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The Illyrian mesic forests of the Villány Mts: phytosociology and conservation importance

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Abstract

Situated at the interface of Central European and Illyrian vegetation, the mesic forests of southwestern Hungary occupy a special position. Despite their importance in vegetation science and conservation, a comprehensive study of the Illyrian mesic forests of the Villány Mts, the southernmost mountain region in Hungary, has not been provided yet. In this study 60 phytocoenological relevés were prepared in the beech, oak-hornbeam, ravine and scree forests of the Villány Mts. To compare the individual associations, we performed a PCoA-ordination, calculated the per plot species number and the per plot protected species number, computed the percentage constancy values of the protected species, identified significant diagnostic species, and prepared the spectra of the coenological preference groups. We used relative ecological indicator values to assess habitat conditions. The PCoA-ordination, the coenological preference group spectra, and to a certain extent the ecological indicator values suggested that the different mesic forests of the Villány Mts show certain similarities. This is probably due to the fact that beech forests and ravine forests are confined to small and atypical stands by the suboptimal environmental conditions. Nonetheless, the number of diagnostic species and the constancy values of protected plants indicated that significant differences do exist between the four associations, the scree forest being the most distinct. We conclude that oak-hornbeam forests and scree forests of the Villány Mts have a regional conservation importance, while the beech and ravine forests are locally important, enhancing the structural, floristical and habitat diversity of the Villány Mts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, H-2163, Vácrátót, Alkotmány utca 2–4, Hungary

    László Erdős

  2. Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, H-6726, Szeged, Közép fasor 52., Hungary

    Zoltán Bátori & Csaba Tölgyesi

  3. Department of Ecology, University of Pécs, H-7624, Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., Hungary

    Balázs Kevey

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  1. László Erdős
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  2. Zoltán Bátori
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  3. Csaba Tölgyesi
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  4. Balázs Kevey
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Correspondence to László Erdős.

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Erdős, L., Bátori, Z., Tölgyesi, C. et al. The Illyrian mesic forests of the Villány Mts: phytosociology and conservation importance. Biologia 72, 510–519 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2017-0053

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