rosettes of A. montana, which decreased with altitude. Rosette density of A. montana varied between habitat types and was highest in Mountain hay meadows and lowest in plant communities dominated by tall plants with high cover. Organic matter content of the soil was the only important (negative) predictor for the number of flower heads per rosette, while a hump-shaped correlation was found between the density of inflorescences and the soil pH, with a maximum around pH 4.5. Grassland management was also an important factor for rosette density of A. montana, suggesting that maintaining and promoting traditional land use practices will be the most effective measure for the species' conservation.

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The aim of our ongoing study is to assess the quality of the autochthonous plant material of Arnica montana L. species from the northern area of the Romanian Eastern Carpathians. This is the first report for the phytochemical features for the wild populations in this area. The first qualitative assessments were performed by means of High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). The High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis highlighted a total content in sesquiterpene-lactones of 0.86-1.36%, while the total content in flavonoids and phenolic acids was 1.08-1.50%, 0.86-1.27% respectively.

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Arnica montana L. is a medicinal and aromatic plant species with high pharmaceutical importance mainly due to the anti-inflammatory proprieties of helenaline. The unsustainable management and environmental changes lead to the extinction of the species in many habitats, becoming endangered or rare in most European countries. The paper synthesises the researches results on the categories of biotic interactions involved in the distribution and abundance of A. montana species in natural habitats. This addresses the impact of phytophagous and mycorrhizal species on bioproductivity, respectively, pollinators on reproductive success and fitness, with importance in developing viable conservation strategies and optimization of cultivation features.

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Arnica montana is a rare medicinal plant with traditional use in Europe and North America. Modern cultivation technologies (conventional and non-conventional) support the conservation strategies of the species. This paper presents a comparative analysis of plant material obtained in vivo and in vitro (micropropagation, callus culture and submerged culture). For in situ and ex situ samples, the material consisted in aerial and underground parts, while the material from in vitro cultures was represented by plantlets, callus and cell suspensions. For in vitro cultures we used Murashige and Skoog (MS, 1962) basal medium, tissue culture beeing supplemented with benzil-amino-purine (BAP), and callus cultures with BAP, kinetin (6-furfuryl aminopurine) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. These media were solidified with different amounts of agar. The cell cultures were maintained in flasks with MS liquid medium, placed on a shaker. Phytochemical analysis of absolute methanol and dichloromethane extracts, respectively, were performed by Thin Layer Chromatography and RP-HPLC-UV (Agilent 1200 series system). They revealed the presence of terpenoids, phytosterols and polyphenolic compounds which varied quantitatively and qualitatively in the experimental samples. As a general trend, the maintenance of biosynthetic capacity of the compounds analyzed was observed.

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Veronica officinalis, used in ethno-pharmacy, is a potential source of steroidal glycosides for industrial production. A cosmetic line based on organic extracts of MAP from alpine and subalpine areas, including V. officinalis, is a way to exploit bioresources. As a result of temperature fluctuations and high level of UV radiations in the natural habitat of the species, plants that grow at high altitude have a high content of antioxidant and skin protective compounds. Natural areas in the Romanian Eastern Carpathians, where we identified V. officinalis populations, are under intensifying deforestation, a phenomenon that leads to impairment of essential habitat for species survival. The aim of our study is the use of conventional and non-conventional techniques to obtain V. officinalis both for in situ conservation and for propagation in agro-systems. This requires the supply of vegetal raw material in the context of the reduction of the natural basins and of deforestation in the Romanian Carpathians. Supplementation with herbs is based, in recent practices, on the collection of wild and/or ex situ production in agro-ecosystems. Biological material used to initiate experimental cultures was taken from natural populations in Bistrita Valley. The field cultures were achieved by seeds and bush division, the first method being an advantage from the economic point of view, and the second to maintain uniformity in the selected plant cultures. The biggest production of fresh herba (5100 kg/ha) was achieved by dividing the bushes, in April. In vitro plant regeneration from axillary bud multiplication produced vigorous plantlets after 4-5 weeks, with 85-90% survival rate in field.

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