Influence of beech forests fragmentation of Stilsky Hillside on their microclimatic parameters

Abstract

Estimation of changes in the microclimatic parameters of beech forests of the Stilsky Hillside, by measuring the water-temperature indicators of the soil regime and bryoindication, were performed. Fragmentation of forest causes significant changes in microclimatic parameters in bondary habitats areas, which leads to both biodiversity loss and a decrease of the unchanged forest areas. In fragmented beech forests, the influence of the edge effect on the water-temperature regime of soils is observed within a distance of 20-40 meters, but the eco-floristic structure of nemoral moss vegetation is stabilized only at a distance from 160 m. Thus, bryobiontes are a shown to be a sensitive marker of the microclimatic regime changes in a fragmented ecosystem. In the studied beeches Metzgeria furcata, Radula complanata, Anomodon attenuatus, A. viticulosus, Cirriphyllum crassinervium are indicators of the "interior forest". The determined amplitude of the edge effect indicates the fragmentation as a crucial factor on the small areas of forest and its role in the loss of climate-sensitive groups of biota, primarily mosses.