Phytocoenological-pedological features of subalpine beech forests (as. Ranunculo platanifoliae-Fagetum Marinček et al. 1993) on northern Velebit

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Vukelic, J. Baričevič, Dario Pernar, Nikola Bakšić, Darko Racić, Davor Vrbek, Boris
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	Background and Purpose: Beech forests in the subalpine belt of Velebit (1-4) have not been extensively investigated so far, nor has their nomenclatural and systematic affiliation been analysed according to the latest phytocoenological concepts (5-7). Phytocoenological research and adjustment was combined with the study and analysis of basic soil types and their pedophysiographic properties. Materials and Methods: Phytocoenological research, encompassing the analysis of 11 releves and comparisons with other relevant works (3, 8, 9), follows classical principles of the Braun-Blanquet School (10). Taxonomic nomenclature was coordinated according to Nikolic (11-13). Pedophysiographic soil features were described by types and pedogenetic horizons on the basis of the profiles opened within the community. Results: As many as 96 species, or 41 species per releve on average, were registered in the 11 phytocoenological releves. The dominant layer of the community under study is characterized by Fagus sylvatica, with Acer pseudoplatanus also taking an important position and Abies alba featuring on the bottom boundary. There are no distinctly dominant species in the shrub layer, while the ground layer contains important species of the alliance Aremonio-Fagion and the order Fagetalia. The substrate of limestones with dolomite interbeds, dolomitized limestones, and calcareous breccias (14-17) supports a long series of subtypes and varieties of mollic leptosol and cambisols , luvisols in sinkholes and sporadic occurrences of rendzic leptosols. Conclusion: Beech forests in the subalpine belt of northern Velebit at altitudes between 1, 200 and 1, 500 m manifest their affiliation to the association Ranunculo platanifoliae-Fagetum Marincek et al. 1993. The comparison with adjacent areas shows very high similarity in physiognomy, ecological conditions and floristic composition. Pedological research revealed exceptional variability of soil types over a relatively small space. The studied forests on northern Velebit take up approximately 6, 000 ha. Presently, they belong to protective forests and are left to natural succession.
Starting Page	163
Ending Page	171
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
Volume Number	110
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/46414
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article