Numerical classification and ordination of the floodplain forests in the Euxine region of Turkey

Abstract

In this study, the phytosociological structure of floodplain forests in the Euxine region of Turkey was examined from a large-scale perspective. For this goal, all of the published relevés were analyzed using the numerical classification and ordination techniques, which are widely used in phytosociological studies all over the world. In summary, a syntaxonomical scheme for floodplain forests with 11 communities (five associations and one alliance were newly identified) was suggested as follows: Fraxino angustifoliae -Ulmetum laevis Slavić 1952 allerietosum petiolatae Kavgacı et al. subass. nov. hoc loco; Fraxino angustifoliae -Ulmetum laevis Slavić 1952 junglandetosum regiae Kavgacı et al. 2011; Leucojo aestivi -Fraxinetum angustifoliae Glavač 1959 alnetosum glutinosae Glavač 1959; Smilaco excelsae -Fraxinetum angustifoliae Pavlov et Dimitrov 2002 prunellotosum vulgaris Pavlov et Dimitrov 2002; Apocyno veneti -Fraxinetum angustifoliae (Özen 2010) Kavgacı et al. ass. nov. hoc loco; Euphorbio strictae -Fraxinetum angustifoliae (Aydogdu 1988) Kavgacı et al. ass. nov. hoc loco (Alno -Quercion, Populetalia alba, Salici purpureae -Populetea nigrae); Aro hygrophyli -Fraxinetum angustifoliae (Kutbay et al. 1998) Kavgacı et al. ass. nova hoc loco; Pterocaryo pterocarpae -Alnetum barbatae Quézel et al. 1992; Platanthero chloranthae -Fraxinetum oxycarpae Korkmaz et al. 2012; Sambuco ebuli -Alnetum barbatae (Korkmaz et al. 2012) Kavgacı et al. ass. nov. hoc loco (Periploco graecae -Fraxinion angustifoliae Kavgacı et al. all. nova hoc loco, Populetalia alba, Salici purpureae -Populetea nigrae); and Geranio robertiani -Carpinetum betuli Kavgacı et al. 2011 (Carpino betuli -Fagion orientalis, Rhododendro pontici -Fagetalia orientalis, Querco -Fagatea).

Classification of forest and shrubland vegetation in central and eastern Euxine Turkey and SW Georgia

“…Typical floodplain forests in the study area, appearing in habitats where the water table is usually at or near the surface and the surface is periodically or at least occasionally flooded by shallow water, can be found in the central Euxine region (Kavgacı et al., 2016). These floodplain forests dominated by Fraxinus angustifolia and Alnus glutinosa subsp.…”

“…1992 (Vegetation type 21 in Figure 2 and Table 1) (notEVC) Periploco graecae‐Fraxinion angustifoliae Kavgacı et al. 2016 (Vegetation type 27 in Figure 2 and Table 1) (notEVC) Platanion orientalis Kárpáti et V. Kárpáti 1961 (Vegetation type 28 in Figure 2 and Table 1) (EVC)…”

“…This is completely related to the humid climate and site conditions of Colchis, which allows Alnus glutinosa subsp. barbata to have a larger ecological amplitude than in the rest of the Euxine region (Kavgacı et al., 2016; Novák et al., 2019). Alnus glutinosa subsp.…”

“…These floodplain forests dominated by Fraxinus angustifolia and Alnus glutinosa subsp. barbata are classified within the alliance Periploco graecae ‐ Fraxinion angustifoliae under Populetalia albae and Alno glutinosae ‐ Populetea albae (Vegetation type 27) (Kavgacı et al., 2016).…”

The Diversity and Gradient of Sand-Dune Vegetation at Kasatura Bay: A Plant Biodiversity Hotspot in European Türkiye

“…The Periploca graeca community is another transitional community in Kasatura Bay. Periploca graeca is a characteristic species of floodplain forests [45]. Just behind the sand dunes in the study area and along the rivers, floodplain forests dominated by Alnus glutinosa subsp.…”