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Nomenclatural-Phytocoenological revision of the Association Calamagrostio variae-Piceetum dinaricum Bertović 1975, nom. illeg. in Croatia

Joso Vukelić ; Šumarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Antun Alegro ; Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Vedran Šegota ; Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Irena Šapić ; Šumarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu

Sažetak

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 (e.g. Salix appendiculata, Sambucus racemosa, Lonicera caerulea subsp. borbasiana, Festuca bosniaca, Hypericum richeri subsp. grisebachii, Cardus acanthoides, Gera­nium macrorrhizum, Achillea clavene, Gentiana lutea subsp. symphyandra, Ribes alpinum and many others) are missing from stands of spruce forest with small-reed in the Austrian Alps (Willner and Grabherr 2007, columns 7 and 8, Table 34). On the other hand, these stands contain more than 100 species which were not recorded in the Dinaric association. Of these species, Larix decidua, Pinus sylvestris, Polygala chamaebuxus, Sesleria albicans, Homogyne alpina, Carex alba, Hepatica nobilis, Erica carnea, Campanula cochleariifolia, Ranunculus nemorosus and others are particularly prominent in terms of occurrence or participation. The investigated spruce association differs from subalpine spruce forests growing in Slovenia (Zupan­čič 1999) and in other Dinaric regions (Vukelić, Alegro and Šegota 2010).
To select diagnostic species of the association, we compared ten relevés from Table 1 and used the results of research into the forest vegetation of south-eastern Europe, primarily that of Fukarek (1964), Stefanović (1970), Zupančič (1980, 1999),Zupančič and Acceto (1994), Vukelić, Alegro and Šegota (2010) and other phytocoe­nologists. Special mention should be made of a broader group of differentiating spe­cies which characterize the subalpine, open-canopy rocky sites and which either do not occur in other spruce communities or are present to a much lesser degree. These include in the first place Juniperus communis subsp. alpina, Salix apendicullata, Sambucus racemosa, Hypericum richeri subsp. grisebachii, Achillea clavenae, Gen­tiana lutea subsp. symphyandra, than Festuca bosniaca, Cardus acanthoides, Car­lina acaulis subsp. caulescens, Asplenium fissum, Melampyrum velebiticum and others. Not all of them are primarily forest species; the sites of this spruce forest are frequently interspersed with mountain clearings and massive blocks whose cracks are inhabited by these species. In relation to other spruce forests in Croatia and wider, there is also a group of forest species with high participation and cover that includes Calamagrostis varia, Polystychum lonchitis, Adenostyles alpina and Vacci­nium vitis-idaea. These species play an important role in the identification and diffe­rentiation of this association, although they cannot be determined as differentiating since they are also present in other Dinaric phytocoenoses.
St John’s wort, Hypericum richeri Vill. subsp. grisebachii (Boiss.) Nyman, pro­ved to be the most suitable species for nominating the association. Its participation and amounts are much higher than in the related phytocoenoses, while its eco-indi­cator properties are ideally suited to the site conditions of the association. Moreo­ver, it has not been used in the nomination of common spruce communities. In forest communities of Croatia, Hypericum richeri subsp. grisebachii is found in mugo pine stands and in the investigated spruce association. Regardless of the same sin-systematic affiliation, these two associations differ profoundly.
Based on the above, the valid name of the analyzed association is Hyperico gri-sebachii-Piceetum abietis (Bertović 1975) nom. nov. hoc loco. We propose Berto­vić’s relevé No 5 in Table 17 (Bertović 1975, p. 34) to be the nomenclatural type (lectotypus hoc loco), This will solve the problem of the name and independent sta­tus of the association. In the syntaxonomic sense, it belongs to the alliance Vacci­nio-Piceion, order Vaccinio-Piceetalia and class Vaccinio-Piceetea.
The phytocoenosis does not have any commercial importance, but is of high pro­tective and natural-scientific significance. The most important stands are found in North Velebit National Park, but the association also occurs sporadically in Sa­marske Stijene on Bjelolasica and in the Smrekovac area in the Risnjak massif. The composition of the phytocoenosis is not uniform across the entire distribution range. The high ridges on which it grows are relatively distant enclaves with their specific geobotanical and horological features.

Ključne riječi

Ass. Calamagrostio variae-Piceetum dinaricum Bertović 1975; ass. Hyperico grisebachii-Piceetum abietis (Bertović 1975) nom. nov. hoc loco; Croatia; Dinaric mountains; floral composition

Hrčak ID:

62788

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/62788

Datum izdavanja:

31.12.2010.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 2.396 *