Plant species as habitat indicators in beech forests following clearcutting
2024
Pavlović, Branka | Čokeša, Vlado | Stajić, Snežana | Babić, Violeta | Poduška, Zoran | Martać, Nikola | Kanjevac, Branko
In the winter of 2015, extensive damage affected forest ecosystems in Eastern Serbia due to severe ice-induced tree breakage and falls. As a result, clearcutting was necessary in certain forest stands. This study evaluates the ecological characteristics of plant species that emerged on clearcut sites five years after clearcutting. The research was conducted within the Timok Forest Region, encompassing both natural beech stands and artificially established conifer plantations on beech sites (Helleboro odori-Fagetum moesiacae Soó & Borhidi 1960). This investigation focuses only on the stocked areas within the Timok Forest Region (natural forests and artificially established stands) managed by the state-owned company "Srbijašume" in Belgrade. Vascular flora was categorised based on their affiliation with specific ecological plant groups according to the following key environmental parameters: soil moisture (V), soil acidity (K), nitrogen availability (N), light (S), and temperature (T). Spontaneously colonised plants, serving as bioindicators, reflect changes in ecological (particularly microclimatic and edaphic) conditions. Additionally, these bioindicators reveal the degradation of forest habitats post-clearcutting, which manifests as increased light penetration, xerothermic microclimatic shifts, surface soil acidification, and diminished nutrient availability.
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