DIGITALNA ARHIVA ŠUMARSKOG LISTA
prilagođeno pretraživanje po punom tekstu



ŠUMARSKI LIST 11-12/2010 str. 17     <-- 17 -->        PDF

J. Vukelić, A. Alegro, V. Šegota, I. Šapić: NOMENKLATURNO-FITOCENOLOŠKA REVIZIJA ASOCIJACIJE ... Šumarski list br. 11–12, CXXXIV (2010), 559-568
SUMMARY: Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) forms a strong vegetation belt in
the sub-alpine region of the Croatian Dinaric range, with natural forests of common
spruce (Picea abies) occurring as azonal communities in some specific localities
of this belt. The association Laserpitio krapfii-Piceetum Vukelić, Alegro etŠegota 2010 inhabits sinkholes and northern, colder and shadier slopes from 1,100
to 1,400 m above the sea, while shady and open ridges and peaks above 1,400 m
are occupied by the spruce forest described by S. Bertović (1975) under the name of
Calamagrostio variae-Piceetum dinaricum Bertović 1975. Bertović’s name of the
association is illegitimate (articles 31 and 34a, International Code of Phytocoenological
Nomenclature - ICPN, Weber, Moravec and Theurillat 2000) since the name
was already used by Schweingruber in 1972 for an association in the Randalpen in
Switzerland. One of the objectives of this research was to revise the nomenclature
and propose a new name for the phytocoenosis (Hyperico grisebachii-Piceetum), as
well as define the diagnostic species and other features. We used a method of the
Zurich-Montpellier Phytocoenological School with a six-degree scale. The floral
composition was classified according to the social affiliation of the species. The
plant nomenclature was adjusted to the Flora Croatia database (Nikolić 2010),
while mosses were adjusted according to Koperski et al. (2000).


The association Hyperico grisebachii-Piceetum is distributed above an altitude
of 1,400 m (slightly lower on Samarske Stijene). It grows on distinctly rocky peaks,
ridges, hooks, karrens, and upper, steep and sun-exposed slopes. The sites of this
association are basically characterized by the rockiness of the terrain, which almost
always exceeds 40 %. This contributes significantly to the broken tree canopy
layer and to the composition of shrubs and ground vegetation (Figure 1). The soils
mostly consist of different subtypes of calcomelanosol, from organogenic, over organomineral
to browned soils, and less frequently of shallow calcocambisol (Bakšić
et al. 2010). According to the macroclimatic features of the Zavižan set, the
average annual temperature is 3.5 oC and the average annual precipitation amount
is 1,898 mm (Vučjak meteorological station on Northern Velebit – 1,594 m, period
1061 – 1990). The ecological amplitude of the occurrence of the community is very
narrow, whereas the specific relief, pedological and climatic conditions are unfavourable
for the successful growth of forest vegetation.


Ten phytocoenological relevés (Table 1, relevés 1– 6, Zavižan area; 7 and 8,
Smrčeve Doline area; 9 and 10, Samarske Stijene area) contain 153 species of higher
plants and 31 moss species. The interrupted tree layer is completely dominated
by spruce, while the shrub layer, in addition to the species from the tree layer, contains
further 18 species. Lonicera caerulea inc. subsp. borbasiana, Clematis alpina,
Vaccinium myrtillus, Rosa pendulina, Salix appendiculata, Rubus idaeus, Sambucus
racemosa and Juniperus communis subsp. alpina feature in more than two
thirds of the relevés. From the sociological standpoint, there is a prevalence of so-
called “picetal” (spruce) species, characteristic for spruce forests of the major
part of Europe. Together with mosses, there are 38 such species in all. They are decisive
for the sin-systematic position of the association and their participation is
higher than in the marginal phytocoenosis Laserpitio krapfii-Piceetum. The species
Calamagrostis varia, Cirsium erysithales, and even Carex ornithopoda, which belong
to the order Erico-Pinetalia, deserve special mention in terms of participation
and cover. Of other higher categories, the order Fagetalia Pawl. 1928 and lower
categories consist of 31 species, of which 7 occur in over 40 % of the relevés. The
alliance Adenostylion Br.-Bl. 1925 and the order Adenostyletalia G. & J. Br.-Bl.
1931 are represented by 17 species, with 5 species occurring in over 40 % of the relevés.
The species of these syntaxa occur in a considerably lesser amount than is
the case with the phytocoenosis Laserpitio krapfii-Piceetum mentioned above.


The comparison of the newly-nominated phytocoenosis Hyperico grisebachii-Piceetum
with Shwaingruber’s Calamagrostio variae-Piceetum shows big differences,
as well as their absolute independence. Over thirty species from the Dinaric Alps