Phytocoenotic preconditions of drying of Abies alba Mill. dieback in the Forest Cenoses of the Pokut Carpathians

• Published in: Naukovì pracì Lìsìvničoï akademìï nauk Ukraïni (Online) Vol. 18; pp. 21 - 34
• Main Authors: Myroslava Soroka, Andrzej Vozniak, Anatoliy Goychuk, Andriy Onyskіv, Petro Plichtyak
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ukrainian National Forestry University 01-03-2019
• Subjects: bacterial burn; bacterial hydrochloride; drying out of forests; fir-beech forest; J. Brun-Blanche Method; Pomeranian Carpathians; syntaxonomy
• ISSN: 1991-606X; 2616-5015
• DOI: 10.15421/411902

In recent decades the problem of mountain and foothill forests is the drying up Picea abies and Abies alba Mill. If the attention of the scientific community is fo-cused on the death of spruce forests. Drying the fir in the Carpathians is just beginning to be studied. Abies alba in the Carpathians is one of the most important and most valuable species, a characteristic feature of which is specific ecological and biotope requirements, low ediative role and practically total lack of ability to create clean stands. This means that for the life and normal functioning of Abies alba trees, complex relationships are needed with many species of different systematic groups that are adapted to living in the same environment. The forests with the participation of Abies alba arise in the beech forest zone, which proves the proximity of its ecological features with Fagus sylvatica. The features of natural habitats of fir communities, as well as their syntaxonomy, are the subject of long-term scientific discussions, but it is not clear what has become an obstacle in solving many problems related to the functioning of fir forests, including their drying out. Three-year study of the death centers Abies alba established patterns of their occurrence and distribution in the forests of the State-owned enterprise „Kutske For-estry”. The study was carried out to detect destructive traits in the organization and functioning of fir forests, where the reasons for their drying out lie. The influence of abiotic factors on the development of drying centers was analyzed and it was deter-mined that it would develop next year after a dry summer. Using macro-genotypes, the etiology of a possible disease that caused the Abies alba abyss was established and a preliminary diagnosis of possible phytopathogens was carried out. Using the laboratory tests and analytical methods, a set of primary and secondary pathogens was established, the order of their settlement and the possible reasons for their devel-opment. The main cause of the disease is Abies alba, caused by Erwinia bacteria. Secondary pathogens are Heterobasidion annosum, Phellinus hartigii, Armillaria mellea and Climacocystis borealis. Phytosociological studies of phytocoenoses with a high share of Abies alba belonging to different forest vegetation communities, identi-fied by the eco- floristic classification of vegetation and the J. Braun-Blanquet method (1964) were carried out. The phytocenoses Abieti-Piceetum (montanum), Tilio cordatae-Carpinetum betuli var. Abies alba, Luzulo luzuloidis-Fagetum, Luzulo-pilosae-Fagetum, Dentario glandulosae-Fagetum var. Abies alba, among which the group with the traces of Abies alba died. Research has been carried out on the appro-priateness of species composition of phytocoenoses to habitat conditions. Phytosociological studies have shown that bacterias and secondary pathogens most damage Abies alba trees in forest areas with a modified species composition. It was found that the outbreak of Abies alba bacteriosis is observed when the species composition of forest phytocoenoses changes in the direction of conveying beech-beech forests to beech and fir by cutting the beech in places of native forest stands. The highest share of damaged Abies alba trees is found in the forests of Dentario glandulosae-Fagetum, from which selectively selected beech and in Tilio cordatae-Carpinetum betuli var. Abies alba with a reduced share of deciduous tree species. Instead, Abies alba is practically undamaged in the forests of Abieti-Piceetum (montanum).