The ophiolitic communities of Shebenik-Jablanice National Park (Albania)

• Published in: Atti della Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze fisiche e naturali Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 309 - 328
• Main Authors: Fanelli, Giuliano, Gjeta, Ermelinda, Mahmutaj, Ermelinda, Mullaj, Alfred, Salvatori, Fabio, De Sanctis, Michele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-06-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Astragalus; Biomedicine; Communities; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Endemic species; Environment; Flora; Grasslands; History of Science; Life Sciences; Limestone; Metals; Mountains; National parks; Outcrops; Rare species; Vegetation; Vegetation Science and Habitats Directive; Albania; Phytosociology; Serpentine; Conservation; Habitat Directive; Vegetation; Albania
• ISSN: 2037-4631; 1720-0776
• DOI: 10.1007/s12210-018-0694-7

The Shebenik-Jablanice National Park is located in east central Albania which is characterized by one of the most important outcrops of the Mirdita ophiolitic formation. Ophiolites are often serpentinized and rich in metals, and present therefore a specialized flora and vegetation, which has attracted much research, but which is still incompletely known. In this paper we present the main communities of this vegetation, which encompasses subalpine grasslands, scrub and dry grasslands. Six associations are presented as new (
Stachyo scardicae
-
Buxertum sempervirentis
,
Daphno oleoidi
-
Ericetum herbaceae
,
Carici sempervirentis
-
Seslerietum coerulantis
,
Carici macrolepidis
-
Genistetum hassertianae
,
Alysso bertolonii
subsp.
scutarinum
-
Euphorbietum glabriflorae
,
Sedo serpentini
-
Festucopsietum serpentini
) and a few others are presented without a formal description (
Bornmuellera baldaccii
community
, Astragalus angustifolius
community,
Viola magellensis
scree vegetation). Serpentinicolous dry grassland vegetation of the Shebenik mountains is compared to other communities of serpentines in Italy, Balkans and Greece and a new alliance is described for this community,
Festucopsion serpentini
(
Halacsyetalia sendtneri
) vicariant of the
Centaureo
-
Bromion fibrosi
which occurs in northern Albania and Kosovo. The alliance is characterized by a set of species which do not occur or are rare further north and by a relatively dry climate with Mediterranean affinity. We also present a thorny cushion vegetation with
Astragalus angustifolius
, which grows on limestone but is vicariant to the analogous community with
Genista hassertiana
. Finally, considering the rarity of these communities at continental scale, and their richness of endemic and rare species, we present the description of a new habitat for future inclusion in the Annex I of the Habitat Directive.