Contribution to the Knowledge of Transylvanian Meadow’s Biodiversity: Short Report on Herbs and Arthropods From Seliştat (Braşov County, Romania)

Like any other Transylvanian village, Seliştat is interesting to visit and study from the perspective of the unique rural landscape in Europe nowadays, including an old tourist attraction such as the fortified church, but also meadows, shrubs and forests very rich in species. Two checklists were drawn up for herbs and arthropods inhabiting the Seliştat area, in Braşov County. The field survey took place in September 2017, at the time of mowing in the hay meadows. Plants were harvested by hand pulling and arthropods were collected with entomological net. Some biological materialwas determined on the field, other in laboratory. In order to create the general picture, we also considered the species mentioned on the Romanian-German informative panels located in the study area. Overall, 20 plant families (Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Balsaminaceae, Boraginaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Colchicaceae, Dipsacaceae, Equisetaceae, Fabaceae, Hypericaceae, Lamiaceae, Linaceae, Malvaceae, Orchidaceae, Plantaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygalaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae), five insect orders (Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera) and three spider species (Pardosa lugubris, Pisaura mirabilis, Salticus scenicus) were associated with Seliştat biodiversity. The Asteraceae and Fabaceae for plants and Hemiptera for insects were found to be the leading taxa, with respect of number of species in the analyzed sample. All species are listed in an alphabetical order of the genera and species. This report brings a contribution to the state of knowledge regarding the vegetal and invertebrate resources of Saxon villages.