The production of oak seedlings in intensive crops involves the modification of natural conditions, namely the degree of humidity, through artificial irrigation, which favors the appearance of the pathogen Erysiphe alphitoides, responsible for the Oak Powdery Mildew (OPM) disease. Thus, it is necessary to identify new substances and technologies to control OPM. In this sense, new products approved by the European Union (EU) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) were identified, both synthetic and, a great novelty, biological (based on chito-oligosaccharides-oligogalacturonans: COS-OGA). In order to quantify the results, a correlation was made with climatic factors, by sampling data related to temperature and relative humidity with Data Logger devices. The obtained results suggest that OPM has a high virulence in the temperature range of 20 to 30 °C; at a relative humidity above 75%. The data obtained from the field experiments show that the synthetic products controlled OPM with an effectiveness between 70% and 95%, and the biological product behaved almost similarly, between 60% and 90%, which creates high opportunities for environmentally friendly control of forest pathogens.

Oak forests provide critical ecosystem services, but are being increasingly exposed to climate variability, drought, and insect outbreaks that threaten their long-term resilience. This study aims to integrate structural canopy indicators with climate-derived indices to detect early-warning signals of decline in temperate oak stands. We monitored eight Forest Management Units in western Romania between 2017 and 2021, combining field-based assessments of crown morphology, vitality traits, defoliation, and epicormic shoot frequency with hydroclimatic indices such as the Forest Aridity Index. Results revealed strong spatial and temporal variability: several stands showed advanced canopy deterioration characterized by increased defoliation, dead branches, and epicormic resprouting, while others maintained stable conditions, suggesting resilience and suitability as reference sites. Insect defoliators, particularly Geometridae, contributed additional stress, but generally at subcritical levels. By synthesizing these metrics into conceptual models and a risk scorecard, we identified the causal pathways linking climatic anomalies and biotic stressors to structural decline. The findings demonstrate that combining structural and climatic indicators offers a transferable framework for forest health monitoring, providing robust early-warning tools to guide adaptive silviculture and resilience-based management. Beyond the Romanian context, this integrative approach supports sustainability goals by strengthening conservation strategies for temperate forests under global change.

In recent decades, research on the effects of physical fields– particularly electric and magnetic– on biological processes in plants has developed significantly. These fields can influence seed germination, cellular activity, and the subsequent development of seedlings, offering innovative perspectives in agriculture and forestry. The present study evaluated the impact of electric and magnetic fields on spruce seeds, with the aim of improving germination rates and seedling growth. For the electric field, three voltages (10V, 30V, 50V) and two exposure times (15 and 35 minutes) were tested. The most effective combination was 10V for 35 minutes, while the 50V- 15 minutes’ variant had negative effects. The highest seedling height was obtained at 10V 15minutes. In the case of the magnetic field, the seeds were exposed to three different times intervals- 10, 20, and 30 minutes- at an intensity of 0.22 × 10⁻³ T. A 20-minutes exposure resulted in the highest germination rate and produced seedlings with significantly greater heights compared to the control and other variants. The results demonstrate the positive effect of using physical fields as an ecological and efficient method for stimulating germination and plant development, offering valuable applications in forest regeneration and the production of high-quality seedlings.