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The dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are an endemic vegetation type of the littoral Dinaric Alps, located in the Dinaric Mountains mixed forests ecoregion in Southeastern Europe. Pure stands of dinaric calcareous silver fir (Abies alba) forests appear on limestone escarpments in the montane zones of Orjen, Velebit, Biokovo and Prenj. As an endemic and rare vegetation type of the Dinarides, they need protection.
Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests have an open structure which is environmentally sensible. As storms of bora and scirocco type are common in the coastal dinaric mountains, wind plays a great role in the formation of the highly labile structure in the pure silver fir communities. Silver firs can reach up to 35 metres (115 ft) on limestone and trunk diameters of 1 metre (3.3 ft) have been observed.
Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are dispersed in smaller patches on the hyperkarstic littoral karst mountain environments of the Dinarides. Prominent are those on Velebit and Orjen, appearing on bare limestone escarpments in the montane lifezone between 1,200–1,550 metres (3,940–5,090 ft). The abundance of precipitation on these coastal mountains of up to 5000 mm/m2a with the dry soil conditions restricts these pure silver fir forests to the most rainy and humid spots of the Dinarides.
Silver fir is a constituent of montane central European forests. As a rare species in dry climates of the Mediterranean, the silver firs presence on Mt. Orjen are restricted to humid northern slopes. A marked difference in the fir's vegetation patterns is seen here. It has a common cause in soil formation. High soil-water content in terrae fuscae on glacial superstratum leads to beech-fir forests, whereas dry initial rendzinas on glacio-karstic substrate support xeric dinaric calcareous silver fir forests. The latter endemic community rich in submediterranean species has evolutionary parallels with Bosnian Pine communities.
Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are among the most species-rich montane ecosystems in the Dinaric Alps.
Mixed deciduous-silver fir peony (Paeonia daurica Andrews)-forests with Paeonia daurica' have the most species rich composition found so far on Orjen (Abies alba, Corylus colurna, Fraxinus excelsior, Fagus sylvatica, Acer intermedium, Tilia cordata, Acer pseudoplatanus, Pinus heldreichii).
* Syntaxonomic chart of mixed deciduous-silver fir-peony forest at Orjen
Typical plants of the many times dry basic Kalkomelasol soil plant Biotope:
C. OREOHERZOGIO-ABIETALIA Fuk. 1969
a) O r e o h e r z o g i o-A b i e t i o n Ht. emend. Fuk.
1. Oreoherzogio-Abietetum Fuk.
The Dinaric Alps, also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo to Albania in the southeast.
Orjen is a transboundary Dinaric Mediterranean limestone mountain range, located between southernmost Bosnia and Herzegovina and southwestern Montenegro.
Bijela Gora is a karstic high plateau between 1200–1500 m on the northern side of Mount Orjen in Montenegro. At 1862 m, Velika Jastrebica is the highest summit. It bears heavy glacial traces as a huge ice cap covered it during the last ice age.
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.
The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, the borders between these regions are not clearly defined, and there are some similarities across the peninsula.
Iris orjenii, the Orjen iris, is a rare species of iris found in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the karst landscape of Orjen mountain. It grows in the wild on grassy slopes at 1,500 to 1,700 m, in sunny or semi-shaded locations within Bosnian Pine communities. It is a member of the subgenus Iris, meaning that it is a bearded iris, and grows from a rhizome.
The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
The Klamath Mountains ecoregion of Oregon and California lies inland and north of the Coast Range ecoregion, extending from the Umpqua River in the north to the Sacramento Valley in the south. It encompasses the highly dissected ridges, foothills, and valleys of the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains. It corresponds to the Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency and to the Klamath-Siskiyou forests ecoregion designated by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The flora of Italy is all the plant life present in the territory of the Italian Republic. The flora of Italy was traditionally estimated to comprise about 5,500 vascular plant species. However, as of 2019, 7,672 species are recorded in the second edition of the flora of Italy and in its digital archives Digital flora of Italy. In particular, 7,031 are autochthonous and 641 are non native species widely naturalized since more than three decades. Additionally, further 468 exotic species have been recorded as adventitious or naturalized in more recent times.
The Italian sclerophyllous and deciduous forests ecoregion, part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in Italy. The ecoregion covers most of the Italian Peninsula and includes both evergreen and deciduous forests.
The South Apennine mixed montane forests is an ecoregion in the southern Apennine Mountains of southern Italy and Sicily. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It also is in the Palearctic realm.
Paeonia daurica is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the peony family. It has slender carrot-shaped roots, leaves mostly consisting of nine leaflets, with one flower per stem. The flower is subtended by none to two leafy bracts, and has two or three sepals, five to eight petals, and many stamens. The subspecies vary in the colour of the petals, the size and shape of the leaflets, and the hairiness of the leaflets and the carpels. Paeonia daurica can be found from the Balkans to Iran, and the Crimea to Lebanon, with the centre of its distribution in the Caucasus. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.
The Apennine deciduous montane forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall in the Apennines, combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of climate change, the presence of silver fir, although still widespread, has been dramatically reduced in favour of beech.
Central Europe contains several life zones, depending on location and elevation.
The upper montane forest is a vegetation type generally found above the mixed coniferous forest and below the subalpine forest vegetation types. Most of what grows in upper montane forests are conifers, because of the short growing season.
The Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Ali Botush, also spelled Alibotoush, is a nature reserve in the small mountain range of Slavyanka, located on the border between Bulgaria and Greece. The reserve occupies the northern section of the mountain which lies within the territory of Bulgaria and takes its name from the old name of Slavyanka. It is situated in the municipalities of Sandanski and Hadzhidimovo, Blagoevgrad Province. It was declared in 1951 to protect the largest forests of the endemic Bosnian pine in the Balkan Peninsula. Its territory was further expanded several times and spans an area of 1638 ha or 16,38 km2. It was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977.
The Opuvani do is a sinkhole at the northern slope of the Velika Jastrebica in the Orjen mountain range located in Montenegro. It creates a major refugium to arcto-alpine and alpine biota in a region with warm winters. As the 60 m deep sinkhole is prone to cold-air pooling, frequent freeze-thaw cycles create favourable conditions for periglacially formed features . The sinkhole is at 1584 m elevation and consists of 4 interconnected sinks. The major sink is laterally elongated, 440 m long. The outflow of the cold air is at 1647 m and the depth of the basin atmosphere is 63 m.
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