Floristic composition of beech sites five years after clear-cutting and syndynamics of plant communities in the clear-cut area in the Timok forest region

Abstract

In the winter of 2014/2015, an impactful natural disaster hit the eastern region of Serbia, leading to substantial forest tree damage due to ice breaks and falls. This catastrophe resulted in the near-complete destruction of artificial conifer stands established on beech sites, and varying degrees of damage to natural stands. In response, approximately 2000 hectares of land had to be clear-cut, inducing significant ecosystem transformations that may have altered the floristic composition. This study involved the inventarisation of vascular flora within the clear-cut areas, which was then compared to the floristic composition at similar site condition on location "Vinatovača" beech primeval forest. The key objectives of this research were to assess the extent of degradation experienced by natural beech sites and explore the prospects and courses for establishing natural, indigenous forest ecosystems through natural succession. Following clear-cutting, beech sites exhibited notably greater floristic diversity in contrast to the natural beech primeval forests. Considerable area of beech sites turned into meadows or were weed covered. The study identified 176 taxa of vascular flora on the clearcut sites (107 taxa in the premival forest). In addition to plants from mesophilic beech communities, plants from the aliance of thermophilic communities are also present. The identified plants were categorised into two groups: Pteridophyta, with only 2 species, and Spermatophyta, encompassing 174 species (in contrast, the premival forest had 10 species of Pteridophyta and 97 species of Spermatophyta). The Spermatophyta plants were further classified into two classes: Dicotyledons, represented by 149 species, and Monocotyledons, represented by 25 species (in the premival forest, Dicotyledons accounted for 76 species, and Monocotyledons 21 species).