The floristic composition of the Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) forest within the Antalya region in Turkey

Abstract

Summary Antalya region is a complex piece of land which is located in the south-western Anatolia and extends to the North from the Antalya Bay and is composed of the western Taurus mountains Unites. The climatic conditions in this region indicate the characteristics of the Mediterranean climatic with mild and rainy winters, and hot and dry summers. Basically two main climatic regions are distinguished as follows: 1) « Lower Zone » covers the plains at the sea lovel and the Western Taurus Mountains area up to an altitude of 1000–1100 meters where the draught lasts as long as 5 months approximately. 2) « Higher Zone » covers the mountaineous areas where the hills are higher than 1100 meters, the summers start at least 2 months later and last much shorter. Cupressus sempervirens L. var. horizontalis which is a real forest tree grown in a narrow band (40–50 km) forms some pure or mixed stands with Pinus brutia on calcareous hilly sites of Lauretum Zone in lower parts of Mediterranean region of Turkey. Asides ...