zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva 79 (2006), s. 19 - 35 gdK: 174.7 Abies alba mill: 181.1:(497.12)(045)=20 Prispelo / Recived: 06. 01. 2006 Izvirni znanstveni članek Sprejeto / Accepted: 07. 06. 2006 Original scientifc paper SILVER FIR (Abies alba mill.) DISTRIBUTION IN SLOVENIAN FORESTS Andrej FICKo1, Andrej BoNČINA2 Abstract We analysed the characteristics of silver fr (Abies alba mill.) occurrence and distribution in Slovenia using databases of the Slovenian Forest Service (SFS). Silver fr is the third most widely distributed tree species in Slovenia, occurring in approximately 40 % of total forest area, but abundantly in less than 10 %. Its share in total growing stock varies between separate forest management regions. It is more abundant in the dinaric and part of the Pre-alpine phytogeographic regions. The highest share in total growing stock reaches at altitudes between 800 m and 1000 m above sea level, forests with silver fr cover the most extensive surface in the altitude belt from 1000 to 1200 m. Silver fr occurs abundantly in 11 syntaxes. Between them, silver fr-beech forests (Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum TrEg. 57, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum (TrEg.57 corr. PUNC.80) mAr et al. 93) strongly prevail, followed by fr forests with fern (Dryopterido-Abietetum Koš.65, syn.: galio rotundifolii-Abietetum BArTSCH.40). Silver fr diameter distribution considerably varies between separate forest management regions. The regions with the highest share of silver fr (Postojna, Kočevje) dominate also in having large diameter silver fr trees, whereas in other regions (e.g. Nazarje, Kranj, maribor) small diameter silver fr trees are prevalent. developmental stage structure shows that in forest stands with silver fr there is a higher share of timber phase, stands in regeneration, youth stands and selective forests. Considering regeneration we can conclude, that more intensive decreasing trend in silver fr share is expected in the dinaric phytogeographic region than in northern parts of Slovenia. Successful regeneration due to lower red deer population and balanced stem diameter structure with higher proportion of small diameter trees promise easier conservation of silver fr in northern parts. Key words: Abies alba, area, forest stand structure, forest vegetation, altitude, Slovenia. RAZŠIRJEnOST JELKE (Abies alba MILL.) V SLOVEnSKIh g OZDOVIh Izvleček S podatki o gozdnih fondih Slovenije 2003 Zavoda za gozdove Slovenije smo analizirali značilnosti pojavljanja in razširjenosti jelke v Sloveniji. Jelka je tretja najpogostejša drevesna vrsta v Sloveniji, pojavlja se na kakih 0 % površine gozdov, obilnejepa na manj kot 10 %. njen delež po gozdnogospodarskih območjih močno variira, obilneje se pojavlja na dinarskem in delu predalpskega togeografskega območja. najvišji delež v lesni zalogi doseže v gozdovih na nadmorski višini 800-1000 m, površinsko pa so gozdovi z jelko najbolj razširjeni v nadmorskem pasu 1000-1200 m. Jelka se obilneje pojavlja v 11sintaksonih. Močno prevladujejo dinarska jelova bukovja, tem sledijo jelovja s praprotmi. Debelinska struktura jelke je med območji zelo različna. Območja z najvišjim deležem jelke (Postojnsko, Kočevsko) zbujajo pozornost tudi glede debelega lesa, nasprotno je v drugih območjih (nazarje, Kranj, Maribor) razmeroma velik delež tankega drevja jelke. V sestojih z jelko je spremenjenost drevesne sestave v povprečju manjša kot na celotni površini gozdov. Struktura gozdov z jelko po razvojnih fazah kaže, daje v primerjavi z vsemi gozdovi tu več debeljakov, pomlajencev, prebiralnega gozda in mladovja. upoštevajoč pomlajevanje lahko zaključimo, da se v dinarskem delu na splošno nakazuje bolj izrazit trend zmanjševanja deleža jelke v gozdovih kot v severnih območjih (Maribor, nazarje ). uspešnejše pomlajevanje zaradi manj jelenjadi, ugodnejša debelinska struktura z relativno večjim deležem tanjšega drevja jelke obeta verjetno uspešnejše ohranjanje jelke v teh gozdovih. Ključne besede: jelka, areal, struktura gozdnih sestojev, gozdna vegetacija, nadmorska višina, Slovenija INTRODUCTION UVOD Composition of forests is changing due to natural and anthropogenic infuences (BoNČINA et al. 2003b). It is often hard Forests ecosystems are dynamic and complex systems, to distinguish between them, as they can act mutually, directly their structure is complicated and changing in time. Forest and indirectly. By its »nature«, tree species composition is stands are described with forest structure and composition. not static. The composition of climax communities can fuc-Tree species composition is an important information about tuate; Whittaker (1973) has already described it as a complex forest stands and therefore about the entire forest biocoenosis. of possible stationary situations that climax coenosis could 1 A. F., univ. inž. gozd., BF, oddelek za gozdarstvo in obnovljive gozdne vire, Večna pot 83, 1000 Ljubljana, SLo 2 izr. prof. dr. A. B., univ. inž. gozd., BF, oddelek za gozdarstvo in obnovljive gozdne vire, Večna pot 83, 1000 Ljubljana, SLo 20 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 achieve…. Current state of forests as well as tree species composition in stands is the result of past development and somehow a record of all previous infuences (gAšPEršIČ, 1995; šErCELj, 1996). For close to- nature and ecosystem forestry we should recognize developmental processes in forests and understand the reasons for them. This is the base for better prognosticating and managing of forests in the future. The population of silver fr (Abies alba Mill.) is changing si-gnifcantly in its natural range and is therefore also the subject of our research. For understanding changes of tree species composition we need data for past periods. Spatial units for studying forest development are different: in forest management planning process, this is usually forest management unit or forest management class, for which we have chronological data on forest stands in decennia as well as data on forest management itself (cutting, silvicultural works, protection works, etc.). despite forest management planning has a rich and long tradition in Slovenia and although forests had been inventoried at the level of basic inventory units many times, no comprehensive analysis of actual state of forest stands in Slovenia has been made yet. State and developmental analysis are often limited to certain smaller areas; a minor analysis has been made about the present state and development of forests at the national level. Neither have we made a detailed analysis of the occurrence and distribution of tree species depending on site conditions, which are indirectly described with potential forest vegetation (syntaxes), forest management and other factors. In the past, studies of spatial distribution and characteristics of tree species were limited to certain tree species and their specifc properties (ACCETTo, 1995; PAVLE et al. 1996; PIšKUr 1999; KAdUNC 2003) or to certain areas, study objects or specifc vegetation communities (HLA-dNIK, 1991; PISKErNIK 1993, dIACI 1994, dAKSKo-BLEr 1995, BrUS 1998, CENČIČ 2000, BoNČINA et al. 2003a, BrUS / LoNgAUEr 1995b). many researchers (e.g. BrUS 1995a, HorVAT-mAroLT / KrAmEr, 1982) have dealt with morphological and dendrological aspects of tree species, or minor tree species (KoTAr, 1995, roBIČ 1995, KoTAr/BrUS, 1999). Basic literature about tree species and silviculture in Slovenia (rEmIC 1975, mLINšEK 1991, dI-ACI 2001a,b, BrUS, 2004) includes some parts that relate to species distribution, but is mostly applicable for study purpo- ses of forest ecology and silviculture. rEmIC (1975) showed spatial distribution of some dominant tree species in Slovenia; a more descriptive survey is in BrUS (2004). In the chair of forest management planning we decided to do a research into the occurrence and distribution of tree species in Slovenia, using comprehensive data of the Slovenian Forest Service (SFS). The frst occurrence and distribution analysis was made for silver fr. There are many reasons for that: silver fr is one of the most important tree species in Slovenia from the silvi-cultural and management point of view (PrELC et al. 1993). Its share in total growing stock decreased in the past decades due to intensive fr decline (mLINšEK, 1964, BrINAr 1974). In the chair of forest management planning we also f-nished research project (BoNČINA et al. 2004) about selection forests in Slovenia, where fr as one of the key tree species in this type of forests was also the subject of our analyses. Information from the entire forest area in Slovenia is gathered in the Forest Information System (FIS), managed by the Slovenian Forest Service. FIS gives the most complete overview of the forests’ tree species composition. data on tree species are shown for various inventory and planning units and are reviewed continuously. For the preparation of forest management unit plan, a detailed inventory of forest stands is carried out at two levels: measurements on permanent sampling plots and forest stand description. The quality of the data acquired in this way is in its detail: data are presented for relatively small areas (forest sub-compartment) that measure only 16 ha on average. At the level of forest sub-compartments, other important ecological parameters are also collected, such as incline, altitudes, exposition, etc.). The extensive SFS’s databases has not been fully used for research purposes so far, except for the altitudinal research of structure, composition and silviculture of Slovenian forests according to stand and site conditions by Bončina et al. (2001). METHODS MeTODe We analysed data of Slovenian forests at the level of forest sub-compartments. Three basic databases in FIS were used for the study regarding the occurrence and distribution of tree species: Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 21 - database of general information of sub-compartments and forest sites (sub-compartment denotation, gauss-Krüger coordinates, altitude range of sub-compartment, incline, forest sites), - database of growing stock and increments of tree species in sub-compartment (for all registered tree species in forests), - database of developmental stages in sub-compartment (area of certain stage in sub-compartment). There are approximately 72.000 sub-compartments (records) in the database. For the time of research, vector layer of sub-compartments in FIS was available only for the year 2001. Therefore it was not possible to show graphically all numeric results from 2003 in vector layer of sub-compartment from 2001. In the 2001-2003 period came to the union of certain sub-compartments or even management units. We achieved 93 % connection between numeric results of research from 2003 database with vector layer of sub-compartments from 2001. 7 % of the forest surface or 41.148 ha could not be correctly shown in pictures, even though the entire forest area was analysed. As we were interested in the characteristics of silver fr distribution, we put growing stock of silver fr in sub-compartment higher than nil as a selection criterion. We previously omitted all records with obvious errors. To present the distribution of silver fr in phytogeographic regions, we used the original division from Wraber (1969), which is still much in use due to its practicability and general application. In each sub-compartment, up to three vegetation communities are described. Their denomination between management regions is harmonized at the level of associations. In the analysis, we strictly use denomination of forest vegetation communities as used in FIS even when names are invalid, additionally quoting currently valid names using cross-reference index made by robič (2003). We analysed distribution of silver fr in vegetation communities by using prevailing association in each sub-compartment. Furthermore, we fused all associations where fr occurred into various site groups by methodology prepared by Veselič and robič (2001). As fr can occur in various associations in range from less than 1 % to more then 50 % of total growing stock, we decided to take into further consideration only associations, where fr exceeded 20 % in growing stock. Tree species composition of a certain forest association at the national level is the average of tree species composition of all sub-compartments with identical association in the management region. We placed forest communities with higher fr share (above 20 %) into the following site groups (VESELIČ and roBIČ, 2001): - Silver fr and spruce forests on skeleton ground (necke-ro-Abietetum TrEg.62, Festuco- Abietetum, Asplenio-Picetum KUoCH.54). - Silver fr forests with fern (Dryopterido-Abietetum Koš.65, syn: galio rotundifolii-Abietetum BArT-SCH.40). - Silver fr forests on non-carbonate ground (Bazzanio-Abietetum m.WrAB.(53)58 Luzulo-Abietetum, syn:. Luzulo albidae-Abietetum oBErd.57 var. geogr. hi-eracium rotundatum Koš.94). - Beech-fr forests on carbonates of sub-mountain zone (Clematido-Abietetum syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum asa-retosum, syn.: Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum TrEg.57 clematidetosum TrEg.60) - dinaric fr-beech forest in freezing ravines (Lycopo-dio-Abietetum, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum lycopodie-tosum, syn.: Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum TrEg.57 ly-copodietosum TrEg.57) - dinaric fr-beech forests on well-formed and deep ground (Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum (TrEg.57 corr. PUNC.80 )mAr et al. 93) - maple forests, ash forests and elm forests (Carici re-motae-Fraxinetum W.KoCH 26 ex FABEr 36, ulmo-Aceretum pseudoplatani BERgER 22). When analysing tree species composition alteration of forests where silver fr was present, 4 classes according to the classifcation system by SFS were established: - natural tree composition is not modifed (max. 30 %), - natural tree composition is modifed (from 31 to max. 70 %), - natural tree composition is strongly modifed (from 71 to max. 90 %), - natural tree composition is altered (over 90 %). The result of primary preparation and processing of databases was only a single database with around 27.000 forest 22 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 sub-compartments, in which silver fr is present. This primary database was further processed and analysed by Fox Pro 2.6, microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0 for Windows computer programmes. maps were prepared with map Info Professional 7.8. For showing trends in Slovenia and in some other European countries, we used different written sources, SFS’s older databases, as well as accessible national inventories from foreign countries. RESULTS ReZUlTaT I SHARE Of SILVER fIR IN THE fORESTS’ TREE SPECIES COMPOSITION Delež jelke v Drevesni sestavi gozDov Total growing stock (gS) in Slovenia encompasses 285,738,349 m3 or 247 m3/ha, 22,654,306 m3 of which (or 19 m3/ha or 7,9 % of total growing stock) goes to silver fr. In terms of abundance, silver fr holds the third position after spruce (32,3 %) and beech (31,5 %) and before sessile oak (6,3 %), red pine (4,7 %), sycamore maple (2,6 %), hornbeam (2,6 %), chestnut (1,8 %), hop hornbeam (1,1 %), turkey oak (1,0 %) and many other minor tree species that contributes less than 1 % to the growing stock. Because of the heterogeneity of the national forests silver fr growing stock funds vary considerably from the average between separate forest management regions (Table 2); it is abundant in the forest management regions (Fmr) of Postojna (71 m3/ha), Kočevje (53 m3/ha) and maribor (28 m3/ha). HORIZONTAL DISTRIbUTION Horizontalna razširjenost Silver fr is present on approximately 40 % of the total forest area in Slovenia (Table 1, Figure 1), considering all forest sub-compartments in which silver fr is noticed. If we limit ourselves to only those sub-compartments in which silver fr share is higher than a quarter of the total growing stock in it, such forests cover only 9,3 % of the total forest area (Table 1, Figure 1). most outstanding Fmrs in which silver is abundant (more than 25 % of the total growing stock volume) are Postojna, Kočevje and maribor (Table 2). Forest stands with the share of silver fr higher than 50 % represent only 3 % of all forests. only 4,400 ha forest stands could be described as “fr stands”, which means that fr share in such stands is higher than 75 % of the total growing stock. mixed stands with share of fr higher than 25 % are relatively infrequent in Fmr of Bled, Nazarje and Kranj, even though they would be expected considering site conditions. It is understandable that forest stands with share of silver fr higher than 25 % of gS could virtually not be found in Fmrs of murska Sobota, Kras and Brežice (Table 2, Figure 1). These three Fmrs lie predominantly in sub-Pannonian and sub-mediterranean phytogeographic regions, in which silver fr could not be found at all. The review of distribution of silver fr in phytogeographic regions shows that it occurs abundantly in the dinaric phytogeographic region and in part of the pre-Alpine phytogeographic region (Figure 2). Table 1: Forest area in Slovenia in view of silver fr share in total growing stock of stands Preglednica 1: Površina gozdov v Sloveniji glede na delež jelke v lesni zalogi Silver fr share in total growing stock (%) Forest area (ha) Share of total forest area (%) Delež jelke v lesni zalogi sestojev (%) Površina (ha) Delež površine gozdov (%) 0 692984 59,8 ?0,5 % 44407 3,8 0,51-1,00 45800 4,0 1,01-2,00 47350 4,0 2,01-5,00 70834 6,1 5,01-10,00 65779 5,7 10,01-25,00 83715 7,2 25,01-50,00 72637 6,3 50,01-75,00 30565 2,6 75,01-100,00 4403 0,4 Total 1158473 100 OCCURRENCE Of SILVER fIR ALONg THE ALTITUDE gRADIENT Pojavljanje jelke gleDe na graDient NaDMORske VIŠINe The occurrence of silver fr was analysed according to 200-metre altitude belts. It is present from 0 to 1800 m above Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 23 Table 2: Forest area in Fmrs in view of silver fr share in total growing stock of stands Preglednica 2: Površine gozdov po gozdnogospodarskih območjih glede na delež jelke v lesni zalogi gozdnih sestojev Fmr Forest area with silver fr share higher than 25 % of gS (ha) Share of total Fmr area (% ) Silver fr share in total growing stock (%) 0 % ?25 % >25 % Total ggo Površina sestojev z deležem jelke v Lz nad 25 % (ha) odst otek celotne p ovršine območ ni zalogi sestoj ja (%) odstotek jelke v les ev (%) 0 % ? 25 % >25 % Skupaj Tolmin 6356 70,8 24,7 4,6 100 Bled 54 23,4 76,6 0,1 100 Kranj 4330 44,8 49,3 6,0 100 Ljubljana 13669 62,9 27,5 9,6 100 Postojna 30497 23,6 36,6 39,8 100 Kočevje 25032 43,0 30,2 26,8 100 Novo mesto 7513 62,4 29,8 7,9 100 Brežice 394 90,7 8,7 0,6 100 Celje 1221 63,8 34,6 1,6 100 Nazarje 2629 44,7 50,0 5,4 100 Sl. gradec 2734 64,8 30,7 4,6 100 maribor 13123 51,5 34,9 13,7 100 m. Sobota 0 99,2 0,8 0,0 100 Kras 50 96,9 3,1 0,1 100 Total 107605 59,8 30,9 9,3 100 sea level (a.s.l.), but its share (abundance) in forest stands is considerably various (Table 3); it is abundant in the altitude range from 600 to 1200 m; within that, it reaches the maximum in the altitude belt from 800 to 1000 m a.s.l., where it represents 18 % of total growing stock of all forests within this belt. Forest area structure along the altitude gradient (Figure 3) shows that most Slovenian forests lie within the altitude belt from 400 to 600 a.s.l., the majority of them within 200-800 m a.s.l. Forest area structure along the altitude gradient is different where silver fr is present; with most of the forests with silver fr lying within 600-800 m belt (Figure 3). more informative is the relationship between the area of forests with silver fr and total forest area in certain altitude belt. Forests where silver fr is registered cover more than 50 % of total forest area in the altitude belt from 800 to 1400 m a.s.l. Considering the area distribution, silver fr is widespread within the altitude belt from 1000 to 1200 m, where it grows on more than 70 % of the forest area (Figure 3). Let us take a look at the distribution of forests, where share of silver fr in total growing stock is higher than 25 %. Absolutely and relatively, such forests are distributed mainly in the 800-1000 m belt; the second place in view of the share of such forests in total forest area of the belt is held by the 1000-1200 m belt, and the third by 601-800 m belt. Forests with silver fr share higher than 25 % could also be found in the 400-600 m belt, whereas they are rare or could even not be found at all other altitudes (Figure 3). Forests are changing along the altitude gradient due to various natural conditions as well as different human impacts. This could be illustrated by growing stock changing; the mean growing stock of stands increases until 1200 m a.s.l., then it decreases. In all altitude belts, forests with silver fr have higher mean growing stock values than all forests in the same belt; the higher silver fr share the higher mean growing stock volume (Table 3). The most obvious difference is at lower altitudes (below 800 m), while higher differences are less signifcant. results also indicate that silver fr generally occurs in well preserved forests and/or predominantly older developmental stages (Figure 6, Table 5). differences could partially be explained with high site productivity of silver fr and silver fr-beech sites. Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 Distribution of silver fir in Slovenia / Razširjenost jelke v Sloveniji I Forests with more than 25 % of silver fir in GS / Delež jelke višji od 25 % LZ j Forests with up to 25 % of silver fir in GS/ Delež jelke pod 25 % LZ | Other forests /Brez jelke Fig. 1: distribution of silver fr (Abies alba mill.) in Slovenia. Areas where share of silver fr in total growing stock is higher than 25 % are coloured yellow, green are areas with silver fr share up to 25 %. Basic spatial unit is forest sub-compartment (average size 16 ha, N= 72,074). Slika 1: Razširjenost jelke (Abies alba Mill.) v Sloveniji. Rumeno so prikazane površine z deležem jelke nad 2 % celotne lesne zaloge v odseku, zeleno površine z deležem jelke do 2 %. Osnovna prostorska enota je odsek (povprečna površina 16 ha, n=7207) Table 3: Comparison of mean growing stock volume of stands per altitudes and silver fr shares Preglednica 3: Primerjava povprečnih lesnih zalog sestojev po nadmorskih višinah in deležih jelke Altitude (m) Share of silver fr in gS (%) mean gS of all stands (m3/ha) mean gS of stan- mean gS of stands without silver ds with silver fr fr (m3/ha) (m3/ha) mean gS with silver fr share > 25 % of gS > 50 % of gS > 75 % of gS nadmorska višina (m) Delež jelke v LZ sestojev (%) Povprečna LZ vseh sestojev (m3/ha) Povprečna LZ sestojev brez jelke (m3/ha) Povprečna LZ sestojev z jelko (m3/ha) Povprečna LZ sestojev (m3/ha) z deležem jelke > 2 % LZ > 0 % LZ > 7 %LZ 0-200 2,4 186 174 260 351 386 402 201-400 1,5 224 216 267 324 378 436 401-600 5,2 240 219 283 306 321 325 601-800 11,0 249 213 285 312 313 277 801-1000 17,8 284 232 312 338 344 339 1001-1200 13,0 301 245 321 327 301 264 1201-1400 3,7 293 251 318 301 270 315 1401-1600 1,7 225 211 239 521 0 0 1601-1800 1,6 81 81 111 0 0 0 1801-2000 1,5 40 3 58 0 0 0 2000-mean/Povp. 0,0 7,9 0,7 247 0,7 215 0 293 0 322 0 328 0 312 Note: Forest area with silver fr under 400 m a.s.l. and above 1400 m a.s.l. is small (Figure 3). There are also errors possible in database, which have greater impact in smaller areas. 2 Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests Fig. 2: distribution of silver fr (Abies alba mill.) in phytogeographic regions. (only sub-compartments with share of silver fr higher than 25 % of total growing stock are shown.) Slika 2: Razširjenost jelke (Abies alba Mill.) po ftogeografskih območjih. Prikazani so le odseki, v katerih jelka preseže 2 % lesne zaloge. in ~ H at K^ 0-200 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000 1001-1200 1201-1400 1401-1600 1601-1800 1801-2000 Altitude belts / Višinski pas (m) ?All forests / Vsi gozdovi ¦ Forests with silver fir / Gozdovi z jelko D Forests with silver fir share > 25 %GS I Gozdovi z deležem jelke > 25% LZ •Share of fores area with silver fir (%) / Odstotek površine gozdov z jelko Fig. 3: Forest area along the altitude gradient and silver fr share in total growing stock Slika 3: Površine gozdov po nadmorskih višinah in deležih jelke v lesni zalogi ,1= S *3 -40 «a L S a >S t» T? ) L o L a Z-* oj i LL «S c5 nO 2 26 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 DISTRIbUTION Of SILVER fIR IN fOREST VEgETATION COMMUNITIES razširjenost jelke v gozDniH zDružbaH • despite generalisation in the analysis of silver fr distribution in forest vegetation communities, which is indispensable for the national level (check methods), the results are important for understanding silver fr distribution. Silver fr occurs in 75 syntaxes of total 96 described at the phytocenological level of • association. Its abundance in associations varies considerably; from less than 0.5 % (in alder forests for example) to more than 50 % (in silver fr forests) of gS of forest stands. If we limit to forest vegetation communities in whose stands silver fr share exceeds 20 % of gS (Figure 4, Figure 5), we get a total area of • 108.680 ha, contributed by the following site groups: • 68 % (73,405 ha) dinaric fr-beech forests on well-formed and deep ground (Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum (TrEg.57 corr. PUNC.80 )mAr et • al. 93), which is around 94 % of total area of the vegetation community in Slovenia, • 22 % (23,592 ha) silver fr forests with fern (Dryopteri-do-Abietetum Koš.65, syn.: galio rotundifolii-Abietetum BArTSCH.40), which is around 96 % of total area of the vegetation community in Slovenia, 5 % (5,441 ha) silver fr forests on non-carbonate ground (with associations Bazzanio-Abietetum m.WrAB. (53)58, Luzulo-Abietetum, syn:. Luzulo albidae-Abietetum oBErd.57 var. geogr. hieracium rotundatum Koš.94), which is around 76 % of total area of both two vegetation communities in Slovenia, 4 % (3,842 ha) of beech-fr forests on carbonates of sub-mountain zone (Clematido-Abietetum syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum, syn.: Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum TrEg.57 clematidetosum TrEg.60), which is around 93 % of total area of vegetation community in Slovenia, 1 % (1,538 ha) silver fr and spruce forests on skeleton ground (neckero-Abietetum TrEg.62, Festuco- Abietetum, Asplenio-Picetum KUoCH.54), which is around 99 % of total area of all three vegetation communities in Slovenia, 1 % (634 ha) dinaric fr-beech forest in freezing ravines (Lycopodio-Abietetum, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum lyco-podietosum, syn.: Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum TrEg.57 lycopodietosum TrEg.57), which is around 92 % of total area of the vegetation community in Slovenia, Fig. 4: distribution of silver fr in forest vegetation communities (with only those forests shown where silver fr exceeds 20 % of gS of stands). Slika : Razširjenost jelke v gozdnih združbah (prikazani so le gozdovi z združbami, v katerih jelka presega 20 % lesne zaloge sestojev). Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 27 • less than 1 % (226 ha) maple forests, ash forests and elm forests (Carici remotae-Fraxinetum W.KoCH 26 ex FA-BEr 36, ulmo-Aceretum pseudoplatani BERgER 22), which is around 61 % of total area of both vegetation communities in Slovenia. Two major site groups where silver fr is abundant could be formed from forest vegetation communities described above: 1. dinaric silver fr-beech forests and 2. silver fr forests with fern and silver fr forests on non-carbonate ground. STAND CHARACTERISTICS Of fORESTS wITH SILVER fIR sestojne značilnosti goz Dov z jelko Stem diameter structure of stands Debelinska struktura lesne zaloge diameter structure of stands is important stand attribute, for it enables us to forecast developmental trends for tree spe- cies. There are signifcant differences in abundance of silver fr between Fmrs, as well as in its diameter structure (Table 4). The differences between areas are small in the middle diameter class (B), but noticeable in the share of large diameter (C class) and small diameter (A class) silver fr trees. If we limit ourselves to the Fmrs, where gS of silver fr exceeds 5 % of total gS, we can conclude the following: • regarding large diameter silver fr trees, two Fmrs could be exposed: Postojna and Kočevje, where gS of silver fr trees with stem diameter above 50 cm presents around 42 % of total gS of silver fr. The third position is held by Ljubljana Fmr with more than 32 % of gS of silver fr in C class. In both Fmrs of Postojna and Kočevje (which both lie predominantly in the dinaric phytogeographic region), very few small diameter silver fr trees are present, which forecasts a decrease of silver fr share in total gS in these areas in the future. • In some Fmrs, such as Nazarje, Kranj, maribor (Table 4), there is relative high share of small diameter silver fr trees, which is more prosperous for its conservation in the future. 1.600- Dinaric silver fir-beech forests on well-formed and deep ground Dinarska jelova bukovja na globokih in Silver fir forests razvitih tleh _^ with fern Jelovja s praprotmi -v 1.200- a Beech-silver fir forests ¦S on carbonates of !S3 1.000 — a sub-montane zone Bukova jelovja na karbonatih submontanskega pasu 2 800-1 a e 1 jj 600- ¦ \ B0 M s * 400- V ¦o S ¦M Silver fir and spruce ^ 200- Dinaric beech- silver fir forests Silver fir forests on forests in freezing ravines on skeleton ground non-carbonate ground Dinarska bukovajelovja Jelovja in smrekovja na o- Jelovja na nekarbonatih v polmraziščih nerazvitih tleh Forest vegi *a ti( in communi ties/ Go zine z družbe Fig. 5: Altitude distribution of most common site groups with silver fr (with the width of the bar proportional to the commonness of the site group) Slika : Višinska razporeditev najpogostejših rastiščnih podskupin z jelko (širina okvirja je sorazmerna pogostnosti rastiščne podskupine) 28 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 Table 4: Characteristics of growing stock structure and increment of silver fr in the forest management regions (Fmrs) Preglednica : Značilnosti strukture lesne zaloge in prirastka jelke po gozdnogospodarskih območjih Fmr gS of all stands (m3/ha) gS of silver fr (m3/ha) Share of silver fr in gS (%) Share of gS of silver fr in diameter class (%) Share of silver fr in total increment (%) <30 cm 30-50 cm ?50 cm ggO Skupna LZ vseh sestojev (m3/ha) LZjelke (m3/ha) Delež jelke v LZ sestojev (%) Delež lesne zaloge jelke v razširjenem deb. razredu (%) Delež jelke v skupnem prirastku (%) <30 cm 30-0 cm ?0 cm Postojna 241 71 30 14,1 43,6 42,3 20 Kočevje 289 53 18 13,3 44,7 42,1 14 maribor 296 28 10 21,3 50,7 28,0 9 Ljubljana 236 16 7 18,0 49,7 32,2 4 Novo mesto 245 17 7 21,5 48,4 30,1 6 Kranj 300 18 6 23,1 55,1 21,8 5 Nazarje 285 16 6 32,2 56,4 11,4 5 Tolmin 198 10 5 20,4 50,0 29,6 3 Sl. gradec 310 13 4 25,9 49,6 24,5 3 Bled 256 10 4 27,7 50,9 21,4 4 Celje 251 7 3 38,3 50,3 11,4 2 Brežice 253 2 < 1 22,9 47,5 29,6 < 1 Kras 126 < 1 < 1 56,5 34,1 9,4 < 1 m. Sobota 218 < 1 < 1 51,9 44,3 3,8 < 1 Total 247 19 7,9 27,6 48,2 24,1 6,0 Alteration of tree species composition and presence of silver fr Ohranjenost drevesne sestave in prisotnost jelke According to the analysis, we claim that silver fr could be found in well preserved forests; in detail further conclusions could be made as well: • Forests with silver fr are classifed as well preserved (51 % of the area) and modifed (37 %), whereas only a minor part of forests with silver fr is classifed as strongly mo-difed or altered (Figure 6). High share of well preserved forests (66 %), where silver fr exceeds 25 % in total gS of the stands, could be explained with huge and predominating areas of dinaric silver fr-beech forests. The slightly smaller share of well preserved forests, where silver fr exceeds 75 % of total gS, may be explained as a result of human impact on tree species composition in the past, when silver fr was strongly favoured to beech. The proportion of developmental stages Razmerje razvojnih faz Forest structure with regard to developmental stages, stand types and stand shapes reveals previous forest management practice. We were interested whether share of silver fr is equal in different stands. In Slovenia, timber phase (36 % of the entire forest area), thicker pole phase (34 %), regeneration phase (8 %), thinner pole phase (6 %) and youth stands (6 %) prevail. There are fewer other stand forms, such as coppice (4.5 %), selective forests (2 %) and early succession forests (3 %). If we compare these values to forests with higher silver fr share (more than 25 % of gS of stands), interesting differences are established (Table 5): • There are more timber and regeneration phases, youth stands and selective forests in stands where silver fr is present. The majority of selective forests with silver fr are located in Fmrs of maribor, Nazarje and Kočevje, where approximately 19 % of all stands with silver fr are described as selective forests. The highest share of timber phase Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 29 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 - Well preserved forests - Modified -O Strongly modified forests -X- Altered forests pod 1,01 1,01-5,00 5,01-10,00 10,01-25,00 25,01-50,00 50,01-75,00 75,01-100,00 Share of silver fir in total GSV of stands (%) Fig. 6: Forest area structure (%) with regard to natural tree composition and share of silver fr in total g S of stands Slika 6: Struktura površine gozdov (%) po razredih ohranjenosti naravne drevesne sestave gozdov glede na delež jelke v lesni zalogi gozdnih sestojev in forests with silver fr has been established in Fmrs Slovenj gradec (64%), Kranj (58 %) and Ljubljana (51 %). • Higher share of selective forests in forests with silver fr is understandable, considering that silver fr is one of the basic tree species in selective forests. • In sub-compartments, which were classifed as silver fr forests, there are relatively more regeneration phases and youth stands. CHANgES Of SILVER fIR SHARE IN SLOVENIAN AND EUROPEAN fORESTS sPreminjanje Deleža jelke v gozDoviH slovenije in evro Pe regression of silver fr distribution in Europe began centuries ago (HorNdASCH, 1993), whereas in Slovenia the die-back process raised concern in the 1960s and 1970s (BATIČ, 1997). The frst interpretations of silver fr decline causes were based on the hypothesis that fr dies particularly on the periphery of its natural range (rUBNEr 1953; dAN-NECKEr 1955), which had been earlier accepted by some Slovenian foresters as well. In his feld visit report on silver fr stands in šoštanj community miklavžič claimed that causes for die-back were of “periphery nature” (HoČEVAr, 1959). Later on, the explanations for silver fr decline (BrINAr, 1964, 1974) were based on changes in climate extremes, or saw fr decline as a result of incorrect silvicultural treatments in the past or unsuitable sites (mLINšEK, 1964). Increment analysis for silver fr in the dinaric phytogeographic region from the 1960-1995 period showed that increment depression was reached between 1976 and 1986. After that year diameter and height increment increased (LEVANIČ, 1997), as well as vitality (PrELC et al.1993). Changes of share of silver fr are also infuenced by diameter distribution of forests and diff-culties in regeneration in the dinaric phytogeographic region (BoNČINA, 1996; jArNI et al. 2004) whereas silver fr regenerates successfully out of dinaric silver fr-beech forests and silver fr forests (BoNČINA et al. 2003a; KUNSTEK, 2004). Slovenian forest data show a decreasing trend of silver fr share (Table 6). From the frst forest inventory in 1946, which also shows situation in forests before World War II (NoVAK, 1951, BLAzNIK et al., 1970), to 2003 (SFS, 1991, 2001, 2004), silver fr share has decreased from 19.4 % to 7.9 % of total gS in Slovenia. It is obvious that the total area of stands, in which silver fr is fundamental or prevailing tree species, has decreased (Table 7). In Europe, silver fr share has decreased as well, with fr becoming less abundant. In the last 150 years, its northern border moved south. In the northern part of Bavaria (Fran-ken), the share of silver fr in growing stock decreased from 30 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 Table 5: developmental stages and stand forms in forests with silver fr share above 25 % of total gS Preglednica : Razvojne faze, oblike sestojev v gozdovih z deležem jelke, večjim od 2 % skupne lesne zaloge sestojev develop. phase Raz. faz. Youth stands Mlad. All forests Vsi gozdovi 6,4 Forests with silver fr share > 25 % gozd. z delež. jelke >2 % 7,5 Fmr Postojna ggO Postojna 10,0 Fmr Kočevje ggO Kočevje 4,9 Fmr maribor ggO Maribor 5,0 Pole phase Drg. Timber phase Deb. 12,2 35,7 10,5 39,9 14,1 27,2 7,8 45,4 6,2 31,4 Stands in regen. Poml. 8,0 15,3 17,3 9,1 10,8 Select. forests Preb. gozd Copp. Panj. Early succ. grm. 2,3 4,5 3,7 8,2 0,0 0,3 0,0 0,0 0,0 19,0 0,0 0,7 19,3 0,0 0,2 Total Skup. 100 100 100 100 100 80 % in the 17th century to 3 % in the 19th century, in other parts of Bavaria from 12 % in 1860 to merely 3 % nowadays (BrINKmANN, 1997; BWI2, 2004). The reasons for silver fr decrease in central European countries are versatile, complex and not clarifed as yet (HorNdASCH, 1993, KrAmmEr, 1992). HoLzAPFEL (1960) sees a complex of diseases on silver fr as a main reason for decline on its northern range, very likely are also infuences of climate changes in the entire silver fr natural range (SENN / SUTEr, 2003, zENELLI et al. 2004). In the areas where ungulate herbivore populations have high density, browsing of silver fr in youth stands retards successful regeneration (oTT, 1989), even though SENN /SUTEr (2003) believe that many researches (i.e. oTT, 1989; moTTA, 1996) of the impacts of browsing ungulates on silver fr regeneration in central European countries overestimate its importance. As a matter of fact, although there are insuffcient data on shares of silver fr for the central European regions we could not exclude human indirect impact on fr regeneration with forest management methods (BUrgA /HUSSENdÖrFEr, 2001). Clear cutting as well as contemptuous treatment of silver fr as unfavourable tree species to spruce due to its wood characteristics, large scale spruce planting in the greatest part of silver fr natural range (grodzIŃSKA / SzArEK-ŁUKASzEWSKA, 1997; SENN / SUTTEr, 2003) shoved silver fr aside. In mountain forests of Switzerland (silver fr has greatest abundance between 800 and 1000 m a.s.l.), spruce was used in planting owing to the higher prices of its wood. Apart from this, silvi- Table 6: Share of silver fr in total gS and annual felling of fr in Slovenian forests Preglednica 6: Delež jelke v skupni lesni zalogi gozdov Slovenije in posek Year Leto 19463 19904 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Silver fr share Delež jelke 19,4 11,9 9,1 9,0 8,5 8,3 8,2 7,9 (% gS) (% LZ) Annual fell- Letni posek ing of silver fr 0,31 0,25 0,28 0,26 0,23 0,25 0,26 0,29 0,25 3 jelke (m 3 /ha) (m/ha)_______ __________________________________________________________________________ Table 7: Forest area structure (in %) with regard to share of silver fr (%) in stands during 1964 and 2003 Preglednica 7: Struktura površine gozdov z jelko (%) glede na delež jelke (%) v sestojih v letu 196 in 2003. Share of silver fr in stands (%) delež jelke v sestojih (%) ? 1 % 1,1 - 10,0 % 10,1 < 40,0 % 40,1 < 90,0 % ?90 % Share of total area with silver fr (%) mlinšek (1964) SFS (2004) delež mlinšek (1964) 16,5 19,8 25,4 36,3 2,0 površine gozdov z jelko (%) zgS (2004) 19,4 39,5 28,5 12,5 0,0 Source: First inventory of forests, 1946, Source: SFS, Slovenian Forest Service, 1991-2004 3 4 Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 31 cultural systems, ownership and local demands infuenced the current share of silver fr and alteration of natural tree composition. Brändli (1996) reports that in Switzerland silver fr is best preserved in selective forests, where it reaches from 17 to 22 % in stem number (trees with more than 12 cm in d.b.h.). In Switzerland, silver fr is present in 15 % of the total forest area or 180,000 ha, which is considerably more than in other European countries. Its share in total growing stock encompasses 14.6 % (LFI, 1999). In germany, silver fr share in gS is 2.4 %, but considering their natural range, regional shares are more relevant: e.g. in Baden-Wuertemberg, silver fr reaches 10.5 % in gS (BWI2, 2004). In Austria, silver fr share has decreased from the 1990s to nowadays from 4.7 % to 4.4 % of the total growing stock (ÖFI, 1990; oWI, 1996, 2002). For Slovakia, Korpel (1985) and Krammer (1985) reported on a decrease of areas of forests with silver fr from 11 % of all forests in 1920 to 5.8 % in 1980. Until 1994, areas of forests with silver fr furthermore decreased to 5.0 % (NoVo-TNY et al. 1994, cit. after oSzLÁNYI, 1997), whereas the latest reports show 4.2 % share (Forest in Slovakia, 2002). In Croatia, silver fr forests and with silver fr mixed forests represent 10.6 % of total forest area or 220,126 ha. As in other European countries, decreasing trend for silver fr is also noticeable; its share in growing stock decreased from 1986 to 1996 from 11.5 % to 9.4 % (PrPIĆ, 2001). TREND PREDICTION IN SLOVENIA ocena trenDov v sloveniji If we consider diameter structure of silver fr (Table 4), particularly in forest management areas where silver fr share is considerably high, and the presence of silver fr in youth stands (BoNČINA et al. 2003a) as well as present amount of sanitary felling (SFS, 2005), we could expect further decrease of silver fr share in the ensuing few years. The future share depends mainly on vitality and regeneration of silver fr. DISCUSSION RaZPRaVa There has been no detailed information on distribution of tree species in Slovenia so far. This was also mentioned by mlinšek (1964), when he made an analysis of silver fr distribution in Slovenia while studying silver fr decline. At that time, the distribution was analysed at the level of cadastral communities for fve regions, which were set in order to contain larger silver fr areas in them. The regions did not consider borders of forest management regions, therefore summary results from 1964 are not easily comparable with current ones. The analysis was not focused on silver fr distribution characteristics, but mlinšek reports that there were approximately 300,000 ha of silver fr forests in Slovenia or around 32 % of total forest area of that period. Analysis from 2003 shows that there are 465,000 ha of forests with silver fr or 40 % of total forest area. generally speaking, silver fr is a tree species of mountain zone, although it also occurs above and below it, depending on edaphic or mezzo-climatic factors. The highest altitude is reached on the extreme rocky sites, which may already be covered with protective forests (zUPANČIČ, 1992). The research confrmed that silver fr stands are common between 800 and 1400 m a.s.l., distinctly between 1000 and 1200 m. We must underline, however, that we are speaking about mean altitudes of forest sub-compartments. The share of silver fr in growing stock is highest in the altitude belt from 800 to 1000 m, where silver fr contributes 18 % to total growing stock in it. Silver fr occurs also in sub-Pannonian hills (Haloze) and at some localities at Slovenske gorice. It does not occur in the lower Karst and lowlands of sub-Pannonian Slovenia. It goes down to downy oak stands near Pivka in the coastal region of Slovenia (PISKErNIK, 1985). It occurs abundantly only in its climatic zone optimum and edaphically or mezzo-climati-cally conditioned areas. Comparing the tree species composition alteration in stands with different silver fr share, we can establish that there are more well-preserved forests where silver fr share is higher than 25 % of gS but less than 75 %. Considering tree species composition of silver fr-beech forests as dominant site group with silver fr share of 35.4 % of gS, we can conclude, that wide areas of these forests contribute most to the high naturalness of the forests. Close-to nature management has long tradition here (BoNČINA et al 2003a, 2003b). zupančič (1992) believes that silver fr is by far the most sensitive central European tree species to any disturbing hu- 32 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 man infuences. The research confrms that silver fr share is generally higher in forests with better preserved tree species composition; an exception are pure silver fr stands (>75 % of gS), which are distributed mainly in Postojna Fmr, where silver fr share has strongly increased through silvicultural actions. Stands with prevailing silver fr (above 50 % in gS) cover only 3 % of total forest area, whereas 30 % of total forest area cover the stands where silver fr share is lower than 25 % of gS. It is interesting that wide areas of such stands lie within the regions that were, or still are, characterized by unnatural high percentage of spruce. For example, in Fmr Bled, we fnd silver fr in three quarters of the total area, but analyses show that in most stands silver fr share is lower than 0.5 %. Fmr Bled has the highest percentage of surface area with minimal silver fr share (below 0.5 %). Previous management is the main reason for the modifed tree species composition, although there are wide areas of sites, where silver fr could be expected in a higher share. Silver fr is widely present in low percentage also in Nazarje and Kranj Fmr; it occurs sparsely in approximately half of both regions. generally speaking, at the national level silver fr occurs most often in two larger site groups: • In silver fr-beech forests on deep and well developed ground, consisting of association Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum, syn.: Omphalodo-Fagetum (TrEg.57 corr. PUNC.80) mAr et al. 93): 67 % of all forests with signifcant silver fr share are phytocoenologically characterised as Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum. • In silver fr forests with fern, consisting of associations Dryopterido-Abietetum Koš.65, syn.: galio rotundifolii-Abietetum BArTSCH.40: 21 % of all forests with silver fr lie in that site group. Closely related to this site group is also group of silver fr forests on non-carbonate ground (i.e. Bazzanio-Abietetum m.WrAB.(53)58 and Luzulo-Abietetum, syn:. Luzulo albidae-Abietetum oBErd.57 var. geogr. hieracium rotundatum Koš.94), which cover 5 % of all forests where silver fr exceeds 20 % in gS of associations. Forests of frst site stratum could be found mainly in Fmrs of Postojna and Kočevje, forests of second site in Fmr maribor, Nazarje for example. If we consider current charac- teristics of distribution of silver fr in both strata (occurrence, abundance, diameter distribution) and recent research results of characteristics of regeneration and ungulate browsing impact (BoNČINA et al 2003a, jArNI et al. 2004), we can conclude that in the dinaric phytogeographic region a more distinctive decreasing trend of silver fr share is expected than in the northern parts (maribor, Nazarje), where regeneration is often more successful and browsing damage lesser. Current diameter distribution in these areas with relative higher percentage of small diameter trees promises easier and better regeneration or at least easier preservation of silver fr (BoNČINA et al. 2003a; KUNSTEK 2004). CONCLUSION zaključek Forest information System (FIS) managed by the Slovenian Forest Service (SFS) is applicable to show distribution of tree species in Slovenia. Further activities should be focused on: • analyses of ecological parameters, which (could) infuence the current state and development of forests, • analyses of development of forests, where uniform database about forests in different time periods is attempted to be restored, • analyses of data from permanent sampling plots, which is going to supplement research at the sub-compartment level. ACKNOwLEDgEMENTS ZahVala We would like to thank the Slovenian Forest Service, especially dragan matijašić, Vid mikulič and rok Pisek for their help in preparing data and usage of computer modules. SUMMARY We analysed the characteristics of the silver fr occurrence and distribution in Slovenia using the Forest Information System (FIS). The share of silver fr in Slovenia and other countries, where silver fr is naturally distributed, has been decreasing for many decades. Silver fr is now present in Ficko, A., Bončina, A.,: Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) distribution in Slovenian forests 33 around 40 % of the total forest area in Slovenia. Abundantly (share in gS>25 %) it occurs in Postojna, Kočevje and maribor Fmrs, in lower share although in large areas in Bled, Nazarje and Ljubljana Fmrs. Silver fr could virtually not be found in murska Sobota and Sezana Fmrs. The distribution of silver fr in phytogeographic regions shows that it occurs abundantly in the dinaric phytogeographic region and in part of the pre-Alpine region. It was registered in the altitude range from 0 to 1800 m a.s.l.; the highest share in growing stock it reaches in the 800-1000 m belt, where constituting 18 % of total growing stock within it. Surface structure according to altitude belts shows that the majority of Slovenian forests lie within altitude belt from 400 to 600 m a.s.l., that the majority of forests, where silver fr is present, are situated within altitude belt from 1000-1200 m, in which more than 70 % of forest land is covered by forests with silver fr. Silver fr occurs in 75 syntaxa of the 96 described in forests at the level of association, abundantly (share in gS>20 %) in 11 syntaxa. Considering only those associations in which silver fr is abundant, we can form two main strata: 1. dinaric silver fr-beech forests (68 %), 2. silver fr forests with fern and silver fr forests on non-carbonate ground (27 %). We found out that there is a big difference in the amount of large and small diameter trees between forest management regions, that tree species composition is less altered in forests with silver fr in comparison with all forests, and that there is a higher share of timber and regeneration phases, selective forests and saplings. If we consider previous analyses of regeneration, we can conclude that in the dinaric phytogeographic region a more intensive decreasing trend of silver fr share is indicated than in northern areas (maribor, Nazarje), where regeneration is often more successful and browsing damage lesser. Current diameter distribution in these areas promises easier regeneration or at least preservation of silver fr. POVZeTek z uporabo gozdarskega informacijskega sistema smo analizirali značilnosti pojavljanja in razširjenosti jelke v Slo- veniji. delež jelke se v Sloveniji tako kot v drugih državah njenega naravnega areala zmanjšuje že vrsto desetletij. jelka je danes evidentirana na okrog 40 % površine slovenskih gozdov, obilneje (delež v Lz>25 %) se pojavlja na postojnskem, kočevskem in mariborskem gozdnogospodarskem območju, v manjšem deležu, vendar na velikih površinah, pa tudi na blejskem, nazarskem in ljubljanskem območju. jelke skoraj ne najdemo v murskosoboškem in sežanskem območju. Prikaz razširjenosti jelke po ftogeografskih območjih kaže, da se jelka obilneje pojavlja v dinarskem ftogeografskem območju in delu predalpskega območja. jelko smo evidentirali v pasu od 0 do 1800 m, najvišji delež v lesni zalogi doseže v pasu 800-1000 m, kjer sestavlja okrog 18 % celotne lesne zaloge gozdov tega pasu. Površinska struktura gozdov po pasovih nadmorske višine kaže, da največ gozdov v Sloveniji leži v pasu 400-600 m, največ gozdov,v katerih je evidentirana jelka, pa v pasu 600-800 m. Iz relativnega razmerja med površino gozdov z jelko v nekem pasu in celotno površino gozdov tega pasu vidimo, da je relativno največ gozdov z jelko v pasu 1000-1200 m, kjer jo najdemo na več kot 70 % površine vseh gozdov tega pasu. jelka se pojavi v 75 sintaksonih od skupno 96 opisanih na ravni asociacije, obilneje (nad 20 % v Lz) pa v 11 sintaksonih Če upoštevamo samo tiste, v katerih se jelka obilneje pojavlja, lahko iz teh oblikujemo dva glavna rastiščna stratuma: (1) dinarski jelovo-bukovi gozdovi (68 %) in (2) jelovja s praprotmi in jelovja na nekarbonatnih kameninah (27 %). Ugotovili smo, da obstajajo velike razlike v količini debelega in tankega drevja jelke po območjih, v gozdovih z jelko je ohranjenost drevesne sestave višja v primerjavi z vsemi gozdovi, višji je tudi delež debeljakov, pomlajencev, prebiral-nega gozda ter mladovja. Upoštevajoč predhodne analize pomlajevanja lahko zaključimo, da se v dinarskem območju na splošno nakazuje bolj izrazit trend zmanjševanja deleža jelke v gozdovih kot v severnih območjih (maribor, Nazarje ), kjer je pomlajevanje pogosto bolj uspešno, poškodbe zaradi jele-njadi manjše, sedanja debelinska struktura z relativno večjim deležem tanjšega drevja jelke pa takšna, da obeta lažje ali vsaj uspešnejše ohranjanje jelke v gozdovih. 3 Zbornik gozdarstva in lesarstva, 79 REfERENCES VIRI ACCETTo, m. 1995. razširjenost in rastne značilnosti tise (Taxus baccata L.) v Sloveniji. V: Prezrte drevesne vrste. XVII. gozdarski študijski dnevi. Ljubljana, Biotehniška fakulteta, oddelek za gozdarstvo in gozdne vire: 185-209. 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