Ecology and vegetation types of oak-hornbeam and ravine forests of the Eastern Greater Caucasus, Georgia
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Folia Geobotanica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-020-09386-0 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12224-020-09386-0 |
| Keywords | Biogeography; Carpino-Fagetea; Classification; Phytosociology; Syntaxonomy; Transcaucasia |
| Description | The Caucasus harbours unique forest vegetation so far only little studied using the Braun-Blanquet approach. This study is mostly based on a dataset (N = 110) of original phytosociological releves of oak-hornbeam and ravine forests in the Eastern Greater Caucasus, Georgia. Their unsupervised classification produced seven communities. Five belong to oak-hornbeam forests (order Lathyro-Carpinetalia caucasicae). Of the zonal Caucasian alliance Crataego-Carpinion, the association Corno australis-Carpinetum inhabits valleys of the Greater Caucasus, and Clinopodio umbrosi-Carpinetum is confined to the warm Eastern Greater Caucasus promontories. The association Astrantio maximae-Carpinetum of the alliance Astrantio-Carpinion represents distinctive Caucasian montaneoak-hornbeam forests. The other two communities, documented by a few releves, were described at the community level only. Within ravine forests (order Aceretalia pseudoplatani), we introduce a new Caucasian alliance Pachyphragmo macrophyllae-Tilion begoniifoliae with two associations. Valeriano tiliifoliae-Ulmetum glabrae comprises Caucasian montane ravine forests whereas Hedero pastuchovii-Aceretum velutini inhabits the foothills of the Eastern Greater Caucasian. To provide a broader context of the recognized communities, an expanded dataset (N = 231) of original releves and previously published releves of Georgian deciduous forests was analysed. It indicated a major turnover in species composition following biogeographical patterns presumably driven by macroclimate and vegetation history. |
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