Premium
Classification of the Mediterranean lowland to submontane pine forest vegetation
Author(s) -
Bonari Gianmaria,
FernándezGonzález Federico,
Çoban Süleyman,
MonteiroHenriques Tiago,
Bergmeier Erwin,
Didukh Yakiv P.,
Xystrakis Fotios,
Angiolini Claudia,
Chytrý Kryštof,
Acosta Alicia T.R.,
Agrillo Emiliano,
Costa José C.,
Danihelka Jiří,
Hennekens Stephan M.,
Kavgacı Ali,
Knollová Ilona,
Neto Carlos S.,
Sağlam Coşkun,
Škvorc Željko,
Tichý Lubomír,
Chytrý Milan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/avsc.12544
Subject(s) - pinus pinaster , pinus brutia , vegetation (pathology) , mediterranean climate , aleppo pine , geography , phytosociology , ecology , mediterranean basin , forestry , ordination , pinus <genus> , species richness , agroforestry , plant community , environmental science , botany , biology , medicine , pathology
Aim Vegetation types of Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests dominated by Pinus brutia , Pinus halepensis , Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea were studied in various areas. However, a comprehensive formal vegetation classification of these forests based on a detailed data analysis has never been developed. Our aim is to provide the first broad‐scale classification of these pine forests based on a large data set of vegetation plots. Location Southern Europe, North Africa, Levant, Anatolia, Crimea and the Caucasus. Methods We prepared a data set of European and Mediterranean pine forest vegetation plots. We selected 7,277 plots dominated by the cold‐sensitive Mediterranean pine species Pinus brutia , Pinus halepensis , Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea . We classified these plots using TWINSPAN, interpreted the ecologically and biogeographically homogeneous TWINSPAN clusters as alliances, and developed an expert system for automatic vegetation classification at the class, order and alliance levels. Results We described Pinetea halepensis as a new class for the Mediterranean lowland to submontane pine forests, included in the existing Pinetalia halepensis order, and distinguished 12 alliances of native thermophilous pine forests, including four newly described and three informal groups merging supposedly native stands and old‐established plantations. The main gradients in species composition reflect elevational vegetation belts and the west–east, and partly north–south, biogeographical differences. Both temperature and precipitation seasonality co‐vary with these gradients. Conclusions We provide the first formal classification at the order and alliance levels for all the Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests based on vegetation‐plot data. This classification includes traditional syntaxa, which have been critically revised, and a new class and four new alliances. We also outline a methodological workflow that might be useful for other vegetation classification syntheses. The expert system, which is jointly based on pine dominance and species composition, is a tool for applying this classification in research and nature conservation survey, monitoring and management.