Iernut - Cipău Ponds

Iernut - Cipău Ponds are located in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania. The ponds were created by damming, initially the water was pumped from the Mureş River located in the vicinity. In recent years the rains are raising the water level regularly, especially at Iernut Pond. The Iernut ponds were created in 1975 - two ponds with an area of 108 ha, and the Cipău ponds in 1983 - 4 ponds with an area of 57 ha.

Photo: Neluţu

Importance: Natura 2000 protected site, C4 - large gatherings of water birds. The two farms are an important resting place for migratory birds in Transylvania, and regularly host between 35,000 to 48,000 water birds. In recent years, at Iernut the willows grew in the midst of one of the lakes and there formed a small colony of night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), which, with a proper management, could increase in coming years. The human impact is more pronounced at Iernut due to disturbance created by the large number of fishermen and hunters in some periods, and due to some management issues of the fisheries.

Fărăgău Lake

Fărăgău Lake is a nature reserve in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania.

The area is located in the hills of Transylvanian Plain, between Tg. Mureş and Reghin. The geological formations are Tertiary and Quaternary, frequently occurring Panonian and Sarmatian formations consisting of clays, marly clays and sands. The lake is situated in the valley on the NW-SE, with an inclination of 10° and at an altitude of 360 m. Situated in the Mureş River hydrographic basin, Fărăgău Lake was formed behind of a natural dam of sediments on Sar Rivulet, being the latest natural lake in Transylvania. In the years 1984-1987, the lake was transformed into fish pond. It has a total length of 750 m, total width of 350 m, maximum depth of 4.5 m and a layer of lacustrine deposits of 3-5 m.

Plant species on around the lake reveals a series of rarities such as: Sonchus paluster, Senecio paludorus, Lathyrus paluster, Epipactis palustris, Oenante silaifolia, Hammarby paludosa, and some rare hydrophyte species specific to this biotope as: Parnassos palustris, Sium latifolium, Rorippa anphibia, Oenante aquatica, Salix rosmarinifolia, asperula rivalis, Epilobium palustre, Triglochin palustre, Carex paniculata, Geranium palustre, etc. The reserve regime of the is motivated by the presence of the areas where peat moss (Sphagnum) form associations with the fern Dryopteris thelypteris.

In terms of fauna there are a number of rare species as: the ostracoda Darwinula Zimmer, relict of tropical origin, the frog species Rana arvalis weltersterffi, but the real reason for declaring the area as a protected area is that this lake with the whole downstream fish development are a great place of refuge and feeding grounds for many species of birds (about 180 species have been observed, of which 40 nesting species).