Bârnova-Repedea Forest (Natura 2000 site)

Bârnova-Repedea Forest is a protected natural area (site of community importance and special area of conservation) in south-eastern Iași County, covering 12,236.2 hectares within the city of Iași and the communes of Bârnova, Ciurea, Comarna, Dobrovăț, Grajduri, Mogoșești, Scânteia, Schitu Duca and Tomești. It is crossed by the DN24 Iași-Vaslui national road and belongs to the Central Moldavian Plateau. The site was designated a site of community importance by Environment Ministry Order no. 1964 of 13 December 2007 and was also protected as a special area of conservation in May 2022. It largely overlaps the Pădurea Bârnova special protection area for birds, declared in 2007, and includes the Locul fosilifer Dealul Repedea, Poiana cu Schit, Poieni-Cărbunăriei and Pădurea Pietrosu nature reserves. The main habitats are Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests and Dacian oak and hornbeam forests, together with meadows and pastures. Protected species include the wildcat, the European ground squirrel, several bat species, the fire-bellied toad, the Rosalia longicorn, the stag beetle and birds such as the lesser spotted eagle, the black woodpecker and the eagle owl, while the forest flora includes lady's slipper orchid, snowdrop and wild garlic. In the southern part of the site, at Poiana cu Cetate (Grajduri commune), the Iași Forestry Directorate and the national protected areas agency (ANANP) opened the 2.5 km Poiana cu Schit themed trail in 2023, with 18 information panels on the forest's plants and animals. Bârnova, Piatra Sfântă and Dobrovăț monasteries lie nearby. The site has the Natura 2000 code ROSCI0135, and its management plan was approved by Environment Ministry Order no. 1131/2016. The themed trails in the area are set up by the Iași Forestry Directorate (Romsilva) and the Iași office of the National Agency for Protected Natural Areas.