Original scientific paper
Forests of Sweet Chestnut with Odorous Pig-Salad (Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum SativaeAss. nova) in Croatia
Jasnica Medak
; Hrvatski šumarski institut Jastrebarsko
Abstract
This paper describes a new association of mesophilous sweet chestnut forests with odorous pig-salad (Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaeass. nova) in Croatia. The association is the most frequently found at altitudes 200–400 m, which refers to sites at Zrinska and Petrova gora, or higher (up to 600 meters at Medvednica, Žumberak), in both cases in transitional positions between oak and beech or in the beech belt. It occurs on northern and eastern expositions and less steep slopes (up to 20°), which distinguish it very good from the well known acidophilous sweet chestnut forests (Querco-Castanetum sativae), which occurs at southern and more steep slopes. The most common soil type in this community is luvisol, deep and very acid to light acid, depending on subassociation.
It is characterized by considerably larger number of mesophilous species from beech forests than acidophilous and thermophilous species. Phytosociological releves were collected following the principles of standard Braun-Blanquet method.
In Phytosociological Table 1 there are 20 relevés of the association Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativae. Sweet chestnut is frequently accompanied by beech and hornbeam in the tree layer. Oak is also frequent but without important and significant role that it plays in acidophilous chestnut forests. Sometimes there are cherry, lime-trees and flowering ash in the tree layer and often silver birch in the localities with more light related to chestnut decline.
In the shrub layer, together with chestnut and beech, frequent and well developed are species from order Fagetalia and alliance Carpinion betuli: Corylus avellana, Carpinus betulus, Prunus avium, Crataegus monogyna, Acer campestre, Rosa arvensis and Viburnum opulus. The other group are species from the order Quercetalia pubescentis:Fraxinus ornus,Ligustrum vulgareand Sorbus torminalis, which occurs very frequent. The ground vegetation layer is very good developed and made from the mixture of mesophilous species from the order Fagetaliaand acidophilous species from the order Quercetalia roboris-petraeae. Frequent and abundant are only Rubus hirtusand Pteridium aquilinumwhich reflect the instability of the forest community. Important for the association and its characteristics species are Aposeris foetida,Circea lutetianaandGaleopsis tetrahit, which as mesophilous and skiophilous well describe assosiations character.
Other species from the order Fagetaliaand the allianceCarpinion betuliare: Epimedium alpinum,Sanicula europaea,Symphytum tuberosum,Polygonatum multiflorum,Pulmonaria officinalis, Primula vulgaris,Viola reichenbachiana,Galium sylvaticum,Lonicera caprifolium,Carex sylvatica, Lamium orvala, and from the order Quercetalia roboris-petraeae:Gentiana asclepiadea,Veronica officinalis,Melampyrum pratense,Hieracium racemosum,Luzula luzuloides,Luzula pilosa. When the association is developed on the higher elevation, in the beech belt, spring aspect is expressed with a domination of theAnemone nemorosa,Dentaria bulbiferaandGalium odoratum.According to the Code of Phytocoenological Nomenclature (Weber et al. 2000), relevé No. 6 in the ninth column of Table 1 is the nomenclatural type. Two subassociations were identified: typicumandligustretosum.
Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaesubass.typicumsubass. nova hoc loc is negatively distinguished typical subassociation which growes on deep luvisols and on less steep slpoes (20°). Shade-tolerant species such as Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris filix-mas and Circea lutetiana are dominant in abundance. This subassociation includes widely distributed, anthropogenic, poor in species number, variant Rubus hirtus. This community is very specific by its physiognomy which refers to pure chestnut stands. Shrub layer is also not developed and in the ground vegetation layer Rubus hirtuscovers often 75% of the area. Interesting species is Hypericum androsaemum, rare in Croatian Flora, but it occurs frequently at this community.
According to the Code of Phytocoenological Nomenclature (Weber et al. 2000), relevé No. 6 in the Table 1 is the nomenclatural type of the subassociation typicum. Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaesubass.ligustretosum vulgarisubass.nova hoc locois more thermophilous subassociation, distinguished by differential species Ligustrum vulgare,Mellitys melissophyllum and Lathyrus niger. The subassociation is considering mixture of termophilous, acidophilous and mesophilous species rather rich in species number. It grows on less acid soils, often on carbonate substrates. According to the Code of Phytocoenological Nomenclature (Weber et al. 2000), relevé No. 12 in the Table 1 is the nomenclatural type of the subassociation ligustretosum.
AssociationAposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaeis classified to order Fagetalia Pawl. 1928, alliance of illyrian beech forests, Aremonio-Fagion (Horvat 1938) Törek et al. 1989, suballiance Epimedio-Fagenion Marinček i dr. 1993 which refers to mesophilous and subthermophilous collin forests of Ilirija. Characteristic (Epimedium alpinum,Geranium nodosum,Knautia drymeia,Vicia oroboides) and differential (Hacquetia epipactis,Heleborus odorus,Lonicera caprifolium,Primula vulgarisandRuscus hypoglossum) species of the suballiance are more frequent and abundant in the subassociationligustretosumthan in the typicum where shade-tolerant species playing the main role.
Mesophilous chestnut forests Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaeass. nova hoc loco represent the terminal phase of the chestnut forests in Croatia. Primary, it originates on deep and rich soils in most of the localities on Petrova and Zrinska gora, and secondary, from the association Epimedio-Carpinetum betuli, where chestnut occurs and become predominant because of the acidification processes in the soil (north-western Croatia, Moslavina, Slavonsko gorje).There are two possible directions of the degradation processes in these forests. First goes through the overexploitation, stamping and soil acidification to acidophilous chestnut forest. The other one, more important and present in whole range of Zrinska and Petrova gora, is exclusively conditioned by management system. A few generations after clear-cutting, mixed chestnut forest turn to chestnut monoculture with onlyRubus hirtusat the ground vegetation layer, which sometimes covers 100% of the area.
Keywords
Castanea sativa; Aposeri foetidae-Castanetum sativaeass. nova; Croatia; forest communities; mesophilous chestnut forests
Hrčak ID:
72311
URI
Publication date:
14.10.2011.
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