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IZVORNI I ZNANSTVENI ČLANCI – ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERS Šumarski list br. 11–12, CXXXIV (2010), 581-591 UDK 630* 182 (001) SPECIES COMPOSITION AND SUCCESSIONAL PATHWAYS ON ABANDONED AGRICULTURAL LAND IN HALOZE VRSTE DRVEĆA I GRMLJA TE STRATEGIJA ZARASTANJA NAPUŠTENOG POLJOPRIVREDNOG ZEMLJIŠTA NA PODRUČJU HALOZA U SLOVENIJI Mateja COJZER*, Robert BRUS** SUMMARY: In Slovenia, as well as in others parts of Europe, the share of abandoned agricultural land overgrown by forest has been increasing every year. This article deals with this process of succession in Haloze, in the northeastern part of Slovenia. The main aim of this research was to find out how much of the abandoned agricultural land on the studied area has succeeded to forest in the last 20 years, to examine differences in species composition and the density of individuals of tree and shrub species between abandoned areas and younger developmental phases of forest, as well as to point out the strategies of succession on abandoned areas and compare them with the vegetation process of younger developmental phases in forest. Forest area increased by 7 % in the period from 1985 to 2005 in the study region. The results show that the successional process on abandoned land starts with shrub species, while in younger phases of forest, tree species prevail entirely. Key words: abandoned agricultural land, successional pathways on abandoned land, old-field succession, vegetation process in forest, species composition, density of individuals, younger developmental phases of forest, the Haloze region. 1. INTRODUCTION – Uvod Dense forest cover is one of the basic features in conditions; and socio-economic and political circum- Slovenia, where forests cover more than half (58.4 %) stances (Golob et al., 1994). This process has been of the total territory (ZGS, 2007). This is in large part going on since the beginning of the last century, and at because Slovenia is a mountainous country. More than an accelerated rate after World War II (Hudoklin, one third of the land area is above the altitude of 600 m, 2004). During the second half of the 20th century, the and two thirds of this area is forested. Approximately mountainous and hilly areas in Slovenia were abandohalf of the land has a slope incline greater than 20 % ned and suffered high population emigration (Mlinand a good fifth more than 35 % (Perko,2004). Fo-šek,1968; Cunder,1998; Kob ler,2001; Hočevar rest has been mainly preserved at higher and steeper lo-et al., 2004; Kozorog, 2004; Kobler et al., 2005). cations, which are less suitable for agriculture. The changes in land use during the last 60 years have led to extensive re-vegetation with an increase in shrubs and The amount of forest area in Slovenia is still increaforests. According to ZGS (2007), the forest area has in- sing. The main reasons for this are: the abandonment of creased by 60.5 % in the last 130 years and by 34.6 % farmland and agricultural land (grasslands, pastures, vi- since 1947. Similar to other parts of Slovenia, the share neyards, meadows and orchards) (Perpar, 2002); a de- of forest area and abandoned agricultural land have in crease in livestock pressure; inconvenient natural creased in the Haloze region, for the same aforementio * ned reasons. Mateja Cojzer, univ. dipl. inž. gozd., ZGS, OE Maribor, Tyrševa 15, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia, mateja.cojzer@zgs.gov.si Succession on abandoned agricultural land has be ** Prof. dr. Robert Brus, univ. dipl. inž. gozd., Biotechnical Faculty, come a serious problem not only in Slovenia, but also Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Večna pot 83, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, robert.brus@bf.uni-lj.si elsewhere in Europe (Borec et al., 2004). In studies |