Started in 1994, under the care of the Department of Ecology and Environment Protection, Faculty of Sciences, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Acta Oecologica - Studii şi Comunicări de Ecologie şi Protecţia Mediului, published a total of 14 volumes in small printing format.

         The constant increasing presure from the potential authors for this publication induced the necesity of changings, through a new series Acta Oecologica Carpatica, in respect of a biger printing format and languages of the accepted materials (English - the main text, Romanian, German, French and Spanish - the abstracts).

         The regular authors for this publication will find the same rigurous and also friendly aproach for collaboration and new authors are wellcome in this platform of scientific debate.

         Why "Carpatica"?

         The Carpathians, the largest mountain range of Europe, harbour a unique natural heritage and act as a major ecological link within this continent. The Carpathian Mountains area offer along the history a huge reservoir of different types of resources which offer a good suport including for exqcuisite cultural outputs for different human populations. The Carpathians 1500 km across the Eastern and Central Europe, with their all pericarpathians tight ecologicaly related areas, created an obvious cultural bond, which have a scientific need for a common scientific approach, for a finnal benefit for this unique natural heritage. Acta Oecologica Carpatica intend to be a part of this important approach.

         The "melting" ideologic and politic borders in the present and hopefuly the future enlarged European Union will allow all these nations, with big or small national territories in the Carpathian Mountains area, to celebrate this special common natural heritage, first through scientific understanding and finally a good qualiy management and conservation.

         Why a Romanian initiative in this respect?

         The fact that more than a half of the Carpathian Mountains surface lay on the territory inhabited by the Romanians and their over 2000 years back ancestors including the Dacian tribe the Carpi, we think that it should be honor by these types of initiatives too.

         Why not alone?

         Because Carpathian Mountains are: (in the East) Carpaţi and the Romanians have to take care of them, Karpati and Serbians have to take care of them and Karpaty and the Ukrainians have to take care of them; (in the West) Karpaty and the Slovaks, Czechs and Polishs have to take care of them, Karpatok and Hungarians have to take care of them and Karpaten and Austrians have to take care of them.

         With a final invitation to collaboration the editors wish success to all the contributors of this new scientific publication series!

The Editors