Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXVII, Issue 1
Written by Marilena ONETE, Minodora MANU, Mihaela PAUCĂ-COMĂNESCU, Roxana-Georgiana NICOARĂ
The vegetation of an old mixed beech and fir forest from the foothills of the Bucegi Mountains, in the South Carpathians, Romania, was first surveyed in 1972-1973 and secondly in 2008-2009 in 121 sample plots from a representative area displaying a heterogeneous structure, the oldest trees being over 250 years. The research sought to assess the changes in the structure of tree populations and herbaceous layers after 37 years, and the relationships between the characteristic and dominant species. The results show that the Piatra Arsă forest has a diversified structure and is rich in terms of species and habitat diversity. Certain structural changes in the forest may be related to climate change, resulting in an increased proportion of beech at the expense of fir. Except for the shift in tree species dominance after 37 years under conservation, the Piatra Arsă forest displayed rather small structural changes (shifts of the micro-habitats), which may be attributable to natural fluctuations characterizing a natural old-growth forest.
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