Abstract
Manor parks are characteristic objects in the agricultural landscape of Poland. Lack of proper management after World War II, however, led to their devastation from a cultural point of view, but may allow the regeneration of rare and endangered species. The aim of our study was to determine if the presence of forests in the vicinity of manor parks will work as an accelerator of the regeneration process of oak-hornbeam and ancient forest species. Phytosociological analyses were conducted in manor parks adjacent to forests and not adjacent to the forest as well as natural forests. The total number of plant species, number and percentage share of ancient forest species, and plant species consistent with oak-hornbeam habitat were analyzed using a GLM model. Characteristic species were identified using detrended correspondence analysis. Parks adjacent to forests and natural forests showed higher numbers of total species, ancient forest species, and oak-hornbeam species compared with parks not adjacent to forests, but there were no differences in percentage shares of ancient forest species and oak-hornbeam species. For all three types of studied objects, characteristic species could be identified. We conclude that adjacent forests allow greater regeneration of ancient forest species and oak-hornbeam forest species in manor parks.
Highlights
Since the forests which were adjacent to the studied manor park had a size below 10 ha and they were not located on protected areas, they were not chosen for the study as reference areas for natural forests
The average number of ancient forest species was similar for parks adjacent to forests
Tilio-Carpinetum habitat only survive due to the presence of small remains of former large forest complexes since these species are sensitive to anthropogenic pressure [50,51]
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In Poland, manor parks are characteristic objects in the agricultural landscape. According to authors [1], the manor park is a landscape garden with a manor or palace outside the city. Manor parks, which were established on oak-hornbeam habitats, dominated in Poland during the 18th and 19th centuries. The owners of manor parks often attached fragments of existing natural forests to the park’s area. Some manor parks have private owners, but most of them are state-owned [2]. Such historical manor parks, being very specific objects with restricted use, require appropriate species and forms of vegetation [3]
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