Editing Moldova (section)

===Biodiversity===
{{see also|Protected areas in Moldova}}
[[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], Moldova is split between the [[East European Plain]] and the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] of the [[Circumboreal Region]] within the [[Boreal Kingdom]]. It is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Central European mixed forests]], [[East European forest steppe]], and [[Pontic steppe]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C. |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E.M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=Davi |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de&nbsp;Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=6 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |doi-access=free |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |s2cid=13136188}}</ref> Forests currently cover only 11% of Moldova, though the state is making efforts to increase their range. It had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 2.2/10, ranking it 158th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H.S. |last2=Duncan|first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T.D. |last4=Jones |first4=K.R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H.L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray|first8=J.C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J.G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H.M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P.R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco|first16=P. |last17=Goldman|first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W.F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N.J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C.|last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J.E.M. |display-authors=6 |year=2020 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity |type=Supplementary material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=5978 |issn=2041-1723 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |doi-access=free |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |s2cid=228082162}}</ref> Game animals, such as [[red deer]], [[roe deer]] and [[wild boar]] can be found in these wooded areas.<ref name="Environmental issues in Moldova">{{cite web |title=Environmental issues in Moldova |url=https://naturvernforbundet.no/international/environmental-issues-in-moldova/category940.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409044105/http://naturvernforbundet.no/international/environmental-issues-in-moldova/category940.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 April 2015 |website=Naturvernforbundet |date=7 October 2009 |access-date=30 May 2020 }}</ref>[[File:Saiga antelope at the Stepnoi Sanctuary.jpg|thumb|Noted for its vivid portrayal of the lower [[Nistru river]] (''Dniester''), [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]'s novel ''[[With Fire and Sword]]'' opens with a description of [[Saiga antelope|saigas]] as a way to highlight the story's exotic setting.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sienkiewicz |first=Henryk |trans-title=With Fire and Sword |title=Ogniem i Mieczem |volume=1 |url=https://wolnelektury.pl/katalog/lektura/ogniem-i-mieczem-tom-pierwszy.html |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604162834/https://wolnelektury.pl/katalog/lektura/ogniem-i-mieczem-tom-pierwszy.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=O suhaku, który z suchych stepów przybył |trans-title=On the Suhaku of the arid steppes |date=6 October 2017 |website=Menażeria Etymologiczna |language=pl |via=wordpress.com |url=https://etymologicznamenazeria.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/o-suhaku-ktory-z-suchych-stepow-przybyl/ |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604162835/https://etymologicznamenazeria.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/o-suhaku-ktory-z-suchych-stepow-przybyl/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Saigas are a [[Near-threatened species|near-threatened]] species that is now extinct in Moldova.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
! colspan="4" |[[Protected areas of Moldova#Scientific nature reserves|Scientific reserves in Moldova]]
|-
!Name
!Location
!Established
!Area
|-
|[[Codru Reserve]]
|[[Strășeni District|Strășeni]]
|1971
|{{convert|5177|ha|km2|0}}
|-
|[[Iagorlîc Reserve|Iagorlîc]]
|[[Dubăsari District|Dubăsari]]
|1988
|{{convert|836|ha|km2|0}}
|-
|[[Lower Prut]]
|[[Cahul District|Cahul]]
|1991
|{{convert|1691|ha|km2|0}}
|-
|[[Plaiul Fagului]]
|[[Ungheni District|Ungheni]]
|1992
|{{convert|5642|ha|km2|0}}
|-
|[[Pădurea Domnească]]
|[[Glodeni District|Glodeni]]
|1993
|{{convert|6032|ha|km2|0}}
|}
The environment of Moldova suffered extreme degradation during the Soviet period, when industrial and agricultural development proceeded without regard for environmental protection.<ref name="Environmental issues in Moldova"/> Excessive use of pesticides resulted in heavily polluted topsoil, and industries lacked emission controls.<ref name="Environmental issues in Moldova"/> Founded in 1990, the [[Ecological Movement of Moldova]], a national, non-governmental, nonprofit organisation which is a member of the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] has been working to restore Moldova's damaged natural environment.<ref name="Environmental issues in Moldova"/> The movement is national representative of the Centre "Naturopa" of the [[Council of Europe]] and [[United Nations Environment Programme]] of the United Nations.<ref>{{cite conference
|title=Moldova participants & European participants |conference=European Partnership Fair for Civil Society Organizations in Moldova |date=15–16 June 2010 |place=Republican Palace, Chisinau, Moldova |page=25 |publisher=[[European Partnership for Democracy]] |url=http://www.epd.eu/uploads/7a30d35a4a1fb6420184b7cdb9871f5a.pdf |access-date=24 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720161119/http://www.epd.eu/uploads/7a30d35a4a1fb6420184b7cdb9871f5a.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2011 }}</ref>

Once possessing a range from the [[British Isles]] through Central Asia over the [[Bering Strait]] into [[Alaska]] and Canada's [[Yukon]] as well as the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Saiga antelope|saigas]] survived in Moldova and Romania into the late 18th century. Deforestation, demographic pressure, as well as excessive hunting eradicated the native saiga herds. They were considered a characteristic animal of [[Scythia]] in antiquity. Historian [[Strabo]] referred to the saigas as the ''kolos'', describing it as "between the deer and ram in size" which (understandably but wrongly) was believed to drink through its nose.<ref>{{cite book |last=Strabo |title=[[Geographica]] |trans-title=Geography |section=book&nbsp;VII, chapter&nbsp;4, paragraph&nbsp;8 |section-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/7D*.html#4.7.9 |access-date=19 December 2012 }}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Another animal which was extinct in Moldova since the 18th century until recently was the European Wood Bison or [[wisent]]. The species was reintroduced with the arrival of three European bison from [[Białowieża Forest]] in Poland several days before [[Independence Day of the Republic of Moldova|Moldova's Independence Day]] on 27 August 2005.<ref>{{cite news |author=Autor invitat |date=27 August 2005 |title=The bison come back to Moldova |language=en |url=https://www.moldova.org/en/the-bison-come-back-to-moldova-4123-eng/ |access-date=30 May 2020 |publisher=Moldova.org |archive-date=16 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616162621/https://www.moldova.org/en/the-bison-come-back-to-moldova-4123-eng/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moldova is currently interested in expanding their wisent population, and began talks with Belarus in 2019 regarding a bison exchange programme between the two countries.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Belarus, Moldova discuss bison exchange program |date=17 February 2019 |publisher=Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus |url=http://www.mlh.by/en/press-service/news/2584/ |access-date=30 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728032233/http://www.mlh.by/en/press-service/news/2584/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>