State and development of phytocenoses on research plots in the Krkonoše Mts. forest stands

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The paper assesses the state and development of phytocenoses in beech, mixed and spruce stands on permanent research plots (PRP) 1-32 in the Krkonoše (Giant) Mts. in the years 1980-2005, i.e. during the air-pollution calamity and afterwards. Dynamics (the extent of change) of the vegetation structure has been expressed as the overall change of species composition in comparison with the year 1980. The change was quantified using the Euclidean distance or as the change of the several first ordination axes (DCA 1-DCA 4). Species composition was significantly changing on all 32 PRP stands in the period 1980-2005; some species completely disappeared (e.g. Cicerbita alpina, Lamium maculatum, Phyteuma spicatum, Viola biflora) or their ratio was reduced (e.g. Blechnum spicant, Dentaria enneaphyllos, Homogyne alpina). From the viewpoint of diversity, the most significant change is the reduction of species in the moss layer, which was observed in all types of stands; in beech and mixed forests the average number of species dropped from 4.8 to 2.7 (44%), in non-declining spruce stands the number fell from 11.6 to 5.5 (53%), and in declining spruce stands it dropped from 10.4 to 3.3 (68%). The overall reduction of species diversity ranged between 31% and 43%; the highest reduction was recorded at species with lower representation. The most significant factors influencing the species composition were altitude and exposition of plot.

Afforested farmland vs. forestland: Effects of bark stripping by Cervus elaphus and climate on production potential and structure of Picea abies forests

“…Our results show that that horizontal structure of the tree layer is random for most of the PRPs, except 2 PRPs (6 and 12) of the farmland where structure is aggregated. Similar results were reported in previous studies for Picea abies – Fagus sylvatica stands, e.g., Vacek and Lepš [106], Zahradník et al [107] in P . abies stands, Vacek et al [108] and Králíček et al [109].…”

“…abies stands on the farmland, random to moderately regular structure was observed by Vacek et al [99]. Horizontal structure of forest stands is largely influenced by ungulate damages [69] and silvicultural practices [107]. Deer are often clustering to the groups in forest [110,111], and this is associated with the aggregated distribution of the trees damaged by these animals [112].…”

Soil-forming effect of Douglas fir at lower altitudes - a case study

“…Besides the lower stability of these highly productive forests, this trend causes changes of forest ecosystem biodiversity, which is supposed to represent the main European forestry concern (Máliš et al 2010). The effects of Norway spruce increase with the time of cultivation (Hadač, Sofron 1980), and it was documented in many studies from the CzechSlovak region (Ambros 1990;Poleno 2001;Šomšák, Balkovič 2002;Šomšák 2003), they follow differences between natural spruce and beech forests to some extent (Vacek, Matějka 2010). Large introduction of Norway spruce is considered also as one cause of broad acidification of the forest environment (Borůvka et al 2005;Oulehle, Hruška 2005 (Ferron, Douglas 2010;Larson 2010) for its fast growth and technical characteristics of very valuable timber.…”

Results of the research of Douglas-fir in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: a review

“…Vliv smrku je doložen jako rostoucí s dobou uplynulou od změny druhové skladby (Hadač & Sofron 1980) a byl dokumentován v řadě studií v českém a slovenském prostoru (Ambros 1990;Poleno 2001;Šomšák 2003;Šomšák & Balkovič 2002). Do jisté míry sleduje rozdíly mezi přirozenými bukovými a smrkovými porosty (Vacek & Matějka 2010). Náhrada dřevin přirozené druhové skladby smrkem je rovněž považována za příčinu rozsáhlé acidifikace lesních půd (Oulehle & Hruška 2005).…”