Syntaxonomy and ecology of forest vegetation in the Štiavnické vrchy Mts (Central Slovakia)

Michal Slezák,Dušan Senko,Katarína Hegedüšová

doi:10.5586/asbp.2011.022

Abstract

Vegetation of deciduous forests in the Štiavnické vrchy Mts (Central Slovakia) was studied using the standard Zürich-Montpellier approach. The numerical classification and ordination technique were applied to determine the main forest vegetation types and to find the responsible environmental drivers related to their distribution patterns, respectively. The data set including 198 relevés collected by authors in 1997-2009 and 185 relevés excerpted from literature was used to analysis. Numerical classification resulted in delimitation of fourteen vegetation types representing eleven associations with two variants and two communities within the Quercetea robori-petraeae and Querco-Fagetea classes. The major environmental gradients in variation of forest species composition were associated with moisture and nutrient content following the average Ellenberg indicator values. Along the moisture gradient, vegetation types were ordered from subxerophilous oak forests turn mesophilous mixed oak-hornbeam, beech and ravine forests to hygrophilous riparian alder forest. The results confirmed important role of soil nutrients and moisture by determination of forest vegetation in subcontinental part of Central Europe. Special attention was given to the discussion of floristical characteristics, site conditions and syntaxonomy.

Highlights

Forest ecosystems are the most important functional component of the Central European landscape, and they are essential for maintaining biological diversity
Environmental and geographical gradients are the main drivers of variation in floristic composition of temperate deciduous forests. This issue has been discussed in a number of botanical studies, especially those dealing with vegetation classification (e.g. Matuszkiewicz 2000; Willner 2002; Knollová and Chytrý 2004; Boublík et al 2007; Douda 2008; Towpasz and Stachurska-Swakoń 2008), evaluation of vegetation-environmental relationships (e.g. Härdtle et al 2005; Leuschner and Lendzion 2009) and vegetation dynamics (e.g. Šamonil and Vrška 2008)
In addition to Fragaria vesca, Melica nutans, Pulmonaria officinalis agg. and Viola reichenbachiana, the herb layer is abundant in mesophilous species (e.g. Carex digitata, Galium odoratum, G. schultesii, Lathyrus vernus, Melica uniflora, Stellaria holostea, Symphytum tuberosum, Tithymalus amygdaloides)

Summary

Introduction

Forest ecosystems are the most important functional component of the Central European landscape, and they are essential for maintaining biological diversity. Spatial distribution and horizontal structure of forest vegetation are simultaneously influenced by a number of ecological and anthropogenic factors and their interactions. Matuszkiewicz 2000; Willner 2002; Knollová and Chytrý 2004; Boublík et al 2007; Douda 2008; Towpasz and Stachurska-Swakoń 2008), evaluation of vegetation-environmental relationships (e.g. Härdtle et al 2005; Leuschner and Lendzion 2009) and vegetation dynamics (e.g. Šamonil and Vrška 2008). The obtained knowledge should provide initial data for justifying suitable conservation management, integrated ecological landscape planning and for the establishment of national vegetation surveys or checklists of plant communities (Pott 1992; Borhidi 2003; Matuszkiewicz 2007; Willner and Grabherr 2007; Jarolímek et al 2008; Onyshchenko 2010). In the territory of Slovakia, studies of these features are relatively limited, and focusing on selected vegetation types, i.e. alder(Šomšák 2000), beech- (Ujházy et al 2004; Ujházyová 2007) or dry-mesic oak forests (Roleček 2005)

Methods

Results

Conclusion