Abstract
The study area in the Bialowieza primeval forest-size 28000 m2, divided into quadrats of 100 m2, comprised two patches ofPotentillo albae-Quercetum as distinguished by phytosociological methods, and a fragment of an adjacent very largeTilio-Carpinetum stand. The directional variation in the distribution ofCarpinus betulus trunk diameter values in the southern part of the study area indicates invasion of this oak forest byCarpinus. This process probably started 1962–1968. The invasion ofCarpinus betulus caused considerable deterioration in light conditions of the ground layer, as deduced from a decrease in Ellenberg light index values. The phytosociological division of the study area correlates with variation in the spatial pattern ofCarpinus mean trunk diameter distribution.
Quadrat groups were distinguished by association analysis. They were described phytosociologically using systematic group values for species, constituting the characteristic combination for thePotentillo albae-Quercetum. Areas occupied by still olderCarpinus individuals correspond to successive stages of oak forest regression. The deterioration of light conditions caused recession of thermo-and heliophilous oak-forest species and decline ofPotentillo albae-Quercetum phytocoenoses. However, this was not accompanied by the expansion pansion of species ofCarpinus forests.
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Kwiatkowska, A.J., Wyszomirski, T. Decline ofPotentillo albae-Quercetum phytocoenoses associated with the invasion ofCarpinus betulus . Vegetatio 75, 49–55 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00044625
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00044625