Studies on Manna ash (Fraxinus ornus L.) In Bulgaria

Abstract

The purpose of this publication is to review and analyze the main studies of Manna ash in Bulgaria in or-der to present summarized information and acquire an objective view of the possibilities for proper per-ception of the importance of this local tree species and its use in various aspects of science and practice in our country. The study covers the period from the second half of the 1940s, when the first specialized journals in the field of forest science were published, until 2022. The focus of the study is on publications related directly or indirectly to various aspects of research on manna ash.  The tracking of the chronology of forestry studies in Bulgaria shows trends towards a change in the perception of Manna ash as an inferior species and the search for its benefits for forestry practice, including rethinking its role from one of a weed species into an adjustable competitor, stimulating the regeneration of oaks and others indigenous species in plantations. The role of phytocoenological studies, which in relation to the Manna ash communities, both in nat-ural and artificial forest plantations, with its participation have increased in recent years. With their help, it is possible to trace the stages of successions and fluctuations and behavior of Manna ash in xerothermic oak forests and austian pine crops – its ecological-coenotic strategy towards the main tree species. The studies of Manna ash in Bulgaria in the field of special uses are close to their European ana-logues and in a number of cases overtake them with new data and discoveries, mostly in terms of bio-logically active products and antiallergic agents obtained from this plant species, among which we have world patents.