Coenological and syntaxonomical analysis of the beech woodlands of the Laga Mountains (Central Italy)

Abstract

Biogeographia vol. XX VIII - 2007 (Pubb/icato il 30 dicembre 2007 Biogeografia de/l'Appennino centra/e e settentriona/e.q trenfanni dopo Coenological and syntaxonomical analysis of the beech Woodlands of the Laga Mountains (Central Italy) ROMEO DI PIETRO DZPfl}‘tim€7Zt0 Imlztstritzl design, Tecnolagie tlell’/lrc/aitemmz e Cultum dell 1/lnzbiente (ITACA), Universitfz qLa 5zzpz'mzrz”a’z' Roma, via Flzzmiizizz 70, 00196 Roma (Ital)/),' 2-mzzil: romeo. zz’z;z2z'eL‘r0 @zmz'r0mzz1. it Key words: chorology, Fagus sylvatica, ICPN, phytosociology, syntaxonomy SUMMARY This paper provides a coenological and syntaxo nomical analysis of the Fzzgm gllvafir/I woodlands of the Laga Mountains (Central Apennines). These woodlands are unusual among Central Apennines Fzzgi/5 forests in that they grow on siliceous acid substrata and the composition 0F the understory is, as a consequence, influenced markedly by the texture of the soils and by the low pH values. Vegetational sampling was carried out using the Zurich-Montpellier phytosociological approach. The 115 releves were Further treated with multivariate analysis alghoritms (classification and ordination). Two main types of beech woodland were identified: a termophilous aspect of the lower rnontane belt and a microthermic aspect of the upper montane belt. The phytosociological literature reports various association-narnes proposed by different authors to identify the beech Woodlands of the Laga mountains (/lqutf0li0—Ftzget1m1, /lbicti—F:1get1m1, LI/zz//0—Frtget1177z, Trot/7z'mz7'zt/Ja- Fngetzmz, Palyrtic/Ja—FrIge2?zm1, VeraI1ic0—Fagemnz, 50/iz{zzgiI1i—Ft1getImz). Each of these association names was based to a large degree on the three original phytosociological tables published in Longhitano and Ronsisvalle (1974). However, on the basis of both floristic—coenological and syntaxonomicalmomenclatural considerations it now emerges that these syntaxonomical references are no longer suitable to Laga beech woods. In diis paper a new association, PrmzziztbapznpIt7'czze— Fzzgemm iy/wzticzze ass. nova is proposed for the microthermic beech of the Laga mountains. This association is further suh—diVided into three different sub—associations based on edapho-morphological paramethers: Prev/z71t/7a—F(zgetzmz gpicl/721, Preizmzt/Ja—Ftzgemm urzccizzietaszzm myrti//1' (on convex slopes and shallow soils) and Prenmzr/Ja—Frzgemm 11!/J}/rit'ta:zm7 fi[ici:— _fl2m2i71zze (in gullies and on deeper soils). The lower altitude terrnophilous beech woods of the Laga mountains (lower montane belt), on the other hand, are here included in Drtctylor/Jiznfitcbsii-Fttgetu77z s_ylt/zzticzze in the form of a new subassociation D115!)/[or/J1'z0—Fzzgetm71 1m*ma71z'L’!orz/m ag7‘i77z07Ii0iz{Ik. Owing to the lack of adequate syntaxonomical references for higher rank syntaxa a new sub—alliance named Veronica zzrticlfiliae-Fegelziazl .r}/lwzziczze suball. nov. is here proposed. Comparison (coenological and statistical) with exsisting similar associations occurring elsewhere in the Apennines led to the inclusion of this suballiance in Aremmzio—FzIg1'mz alliance. I. INTRODUCTION The Laga mountains are unique among the mountain systems of central Italy, since they are the only siliceous massif of significant altitude and extension (they stretch for about 24 km across the Abruzzo, Marches and Latium regions with