Native Elms of Saxony, Germany

Abstract

A four-year survey of elms was carried out in the State of Saxony, Germany. In 134 survey plots along rivers, white elm (Ulmus laevis) was the most abundant elm, followed by wych elm (U. glabraj, field elm (U. minor,) and the hybrid Dutch elm (U. x hollandica). In the landscape, elms have a clumped distribution. Most often, they occupied small semi-natural habitats within landscapes profoundly changed by modern agriculture, industry, and urbanization. The three elm species differ widely in their size-class distributions. With field elm, large trees were missing, a fact that was interpreted as an effect of Dutch elm disease. With white elm, smaller trees were under-represented, which may be a result of heavy livestock grazing on floodplain meadows. For unknown reasons, white elm showed a higher degree of crown transparency than the other two species. It was estimated that there are between 100,000 and 150,000 elms in Saxony, most of them white elm and wych elm. An outline of future elm protection in Saxony is presented.