Archives of Biological Sciences 2016 Volume 68, Issue 3, Pages: 483-493
https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS150727037V
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Effects of natural broadleaved regeneration vs conifer restoration on the herb layer and microclimate
Vukov Dragana (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad)
Galić Zoran (Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment, Novi Sad)
Rućando Marko (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad)
Ilić Miloš (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad)
Ćuk Mirjana (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad)
Igić Dušan (JP “Vojvodinašume”, Petrovaradin)
Igić Ružica (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad)
Orlović Saša (Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment, Novi Sad)
This study was carried out on the Vidlič Mountain, eastern Serbia. The herb
layer was surveyed in permanent plots on two localities: in a naturally
regenerated beech forest and in a Douglas-fir plantation, in spring, summer
and autumn 2011, 2012 and 2013. Air temperature, air humidity and soil
moisture were measured. Species richness, Shannon’s diversity index and
Pielou’s evenness index were calculated for each plot. Comparison of the
abundances of species common to both forest stands was done using the
Mann-Whitney U-test. The compositional gradient of the species data was
examined using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and the
species-environment relationship was analyzed by canonical correspondence
analysis (CCA). Soil moisture and the total herb cover significantly differed
in the naturally regenerated beech forest and Douglas-fir plantation.
Floristic similarity between the surveyed forest stands was 28.12%. Although
the dominant canopy species is known to be the strongest predictor of the
herb layer, the model that includes all of the analyzed environmental factors
explains the largest amount of the species variability. The species best
fitted to this model are Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Pulmonaria
officinalis, Sanicula europaea, Pteridium aquilinum and Rubus caesius. The
analyzed forest stands are examples of two different post-disturbance
regeneration strategies. Having in mind the limitations of this study, we can
conclude that the naturally regenerated beech forest recovers faster: its
herbaceous layer indicated nearly natural conditions, with only a few pioneer
and disturbance-tolerant species. The herb layer in the Douglas-fir stand is
still in the early seral stage, i.e. establishment.
Keywords: beech, Douglas-fir, overstory effect, temperate forests
Projekat Ministarstva
nauke Republike Srbije, br. III43002: Bio-sensing technologies and global
systems for the continual research and integrative ecosystem management