HACQUETIA DOI: 10.2478/v10028-009-0002-2 VEGETATION OF THE STRMEC FOREST REMNANT Lojze MARINČEK1 & Aleksander MARINŠEK2 Abstract The virgin forest remnant Strmec is located in the southern part of Slovenia (Kočevsko region) and expands over 15.55 ha between 850 and 940 metres above sea level. Special attention is given to phytosociological and pedological surveys. A vegetation map was also made. The virgin forest is dominated by Dinaric fir-beech forests, namely by the geographical variant of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha gran-diflora with the following subassociations and variants: -festucetosum altissimae, -galietosum odorati, -typicum, -mercurialetosum perennis, -phyllitidetosum, -neckeretosum crispae, -caricetosum albae subass. nova var. Neckera crispa var. nova and var. Helleborus niger. var. nova. The bedrock is mainly limestone and dolomite, which prevail in the south-western part of the virgin forest remnant. The most frequent soil types are rendzina on limestone, Rendzic Leptosol and Dystri-Chromic Cam-bisol. Key words: virgin forest remnant, phytosociology, pedology, Omphalodo-Fagetum, fir-beech forest. Izvleček Pragozdni ostanek Strmec se nahaja v južnem delu Slovenije, na Kočevskem, na nadmorski višini med 850 in 940 m. Njegova površina meri 15,55 ha. Znotraj pragozdnega ostanka smo naredili fitocenološke in pedološke analize, za celotno površino pragozdnega ostanka pa izdelali vegetacijsko karto. Sestoje, ki se pojavlja v pragozdnem ostanku uvrščamo v asociacijo Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora z naslednjimi subasociacijami in variantami: -festucetosum altissimae, -galietosum odorati, -typicum, -mercurialetosum perennis, -phyllitidetosum, -neckeretosum crispae, -caricetosum albae subass. nova var. Neckera crispa var. nova in var. Helle-borus niger var. nova. Matično kamnino sestavlja predvsem apnenec, na jugozahodnem delu pa se na manjši površini pojavlja dolomit. Najbolj pogosti tipi tal so rjava tla in pokarbonatna rjava tla ter rendzina na apnencu. Ključne besede: pragozdni ostanek, fitocenologija, pedologija, Omphalodo-Fagetum, jelovo-bukov gozd. 1. introduction The virgin forest remnant of Strmec is one of the 14 virgin forest remnants in Slovenia (Mlinšek et al. 1980). It is situated in the Dinaric phyto-geographical region (Wraber 1969) of Slovenia (Kočevje region), more precisely on the SW part of Stojna, between 850 and 940 m above sea level (Figure 1). The area of the virgin forest remnant Strmec is influenced by pre-Dinaric, pre-Pannonian and interferential (high karstic) climatic types (Ko-nečnik & Zaplotnik 2001). Characteristic of the pre-Dinaric and pre-Pannonian climate type are significantly higher temperature extremes, hot summers, cold winters, and approximately equal amounts of rainfall in the summer and autumn months. The interferential climatic type, however, is characterized by hot air masses, driven by south-westerly winds. Along the mountain barrier of the Dinaric range, these winds are cooled down and thus condition abundant precipitations 1 Pugljeva 27, SI-1000 Ljubljana 2 Institute of Biology, SRC-SASA, Novi trg 2, p. b. 306, SI-1001 Ljubljana 1 Hacqüetia Figure 1: Location of the Strmec virgin forest remnant. Slika 1: Lokacija pragozdnega ostanka Strmec. in the region of the Dinaric fir-beech forests. The precipitation is greater in the autumn than in the spring period (GGN Koče 1965-74). Water from the abundant rainfalls, to a great extent, generally flows down through the porous limy base, although it also conditions the humidity level of the air, which has a decisive influence on the flourishing of fir trees. The terrain in which the virgin forest lies is strongly undulating, since in the upper reach it is moderately inclined, in the central part gently sloping with karstic sinkholes, while in the lower reaches it is steep with rocky cliffs. It stretches along a shorter altitudinal range (a 90 m height difference); dominant is the position partially exposed to the sun (W, SW), which comes into prominence particularly in the lower, steepest part of the virgin forest. The stands in the virgin forest are influenced by the two roads (Figure 1). The lower road was made between the 1st and 2nd world war and the upper between 1965 and 1975 (Lavrič 1999). Management of the neighbouring forests in the past, before the protective belt was established, also influenced the virgin forest. The mean annual temperature is 8.3 °C. Extreme minimums in the vegetation period are: in May -3.9 °C, in June 0.4 °C, in July 4.5 °C, in August 2.8 °C, and in September -3.1 °C. The annual rainfall rate (10-year observation period) is 1556 mm. Rainfall is most abundant in spring (max. in June) and autumn (max. in October). The driest month is February. The number of days with precipitation (over 0.1 mm) is 155, the number of days with rainfall (over 0.2 mm) is 132, the number of days with snow (over 0.1 mm) is 37, the number of days with snow cover at 07.00 hours is 72. The relative humidity level is 81 % (GGN Koče 1990-1999). The bedrock consists of lower to upper cretaceous grey limestone with inserted dolomited layers (Mlinšek et al. 1980). 2 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant The area of the virgin forest belonged to the estate owner count Auersperg. In the second revision of the management plan for the 2nd operating unit - Fridrihštajn from the year 1913 - for the first time there appeared in it a sub-division denoted as "Urwald" (virgin forest). Since then, that part of forest has not been managed (Konečnik & Zaplotnik 2001). At the end of the 19th century Leopold Hufnagel made an extensive management plan (Hufnagel 1892) and introduced his own model of selection forest management. That was at that time quite the opposite to clearcutting as a way of forest management, which prevailed in Central Europe. In his plans he also excluded some smaller sections from forest management and preserved them as virgin forests. The virgin forest remnant Strmec forms only part of that complex and extends over 15.55 ha. The main tree species are Abies alba (39 %) and Fagus sylvatica (48 %). Individually are admixed Acer pseudoplatanus, Picea abies, Tillia cordata, Ulmus laevis, Ostrya carpinifolia, Sorbus aria, Acer platanoides and Acer obtusatum. The total growing stock is high (824 m3/ha) with a high proportion of coarse woody debris (20.1 %). The optimal development phase prevails mostly on the surface of the virgin forest remnant (Konečnik & Zaplotnik 2001). The main goal for conserving intact nature at the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th century was excluding virgin forests. After 1970 there appears conservation based on scientific research. According to Mlinšek et al. (1980), individual trees of autochtonous spruce make Strmec even more interesting. Intensive researches into the basic ecological and structural characteristics in Slovenian virgin forest remnants started after the year 1980, but Strmec was not included in those studies (Roženbergar et al. 2003). Despite the fact that few researches were carried out, Hočevar et al. (1995) investigated the flora; the first phytosociological researches were made by Zupančič & Puncer (1971, 1995) and Robič (2000). Konečnik and Zaplotnik (2001) conducted the most complete research into the virgin forest remnant Strmec, above all from the aspect of stand structure and regrowth. The aim of our research, done in 2002, was to carry out a complex study of forest communities and the pedological conditions of virgin forest and also to make the vegetation map. The presented results are the continuation of our re- searches into Slovenian virgin forest remnants (Marinček & Marinšek 2003, 2004). 2. METHODS The vegetation relevés were made according to the standard Central-European method (Braun-Blanquet 1964) in June, July and September 2002. The relatively small area of the virgin forest and indirect influence of two roads increase the difficulty of making quality phytosociological relevés according to the Braun-Blanquet method. In spite of that, we succeeded in making 20 reléves. The nomenclature of flowering plants follows Martinčič et al. (2007), syntaxonomy Marinček et al. (1993). The nomenclature source for mosses is according to Martinčič (2003). Detrended Canonical Analysis was made by CANOCO (ter Braak & šmilauer 2002). Five representative soil profiles, which were the basis for investigation of the soil conditions (Prus 2002), were made and morphologically described in July 2002. Determination of soil types was made according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB), FAO, Unesco 1998 http://www. fao.org/docrep/W8594E/W8594E00.htm. Laboratory analyses of soil samples were made according to ISO standards (SIST ISO 11464, SIST ISO 10390, SIST ISO 14235, SIST ISO 11261). A vegetation map of the Strmec virgin forest remnants (Figure 3) was made according to the principles of vegetation mapping (Puncer 1984). 3. RESULTS Floristic composition In compliance with average ecological factors, distinctive of the Dinaric region, Central European plant species in the forest remnant of Strmec prevail. In the phytosociological sense we classify them in the order of Fagetalia sylvaticae: Mer-curialis perennis, Festuca altissima, Galium odora-tum, Sanicula europaea, Daphne mezereum, Salvia glutinosa, Viola reichenbachiana, Acer pseudoplatanus, Mycelis muralis, Prenanthes purpurea, Senecio ovatus, Dryopteris filix-mas, Geranium robertianum, Galeobdolon flavidum, Paris quadrifolia, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Polygonatum multiflorum, Campanula trachelium, Hordelymus europaeus, Polystichum 3 Hacqüetia aculeatum, Brachypodium sylvaticum and others. Differential species for the Illyrian beech forests - alliance Aremonio-Fagion: Omphalodes verna, Aremonia agrimonoides, Cardamine enneaphyllos, Cardamine trifolia, Calamintha grandiflora, Daphne laureola, Cyclamen purpurascens, Scopolia carnolica, and partially Rhamnusfallax, are relatively abundant. Their presence classifies the described fir-beech forests to alliance Aremonio-Fagion. Some acidophilous species, differential species of order Vaccinio-Piceetalia Br.-Bl. 1939 emend. K. Lund 1967, e.g., Goodyera repens, Luzula sylva-tica, Orthilia secunda, Dryopteris expansa, are more or less accidental, while moderate acidophilous species, e.g., Hieracium murorum, Galium rotundi-folium, Oxalis acetosella, and Rosa pendulina are more abundant. With regard to other Dinaric fir-beech virgin forests (Mlinšek et al.1980), there are relatively numerous thermophilous plants, differential species of order Quercetalia pubescentis s. lat., e.g., Fraxi-nus ornus, Cephalanthera rubra, Ostrya carpinifolia, Euonymus verrucosa, Sorbus aria, Melittis meliso-phyllum, Acer obtusatum, Cornus mas. Other ther- mophilous plants are mostly differential species of class Querco-Fagetea: Euonymus latifolia, Ajuga reptans, Clematis vitalba, Lonicera xylosteum, Hede-ra helix and Vinca minor. Among the so called companion species the most frequent are: Moehringia muscosa, Sorbus au-cuparia, Asplenium trichomanes, Solidago virgaurea, Polypodium vulgare, Rubus idaeus, Asplenium ruta-muraria, Asplenium viride, Solanum dulcamara, Fragaria vesca, Gentiana asclepiadea and others. Ctenidium molluscum, Neckera crispa, Plagiochila asplenioides, Isothecium myurum, Fissidens taxifo-lius, Hypnum cupressiforme, Eurhynchium striatum and Thuidium tamariscinum are the most frequent species among mosses (Table 3). The rest of the species composition is seen from the analytical table (Table 3). Pedological conditions and division of subassociations into lower syntaxa Morphological descriptions of soil for each subassociation are given separately (Tables 1 and 2). Table 1: Analytical data of pedological samples; soil particle size distribution (texture) and chemical properties from the virgin forest remnant Strmec (Prus 2002). 1: -festucetosum altissimae, 2: -galietosum odorati, 3: -phylli-tidetosum, 4: mercurialetosum perennis, 5: var. Helleborus niger. Tabela 1: Analitski podatki pedoloških vzorcev; mehanska sestava in kemijske lastnosti tal v pragozdnem ostanku Strmec (Prus 2002). 1: -festucetosum altissimae, 2: -galietosum odorati, 3: -phyllitidetosum, 4: mercurialetosum perennis, 5: var. Helleborus niger. pH PA k2o org. C CN N sand silt silt silt clay text. AL AL matter total rude fine total class HORIZON DEPTH CaCl 2 mg/100g % rat. % % % % % % 1 Ah 0 - 15 cm 6.6 <2.0 5.0 19.3 11.2 19.0 0.59 1 AC 15 - 30 cm 5.8 <2.0 6.3 9.2 5.3 23.0 0.23 12.7 17.5 42.5 60.0 27.3 MG-MI 2 Ah 0 - 12 cm 4.4 <2.0 8.9 10.2 5.9 17.4 0.34 2 A 12 - 43 cm 5.4 <2.0 6.5 3.7 2.1 12.4 0.17 10.2 20.9 45.1 66.0 23.8 MI 2 BtC 43 - 64 cm 7.2 <2.0 9.4 4.3 2.5 13.9 0.18 4.1 17.5 45.7 63.2 32.7 MGI 3 Ah 0 - 7 cm 4.8 2.7 19.9 14.2 8.2 13.7 0.60 3 A 7 - 32 cm 4.3 <2.0 <2.0 2.5 1.4 10.8 0.13 5.9 20.9 53.6 74.5 19.6 MI 3 BrzC 32 - 60 cm 6.1 <2.0 5.2 2.3 1.3 10.8 0.12 29.0 22.4 37.7 60.1 10.9 MI 4 Oh 0 - 12 cm 4.1 12.0 15.3 63.7 36.9 29.3 1.26 4 AC 12 - 25 cm 6.9 <2.0 6.5 21.1 12.2 24.9 0.49 5 Ah 0 - 12 cm 7.1 <2.0 10.9 16.5 9.6 15.5 0.62 5 CA 12 - 32 cm 7.2 <2.0 5.9 6.6 3.8 10.6 0.36 14.5 26.6 30.3 56.9 28.6 MGI 4 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant Table 2: Results of ammono-acetate extraction from five representative pedological profiles from the virgin forest remnant Strmec (Prus 2002). 1: -festucetosum altissimae, 2: -galietosum odorati, 3: -phyllitidetosum, 4: mer-curialetosum perennis, 5: var. Helleborus niger. Tabela 2: Rezultati amonacetatna ekstrakcije, dobljeni iz petih reprezentativnih pedoloških profilov v pragozdnem ostanku Strmec (Prus 2002). 1: -festucetosum altissimae, 2: -galietosum odorati, 3: -phyllitidetosum, 4: mercu-rialetosum perennis, 5: var. Helleborus niger. Ca Mg K Na H S T V Ca Mg K Na H HORIZON DEPTH -----mmol C+ / 100 g sample % % % % % % 1 Ah 0 - 15 cm 44.41 0.43 0.17 0.14 14.00 45.2 59.2 76.3 75.0 0.7 0.3 0.2 23.6 1 AC 15 - 30 cm 22.20 0.23 0.13 0.10 12.55 22.7 35.3 64.3 62.9 0.7 0.4 0.3 35.6 2 Ah 0 - 12 cm 8.63 0.73 0.22 0.06 21.15 9.6 30.8 31.2 28.0 2.4 0.7 0.2 68.7 2 A 12 - 43 cm 10.67 0.62 0.14 0.05 12.55 11.5 24.1 47.7 44.3 2.6 0.6 0.2 52.1 2 BtC 43 - 64 cm 30.04 1.62 0.25 0.08 7.05 32.0 39.1 81.8 76.8 4.1 0.6 0.2 18.0 3 Ah 0 - 7 cm 13.75 1.74 0.50 0.06 23.95 16.1 40.1 40.1 34.3 4.3 1.2 0.1 59.7 3 A 7 - 32 cm 2.42 0.36 0.08 0.02 16.20 2.9 19.1 15.2 12.7 1.9 0.4 0.1 84.8 3 BrzC 32 - 60 cm 11.17 1.18 0.11 0.07 8.95 12.5 21.5 58.1 52.0 5.5 0.5 0.3 41.6 4 Oh 0 - 12 cm 28.84 3.22 0.42 0.21 39.40 32.7 72.1 45.4 40.0 4.5 0.6 0.3 54.6 4 AC 12 - 25 cm 44.29 0.91 0.13 0.15 14.35 45.5 59.9 76.0 73.9 1.5 0.2 0.3 24.0 5 Ah 0 - 12 cm 33.56 13.05 0.27 0.11 9.40 47.0 56.4 83.3 59.5 23.1 0.5 0.2 16.7 5 CA 12 - 32 cm 21.75 9.69 0.13 0.08 5.45 31.6 37.1 85.2 58.6 26.1 0.4 0.2 14.7 Stands of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum prevail in the whole area. On the basis of the analytical table (Table 3) we grouped those stands into seven subassociations and two variants. Syntaxonomically we classified them to class Querco-Fagetea Br.-Bl. et Vlieger in Vlieger 1937, order Fagetalia sylvaticae Pawlovski in Pawlovski et al. 1982, alliance Aremonio-Fagion (Horvat 1938) Borhidi in Torok et al. 1989, suballiance Lamio orvalae-Fagenion Borhidi ex Marinček et al. 1993 and to association Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002 with subassociations: - festucetosum altissimae Puncer et al. 1974 - galietosum odorati (Tregubov 1957) Puncer 1980 - typicum (M. Wraber 1955) Puncer 1980 - mercurialetosum perennis Tregubov 1957 - phyllitidetosum (Puncer et al. 1974) Marinček et Marinšek 2004 - neckeretosum crispae Puncer 1980 - caricetosum albae subass. nova • var. Neckera crispa var. nova • var. Helleborus niger var. nova. Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora festucetosum altissimae Stands of the subassociation - festucetosum altissi-mae cover the largest area in Strmec. It spreads on the upper part of the virgin forest, on a moderately inclined slope. A high proportion of stoni-ness is characteristic for this subassociation. Beech and fir prevail in the upper tree layer, which covers on average about 80 % of the surface. Norway spruce is admixed individually. Other tree species such as Acer pseudoplatanus, Ulmus glabra, and rarely Sorbus aria can be found in the lower tree and shrub layer. The latter is not well developed and is composed mainly of the young growth of tree species and shrubs Daphne mezereum and Rosa pendulina. The herb layer covers 30 to 40 % of the surface. The species that gives the basic aspect to this subassociation, and also the main differential species, is Festuca altissima. Of the other two differential species, according to Puncer (1980), Orthilia secunda is missing and Dicranum scopari-um appears only as an accidental species. 5 Hacqüetia Figure 2: Vegetation map of the virgin forest remnant Strmec. Slika 2: Vegetacijska karta pragozdnega ostanka Strmec. Legend: 1 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora festucetosum altissimae 2 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora galietosum odorati 3 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora typicum 4 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora mercurialetosum perennis 5 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora neckeretosum crispae 6 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae var. Neckera crispa 7 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora phyllitidetosum 8 = Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae var. Helleborus niger 6 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant The main combination of species of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum is well presented, while Rhamnus fallax is missing. From order Fagetalia sylvaticae, the following species prevail: Mercu-rialis perennis, Paris quadrifolia, Galium odoratum, Sanicula europaea, Salvia glutinosa, Viola reichen-bachiana, Mycelis muralis, Geranium robertianum, Galeobdolon flavidum, and others. Among other species, higher cover is also reached by Anemone nemorosa, Carex digitata, Oxalis acetosella, Asplenium trichomanes and Solanum dulcamara. Mosses cover 20 to 30 % of the surface, where Ctenidium mollluscum prevails. Soil profile description with commentary (Prus 2002) (Table 1 and 2, profile No. 1). Bedrock: limestone Soil type: rendsine, Rendzic Leptosol Location: X = 0486092, Y = 5053126; Altitude: 925 m Position and inclination: slope, SW, 20° Horizons: Ol 10-5 cm, mostly beech foliage, twigs, scarce dry grass Of 5-0 cm, foliage and twigs, scarce roots Oh 0-3 cm, dark reddish brown (5YR 2,5/2) organic humus horizon, very unevenly distributed. It is of a crumbly, well expressed and well subsisting structure, of scattered and crumbly consistence, dry, with dense roots and without rock fragments. Transition to the next horizon is irregular. A 3-15 cm, dark brown (7,5 YR 3/2) silty loam, of fine subangular blocky structure with strong stability. Humus content is high, dry to fresh, with dense roots. There are 20 % sharp-edged rock fragments of 20 cm in diameter. Transition to the next horizon is gradual. AC 15-30+ cm, dark brown to brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam to silty loam, not markedly polyhedrous. Consistence is firm. The humus content is distributed in dead roots channels and pores between the structural aggregate. Dry to fresh with dense roots. Contains 40 % rock fragments of 20 cm in diameter, share increases with depth. Brown rendsine presents an intermediate or transitional stage in the development of rendsine to Chromic Cambisol. In this case, it is shown in Figure 3: Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora festucetosum altissimae. Slika 3: Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora festucetosum altissimae. 7 Hacqüetia the poorly divisible AC horizon, which contains a lot of humus. As a matter of fact, this is characteristic of horizon A, but at the same time it contains some characteristics of the cambic horizon, e.g. heavier texture and red colour. Humus input in that horizon goes through dead root channels and pours out into the pore system. Particularly in the dry season, humus crushes and goes down to the pores. Nutrients (phosphorus, potassium) and pH are within the usual values for that soil type. The surface horizon it is still mollic. Therefore we classify the soil to Rendzic Leptosol. Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha gran-diflora galietosum odorati The site is edaphically the most favourable: moderately inclined to gentle slope and sinkholes above rocks. Medium deep Chromic Cambisol prevails on the limestone bedrock. In the tree layer, beech prevails over silver fir, which is mostly in the lower tree layer. Acer pseudoplatanus, Ulmus glabra and Picea abies are admixed only individually. The shrub layer and young growth is mostly a combination of Fagus sylvatica and Acer pseudoplatanus. Other plant species in the shrub layer are: Daphne mezereum, Sor-bus aria and Daphne laureola. Mesophilous species of order Fagetalia sylvaticae which form the majority of the herb layer, are: Salvia glutinosa, Viola reichenbachiana, Mycelis muralis, Prenanthes purpurea, Senecio ovatus, Dryopterisfilix-mas, Paris quadrifolia, Galeobdolon flavidum, Euphorbia amy-gdaloides, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Carex pilosa, Polygonatum multiflorum, Symphytum tuberosum, Galium odoratum, Sanicula europaea, Carex sylvatica, Cardamine bulbifera, Veronica montana, and others. Character species are well presented, particularly Omphalodes verna and Cardamine trifolia. Beside differential species of the subassociation (Galium odoratum and Sanicula europaea), there are also local differential species: Cardamine bulbifera, Carex sylvatica and Veronica montana; these indicate the advantageous circumstances of soil moisture. Species of alliance Aremonio-Fagion are abundant. Among others the highest cover value is reached by the following species: Anemone nemorosa, Athyrium filix-femina and Oxalis acetosel-la. The moss layer is not well-developed; Ctenid-ium molluscum is the most abundant. Soil profile description with commentary (Prus 2002) (Table 1 and 2, profile No. 2) Bedrock: limestone Soil type: Dystri-Chromic Cambisol Location: X = 0485979, Y = 5052939; Altitude: 890 m Position and inclination: slope - ridge, SE, 5° Horizons: Ol 3-0 cm, mainly beech foliage, twigs, silver fir needles. Ah 0-12 cm, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) highly hu-mic silty loam, cloddy and medium expressed; the structure is firm, medium dense and of crumbly consistence, moist, root abundance is dense, there are no rock fragments. Passage to the lower horizon is irregular. A 12-43 cm, dark brown to brown (7.5YR 4/4), medium humic silty loam, angular blocky structure dense and crumbly consistence, moist, root abundance is dense. Rock fragments are present as individual stones. Passage to the lower horizon is gradual. BtC 43-64+ cm, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) humic silty clay loam of angular blocky structure, which is well-formed, consistence is dense and friable, moist, root abundance is low. Consists 40 % of sharp-edged, flat rock fragments of 15 cm in diameter. Among flat stones, some of the soil pockets continue. Ablution is in the initial phase, so that horizon E is not well-defined. However the upper part of the profile has washed out basic cations (distric character), also the difference in texture or clay share between horizon A and horizon Bt is sufficiently expressed. Horizon Ah is moder mull. The designation Chromic Cambisol is usually used for soil with a suitable red colour. Unsaturation with basic cations in the upper two horizons is the reason for the appendix Dystri. Unfortunately WRB do not allow classification of transitional soil forms. Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha gran-diflora typicum Subassociation -typicum appears in the central part of the virgin forest. The slope is gently inclined, stoniness is 10 to 50 %. On the limestone bedrock there is a mosaic of rendsines with different successional stages and Chromic Cambisol. 8 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant Figure 4: Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora galietosum odorati. Slika 4: Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora galietosum odorati. Figure 5: Subassociation Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora typicum. Slika 5: Subasociacija Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora typicum. 9 Hacqüetia The composition of the tree layer is very similar to the composition of the earlier described subassociations. Beech is prevailing over silver-fir, specially in the upper layer. Acer pseudoplatanus appears only sporadically. Beside young growth of the main tree species, there are also shrubs like Daphne laureola, Daphne mezereum and Sorbus aria. The shrub layer covers from 40 to 60 %, and is mainly composed of species from the order Fage-talia sylvaticae: Salvia glutinosa, Viola reichenbachi-ana, Mycelis muralis, Sanicula europaea, Galeobdo-lon flavidum, Festuca altissima, Galium odoratum, Carex sylvatica, Hordelymus europaeus, and others. Species from the alliance Aremonio-Fagion, such as Scopolia carniolica, Lamium orvala and Cardamine trifolia, are not well presented, except for Cardamine enneaphyllos. Among differential species of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum, Calamintha grandiflora and Rhamnus falllax are missing entirely. Among others, Oxalis acetosella reaches a slightly higher cover value. The moss layer is not well developed. Most frequent taxa are Ctenidium molluscum and Iso-thecium myurum. Stands of the Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora -phylitidetosum and - mer-curialetosum perennis, are not typically developed and only cover smaller areas (Figure 2). They are represented with a single relevé (Table 3). Soil profile description of the subassociation - phylitidetosum with commentary (Prus 2002) (Table 1 and 2, profile No. 3) Bedrock: limestone Soil type: Dystri-Chromic Cambisol Location: X =0485980,Y = 5053098, 920 mnv Position and inclination: slope - sinkhole, S, 5° Horizons: Ol 2-0 cm, beech foliage, twigs, scarce fir needles, herb remnants Ah 0-7 cm, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) strong humic silty clay, cloddy and fine subangular blocky structure, well expressed and medium structure, loose and crumbly consistence, moist, root abundance is medium dense, without rock fragments. Passage to the lower horizon is gradual. A 7-32 cm, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), medium humic silty clay, tiny angular blocky structure, not well expressed and medium stability, dense and crumbly consistence, fresh to moist. There are no rock fragments, medium abundant roots. Passage to the lower horizon is diffuse. BrzC 32-60+ cm, dark brown to brown (7,5YR 4/4) medium humic silty clay, angular blocky structure, well expressed and stable structure, moist, few roots. Contains 40 - 50% rock fragments of 30 cm in diameter, starting 2 to 3 cm above the upper level of the horizon. Beside the basic characteristics of cambic soil, this type of soil shows initial signs of rinsing. In contrast to profile 2, the removal of basic cations is more marked. Therefore, this profile has not only distric but also moderate acric characteristics (acric = highly acid). The difference in texture is atypical, i.e. there is usually a higher proportion of clay in the upper horizon. By comparison with WRB classification the same holds as for profile 2. Soil profile description of subassociation - mer-curialetosum perennis with commentary (Prus 2002) (Table 1 and 2, profile No. 4) Bedrock: limestone Soil type: Umbric-Leptosol Location: X =0485843,Y =5052875, 890 m Position and inclination: slope - terrace, W, 10° Ol 3-1 cm,beech foliage, twigs Of 1-0 cm Oh 0-12 cm, dark reddish brown (2,5YR 2,5/4) organic humic horizon, crumbled well expressed and subsistent structure, loose and scattered consistence. Fresh to moist with dense roots. Passage to the lower horizon is clear. Red colour, the high portion of humus and wide C/N ratio is the result of the higher proportion of rotten wood in the horizon. AC 12-25 cm, dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) very humic silty clay, crumbled well expressed and subsistent structure, loose consistence with dense roots. It contains 40 % rock fragments of 10 cm in diameter. Transition to the lower horizon is gradual. CA 25-35+ cm, dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) very humic silty clay, cloddy, well expressed and subsistent structure, loose consistence with dense roots, fresh to moist. Contains 70 % rock fragments of 10 cm in diameter. 10 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant Figure 6 and 7: Subassociation Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora -phylitidetosum (left) and Ompha-lodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora -mercurialetosum perennis. Sliki 6 in 7: Subasociacija Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora -phylitidetosum (levo) in Omphalodo-Fage-tum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora -mercurialetosum perennis. Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora neckeretosum crispae Stands of the subassociation -necekeretosum are very localised; they are developed on rocks of the northern, north-eastern and southern part of the virgin forest remnant (Figure 2). Stoniness in places reaches 100 %. In rock cracks there are rendsins of different development stages from protorendsine to brownised rendsine with a more or less deep stratum of moder. Beech and silver fir are in equal portions in the tree layer. Spruce is in places admixed in higher portion. In the lower tree layer there is a higher proportion of silver fir; individually are admixed Acer pseudoplatanus, Ostrya carpinifolia, and Ilex aqufolium. The shrub layer is composed of a higher number of shrub and tree species: Daphne mezereum, Rosa pendulina, Rhamnus fallax, Euonymus latifola, E. verrucosa, Acer obtusatum, Sorbus aria, Sambucus nigra, Sorbus aucuparia, and Clematis vitalba. Because of the high proportion of stoniness, the shrub layer is less developed; on average it covers 30 %. The prevailing species of alliance Aremonio-Fagion and order Fagetalia sylvaticae are: Cardamine trifolia, Omphalodes verna, Aremonia agrimonoides, Cyclamen purpurascens, Cardamine enneaphyllos, Scopolia carniolica, Mycelis muralis, Festuca altissima, Salvia glutinosa, Sanicula europaea, and Carex digitata. Species of order Vaccinio-Piceetalia Br.-Bl. 1939 emend. K. Lund 1967 are not well presented; those which predominate are mainly the moderate acidophilous species: Oxalis acetosella, Rosa pendulina, Lonicera nigra, and Hi-eracium murorum. Distinctive acidophilous species, except Orthi-lia secunda, are totally missing. Higher cover and constancy are reached by Asplenium trichomanes, Solanum dulcamara, Polypodium vulgare, Moehrin-gia muscosa, and Solidago virgaurea. The distinguishing combination of subassociation -neckeretosum is very poor. Only Neckera 11 Hacqüetia Slika 8: Subassociation Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Caamintha grandiflora neckeretosum crispae. Figure 8: Subasociacija Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Caamintha grandiflora neckeretosum crispae. crispa reaches higher cover. The absence of distinctive acidophilous species and higher cover of thermophylous shrubs indicate a transition to stands of the association Ostryo-Fagetum (M. Wraber ex Trinajstić 1972). Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subas. nova Stands of the subassociation -caricetosum albae are developed on the western part of the virgin forest remnant (Figure 2). One part of it is placed on ledges directly above the cliff, the second, bigger part lies below on the homogeneous steep slope. On the upper part, limestone bedrock prevails, and dolomite on the lower. Tree composition is quite heterogeneous. Silver fir, particularly in the second tree layer, prevails over beech on the upper part above the cliff, while beech prevails on the lower part. In some parts there is a high proportion of admixed spruce and thermophylous deciduous trees, e.g., Fraxinus ornus, Ostrya carpinifolia, Sorbus aria, and Acer obtusatum. The shrub layer covers about 25 %. Beside young growth of tree species there are also shrub species: Daphne mezereum, Daphne laureola, Rosa arvensis, Lonicera xylosteum, Hedera helix, Euony-mus verrucosa, Sorbus aucuparia, Rosa pendulina, and others. The herb layer is well developed, covering from 60 to 90% of the surface. Species of order Fagetalia sylvaticae prevail: Galium odoratum, Sanicula europaea, Mercurialis perennis, Mycelis muralis, Neottia nidus-avis, Salvia glutinosa, Pre-nanthes purpurea and Lilium martagon. Likewise species of alliance Aremonio-Fagion: Aremonia ag-rimonoides, Omphalodes verna, Cardamine trifolia, Cyclamen purpurascens, Cardamine enneaphyllos and Helleborus niger. By comparison with other virgin forest remnants in the framework of the areal of subassociation Omphalodo-Fagetum, the presence of moderate thermophilous taxa is interesting: Tamus communis, Calamagrostis varia, Carex alba, Digitalis grandiflora and Cephalanthera rubra. Acidophilous species are, except for Picea abies, very rare. Lu-zula sylvatica and Orthilia secunda appear only as accidental species. Among others species, those having higher cover and presence are Moehringia trinervia, Oxalis acetosellla, Asplenium trichomanes and Solidago virgaurea. Moss layer on the rocks, which is mainly composed of species such as Neckera crispa, Ctenidium molluscum and Isothecium myurum, reaches cover to 40 %. Differential species for the subassociation - caricetosum albae are: Carex alba, Fraxinus ornus, and Cephalanthera rubra. They indicate a ther-mophilous character, which is a consequence of the position, partly exposed to the sun and the steep slope. We divided subassociation - caricetosum albae into two variants: Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova. var. Neck-era crispa var. nova The areal of that variant is directly above the cliff (Figure 2). The bedrock is made of limestone, and rendsines of different developmental stages prevail on it. Neckera crispa, Luzula sylvatica and 12 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant Figure 9: Variant Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova. var. Neckera crispa var. nova (n. prov.). Slika 9: Varianta Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova. var. Neckera crispa var. nova (n. prov.). Orthilia secunda, as differential species, show similarity to the subassociation -neckeretosum. The variant is poor in species of alliance Aremonio-Fa-gion and also of order Fagetalia sylvaticae. Partly differential are species Asplenium trichomanes, Asplenium ruta-muraria and Polypodium vulgare, which indicate stoniness. The nomenclature type of the variant is relevé No. 7 in Table 3 (holotypus hoc loco). Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova var. Helle-borus niger var. nova A variant with taxa Helleborus niger is spread on the lower, southern border of the virgin forest remnant (Figure 2). The slope is steep and the relief homogeneous with only indicated surface stoniness. Beech prevails over silver fir, which can be found only in the lower tree and shrub layer. The characteristic species of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum are well presented. Only taxa Rhamnusfallax is missing. Differential species of the subassociation reach high cover, particularly Carex alba. Differential species of the variant are Helleborus niger and Calamagrostis varia. The presence of Primula vulgaris and Vicia oroboides is interesting because they are species with optimal thriving in the submontane region. The moss layer is not well developed and covers only 5 % of the surface. The nomenclature type of the subassociation and variant is relevé No. 1 in Table 3 (holotypus hoc loco). Soil profile description with commentary (Prus 2002) (Table 1 and 2, profile No. 5) Bedrock: dolomite Soil type: rendzina, Rendzic Leptosol Location: X = 0485817, Y = 5052817, 865 m Position and inclination: slope - middle, W, 25° 13 Hacqüetia Figure 10: Variant Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova var. Helleborus niger var. nova. Slika 10: Varianta Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova var. Helleborus niger var. nova. Horizons: Ol 2-0 cm, beech foliage, scarce fir needles and herb remnants A 0-12 cm, real dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2), very humic silty clay, subangular blocky structure, medium expressed, medium dense and of crumbly consistence, fresh to moist with abundant roots, without rock fragments. Passage to the lower horizon is evident. CA 12-32+ cm, dark brown (10YR 3/3) humic silty clay loam, subangular blocky structure, medium expressed, crumbly consistence, fresh to moist with medium abundance of roots. Contains 60% sharp-edged rock fragments of 10 cm in diameter. The chemical and physical characters of the profile are rather similar to profile No. 1. Only an amount of magnesium, on the adsorbing part of the soil, explicitly stands out. This fact confirms the determination of dolomite as a bedrock. Numerical analyses The Detrended Canonical Analysis (DCA) was used to present the relations between the phytosociological relevés of the forest remnant Strmec (Figure 11). The relevés of the subassociation caricetosum albae var. Helleborus niger are well distinguished from others because of dolomite bedrock. In the upper part of the diagram there are relevés of the subassociation - galietosum odorati, which thrive on the deepest soil. In the central part of the diagram appear relevés of the subassociations -fes-tucetosum altissimae and -typicum. In the lower part of the diagram there are relevés of stands, which thrive on shallow soil (subassociations caricetosum albae var. Neckera crispa and neckeretosum crispae). Also the presentation of Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum al-bae subass. nova and two syntaxa are presented in DCA diagram (Figure 12), where relevés of community Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Cala- 14 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant m o i Figure 11: DCA ordination diagram of the relevés of subassociations of Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002 association from Table 3. O : caricetosum albae var. Helleborus niger, □: caricetosum albae var. Neckera crispa, neckeretosum crispae, + : festucetosum altissimae, mercu-rialetosum,W : typicum, X: galietosum odorati, ■: phylliti-detosum. Slika 11: DCA ordinacijski diagram popisov subasociacij združbe Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002 iz Tabele 3. O : caricetosum albae var. Helleborus niger, □: cari-cetosum albae var. Neckera crispa, neckeretosum crispae, + : festucetosum altissimae, mercurialetosum, ▼: typicum, X: galietosum odorati, ■: phyllitidetosum. mintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova are well distinguished from relevés of Ostryo-Fage-tum M. Wraber ex Trinajstić 1972 var. geogr. Acer obtusatum Marinček, Puncer & Zupančič 1980 geogr. subvar. Omphalodes verna (Marinček 1996) and Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum var. Carex alba (Puncer 1980). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS In Dinaric silver fir-beech forests, the relief (beside exposition, altitude, etc.) is one of the most decisive factors of site condition which reflects in the floristic composition of forest communities (Puncer 1980). In the virgin forest remnant Strmec it is not so distinctive. Development of the typical syntaxons: -gali-etosum odorati, -festucetosum altissimae, -mercuriale- m o i Figure 12: DCA ordination diagram of the relevés from - Omphalodo-Fagetum caricetosum albae subass. nova (Table 3), - Ostryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum geogr. subvar. Omphalodes verna (Marinček 1996), - Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum var. Carex alba (Puncer 1980). Slika 12: DCA ordinacijski diagram popisov iz subasociacij - Omphalodo-Fagetum caricetosum albae subass. nova (Tabela 3), - Ostryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum geogr. subvar. Omphalodes verna (Marinček 1996), - Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum var. Carex alba (Puncer 1980). tosum, -neckeretosum and others, which prevail in other virgin forest remnants in the Dinaric region (these are particularly Rajhenau and Pečka, which expand on a relatively bigger area (Mlinšek et al. 1980)), is made difficult because of special ecological conditions which are dependent on the prevalent exposed to the sun position, unexpressive relief and smallness of the virgin forest. Because of the small areas and partly transitional character of syntaxa in Strmec (Figure 11), making a comparison with syntaxa from the other virgin forest remnants is relatively difficult. The small number of relevés do not enable a well-grounded review of the floristic structure of individual syn-taxa, nevertheless the actual situation is presented. The collected inventory material reflects only the local conditions. Comparison is partly possible by using syntaxa from the virgin forest remnant Pečka. In general it is also exposed to the X X X ▼ 0 o° ♦ +▼ + + □ □ □ -0.5 3.0 ++ + Puncer (1980) O °o° o 8 o Marinček (1996) 4 ♦ Omphalodo-Fagetum caricetosum albae subass. nova -0.5 3.0 15 Hacqüetia west, but its relief is more undulating (Marinček & Marinšek 2004). This results in special microclimatic conditions (Vilhar et al. 2006). The greatest resemblance is in subassociation -galietosum odorati. The differential combination: Galium odoratum and Sanicula europaea is well represented. We added two local differential species: Cardamine bulbifera and Veronica montana, which indicate favourable moist conditions of the soil. The lack of relevés is reflected to a high degree in subassociation -festucetosum altissimae. Among differential species of the subassociation (Puncer 1980), only Festuca altissima is constant and in places highly abundant. The second differential species, Dicranum scoparium, appears only with lower frequency. The particularity of the site conditions is more distinctive in subassociation -neckeretosum crispae. Of all differential species, according to Puncer (1980): Neckera crispa, Huperzia selago, Goodyera repens, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Lycopo-dium annotinum, Vaccinium myrtillus, only Neckera crispa appears with higher abundancy. Goodyera repens appears only as an accidental species. The presence of some thermophylous species, such as Euonymus verrucosa, Sorbus aria and Os-trya carpinifolia, gives the subassociation a partly thermophilous character. Accetto (1998) lowered the syntaxonomical rank of the subassociation typicum and treats it as variant Omphalodo-Fagetum var. Asplenium tri-chomanes with differential species Asplenium tri-chomanes and Moehringia muscosa. On the basis of the analysis we made in Strmec, for the time being we cannot accept his interpretations. Despite small floristic differences between subassociations galietosum and typicum, differences do exist in depth and stoniness of the soil (site of the subassociation galietosum has deeper soil and the percentage of bare rock is much more lower than in the subassociation typicum). Therefore we mapped sites of the subassociation typicum separated from the sites of the subassociation gali-etosum and according to Puncer (1980), we treat them on the rank of the subassociation typicum. The most interesting feature of the virgin forest remnant of Strmec is, beside the cliff, the part between the cliff and lower road. On the steep slope, exposed to the sun and partly under the influence of dolomite, there has formed a special subassociation. We described it as Omphalodo-Fage-tum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae. The special floristic composition dictates comparison with apparently similar associations: Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum (= Omphalodo-Fagetum) asaretosum var. Carex alba (Puncer 1980) and Os-tryo-Fagetum M. Wraber ex Trinajstić 1972 var. geogr. Acer obtusatum Marinček 1996 (Figure 12). Syntaxon Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum var. Carex alba, in comparison to subassociation - cari-cetosum albae, thrives on lower altitudes, according to Puncer (1980) from 500 to 700 m. Variant -Carex alba has a submontane character. An argument for this are the transgressive character species of submontane beech forests: Hacquetia epi-pactis, Aposeris foetida, Asarum europaeum, partly differential species of variant Luzula pilosa, and character and differential species of class Querco-Fagetea and also differential species of submontane beech forests in the wider sense: Ligustrum vulgare, Cornus sanguinea, Berberis vulgaris, Carpi-nus betulus, Quercus petraea, Clematis vitalba, Acer campestre and Viburnum lantana. All stated species in the mountain belt, where Strmec is located, are completely missing. Furthermore in the tree layer of variant with Carex alba, silver fir is prevailing over beech. Subassociation -caricetosum albae has a montane character. A proof for that is the complete absence of the earlier mentioned species and the presence of some montane elements: Cardamine enneaphyllos, Cardamine bulbifera, Cardamine trifolia and Scopolia carniolica. The presence of species, like Helleborus niger, Carex alba, Primula vulgaris and Vicia oroboides, forms a link between those syntaxons, but their floristic composition is so different that they belong to two different independent subassociations of association Omphalodo-Fagetum. Robič (2000) classified stands from the lower part of the virgin forest into the syntaxon Ostryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum. Considering the more or less informative investigation, and low vitality of the silver fir, this is in itself understandable. The recent situation indicates a special subassociation in the frame of the Dinaric fir-beech forest. Comparison with syntaxon Ostryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum shows that subassociation Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae contains numerous species which are frequent in the Dinaric fir-beech forests (s. lat.): Abies alba, Daphne laureola, Calamintha grandiflora, Rhamnus fallax, Cardamine trifolia, Festuca altissima, Cardamine enneaphyllos, Aremonia agrimonoides, Scopolia carniolia, and 16 Lojze Marinček & Aleksander Marinšek: Vegetation of the Strmec Forest Remnant other species, like Cardamine trifolia, Lonicera al-pigena, Luzula sylvatica, Rosa pendulina, Orthilia secunda, which classify forests of subassociation -caricetosum albae to fir-beech forests of association Omphalodo-Fagetum. The exception is taxon Omphalodes verna, which has higher coverage in syntaxon Ostryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum than in subassociation -caricetosum albae. Both syntaxa are connected with the number of species characteristic for beech forests; occur-ing with rather high coverage values are: Cyclamen purpurascens, Acer pseudoplatanus, Senecio ovatus, Viola reichenbachiana, Rosa arvensis, Carex digitata. Euphorbia amygdaloides, Polygonatum mul-tiflorum, Lilium martagon, Mycelis muralis, Primula vulgaris, Salvia glutinosa, Sanicula europaea, Pre-nanthes purpurea, Lonicera xylosteum, Mercurialis perennis, Acer platanoides, and Euonymus latifolius. They have features in common with some ther-mophilous species: Fraxinus ornus, Sorbus aria and Acer obtusatum. Calamagrostis varia and Carex alba, as moderate thermophilous species, in subassociation -caricetosum albae they have much higher coverage and presence. Both syntaxa are distinguished by species of order Quercetalia pu-bescentis: Melittis melisophyllum, Convallaria ma-jalis, Berberis vulgaris, Betonica officinalis, Carex flacca, Viburnum lantana, Ligustrum vulgare, Peu-cedanum oreoselinum, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria, Inula salicina, Epipactis atrorubens, Cirsium erisith-ales and other species from class Querco-Fagetea: Clematis vitalba, Acer campestre, Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Cruciata glabra, Galium laevi-gatum, Melampyrum nemorosum, Quercus petraea, Sorbus torminalis, Helleborus odorus, Lonicera capri-folium, Carpinus betulus, Prunus avium, Asarum eu-ropaeum, Dryopteris filix-mas, Epimedium alpinum, Pteridium aquilinum, Melica uniflora and others. All listed taxa appear only in stands of Os-tryo-Fagetum var. geogr. Acer obtusatum. Although they both have a small number of thermophilous species, the study revealed very large differences (Figure 12) in the floristic inventory of both syn-taxa that belong to different sub-alliances in the frame of alliance Aremonio-Fagion. Phytosociological and pedological analyses and review of the actual conditions in the virgin forest remnant Strmec are important for understanding the ecological processes which take place in such an ecosystem. The research could be also important as a basis for further biological and forestry investigations. 4. POVZETEK Vegetacija pragozdnega ostanka Strmec Pragozdni ostanek Strmec, s površino 15.55 ha (Mlinšek 1980), se nahaja na južnem delu Slovenije, na Kočevskem (jugozahodni del Stojne), in spada v dinarsko fitogeografsko območje (M. Wraber 1969). Leži na nadmorski višini od 850 do 940 m. Predel, kjer se nahaja pragozdni ostanek je bil dolgo v lasti veleposestnika grofa Auersper-ga. V drugi reviziji gospodarskega načrta za II. obratno enoto - Fridrihštajn iz leta 1913, se je v njem prvič pojavil pododdelek z zaznamkom »Urwald« (pragozd). Od takrat se s tem delčkom gozda naj ne bi gospodarilo (Konečnik & Zaplo-tnik 2001). Namen naše raziskave, ki smo jo opravili leta 2002 je detajlna proučitev gozdnih združb in pedoloških razmer v pragozdnem ostanku Strmec ter izdelava vegetacijske karte. Predstavljeni rezultati raziskave so nadaljevanje niza fitoceno-loških raziskav slovenskih pragozdnih ostankov (Marinček & Marinšek 2003, 2004). Popise vegetacije smo naredili po standardni srednjeevropski z^iško-montpellierskio metodi (Braun-Blanquet 1964). Nomenklaturo rastlinskih vrst navajamo po Martinčič et al. (2007), sin-taksonomsko nomenklaturo po Marinček et al. (1993), nomenklaturni vir za mahove pa je Martinčič (2003). Pri analizi popisov smo si pomagali z DCA analizo (kanonična analiza z odstranjenim trendom) (ter Braak & Šmilauer 2002). Talne razmere smo proučili na podlagi petih reprezentančnih talnih profilov, ki smo jih naredili julija 2002. V laboratorijih Centra za pedologijo in varstvo okolja so bile izvedene sledeče analize: ugotavljanje pH vrednosti, določevanje organskega ogljika, organska snovi, celokupnega dušika dostopnega kalija, dostopnega fosforja, določitev izmenjalnih, bazičnih kationov (Ca, Mg, K, Na), določitev stopnje nasičenosti z bazami ter mehanska analiza tal. Relief terena je v zgornjem delu pragozdnega ostanka zmerno nagnjen, v srednjem položen in vrtačast, za spodnji del pa je značilen strm teren s skalnatimi stenami. Prevladuje jugozahodna ekspozicija terena. Večina matične kamnine je apnenčasta, na spodnjem delu pa je apnencu primešan še dolomit. Glavni tipi tal, ki se pojavljajo v pragozdnem ostanku so: rendzina, rjava tla in pokarbonatna rjava tla. 17 Hacqüetia Gozdne sestoje, ki poraščajo pragozdni ostanek Strmec uvrščamo v geografsko varianto asociacije Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002. V okviru te asociacije smo na območju pragozda izločili naslednje že v preteklosti opisane subasociacije (Slika 2 in 12, Tabela 3): - festucetosum altissimae Puncer et al. 1974 - galietosum odorati (Tregubov 1957) Puncer 1980 - typicum (M. Wraber 1955) Puncer 1980 - mercurialetosum perennis Tregubov 1957 - phyllitidetosum (Puncer et al. 1974) Marinček et Marinšek 2004 - neckeretosum crispae Puncer 1980 ter novo subasociacijo, z dvema variantama: - caricetosum albae subass. nova • var. Neckera crispa var. nova • var. Helleborus niger var. nova. Nomenklaturni tip subasociacije in variante Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae var. Helleborus niger je fitocenološki popis št. 1 v Tabeli 3 (holotypus hoc loco). Nomenklaturni tip variante Omphalodo-Fa-getum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae var. Neckera crispa je fitocenološki popis št. 7 v Tabeli 3 (holotypus hoc loco). Novo subasociacijo Omphalodo-Fagetum var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora caricetosum albae subass. nova smo utemeljili s primerjavo z združbama Ostryo-Fagetum M. Wraber ex Trinajstić 1972 var. geogr. Acer obtusatum Marinček, Puncer & Zupančič 1980 geogr. subvar. Omphalodes verna (Marinček 1996) in Omphalodo-Fagetum asaretosum var. Carex alba (Puncer 1980) (Slika 12). Subasociacijo -caricetosum albae in njeni varianti uvrščamo v asociacijo Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002, v podzvezo Lamio orvalae-Fagenion Borhidi ex Marinček et al. 1992, zvezo Aremonio-Fagion (I. Horvat 1983) Török, Podani & Borhidi 1989, red Fagetalia sylvaticae Pawlovski in Pawlovski et al. 1982 in razred Querco-Fagetea (Br.-Bl. et Vlieger in Vlieger 1937). Opravljene fitocenološke in pedološke analize ter izdelana vegetacijska karta pragozdnega ostanka Strmec so pomembni za razumevanje ekoloških procesov, ki potekajo v ekosistemih, kot je jelovo-bukov gozd. Raziskava je pomembna tudi kot osnova za nadaljne različne biološke in gozdarske raziskave. 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank Tomaž Prus from the University of Ljubljana (Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Agriculture) for pedological analysis, Petra Košir (Institute of Biology, SRC SA-SA) for her help in fieldwork and determination of mosses, Igor Dakskobler (Institute of Biology, SRC SASA) and two anonymous reviewers for useful comments. Alan McConnell-Duff helped to revise our English. The research was funded by grant P1-0236. 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Recieved 23. 10. 2008 Revision recieved 22. 12. 2008 Accepted 8. 1. 2009 19 Table 3: Analytical phytosociological table of the association Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002 with subassociations and variants. Tabela 3: Analitska tabela asociacije Omphalodo-Fagetum (Tregubov 1957) Marinček et al. 1993 var. geogr. Calamintha grandiflora Surina 2002 s subasoci-acijami in variantami. Relevé number 2 1 3 4 5 7 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19 17 18 20 Month 6 6 6 6 6 9 7 9 9 7 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 7 6 6 Day 20 20 20 20 20 4 23 4 4 23 18 18 18 18 18 23 18 23 18 18 Year 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 Relevé area (nr) 400 400 400 400 400 400 60 400 300 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 Altitude (m) 880 875 880 875 920 860 880 865 850 870 870 855 920 920 920 890 890 930 870 865 Aspect (degrees) 270 225 270 270 270 270 270 270 270 315 225 270 225 203 248 180 225 225 135 180 Slope (degrees) 30 25 30 30 20 35 0 25 25 15 25 30 25 25 10 15 10 5 10 5 Cover tree layer (%) 90 75 90 60 60 60 70 70 60 85 90 80 80 80 80 90 70 90 90 80 Cover shrub layer (%) 20 20 25 10 30 30 10 10 30 10 5 10 5 5 10 20 60 10 10 30 Cover herb layer (%) 80 70 70 90 70 30 30 30 40 40 20 40 40 30 40 40 60 70 60 60 Cover moss layer (%) 5 5 5 20 30 40 50 30 50 70 40 10 25 20 30 30 5 5 0 2 Cover bare rock (%) 5 10 20 30 50 90 80 60 80 90 7 30 60 50 40 50 10 10 5 5 Character species of the S a § NS S 5 a g ■SJ .g C a o 6 association caricetosum albae neckeretosum ■S! a, S festucetosum typicum galietosum var. Hellebonis niger var. Neckera crispa Abies alba Al + 1 4 1 2 1 + 2 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 + + 2 Abies alba A2 2 + 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 Abies alba B + + + + + + + + + Abies alba C + + + + + + + + 1 + 1 + + Aremonia agrimonoides + + + + 1 + + + + + + + + + + 1 + + + + Calamintha grandiflora + + + + + + + + Omphalodes venia 1 1 1 + + 1 + + + + + 1 1 1 + 2 2 1 Cardamine trifolia + + + + + + + 1 + + + 2 + + 1 2 1 Daphne laitreola B + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Rhammts fallax ..... + 1 Differential species of subass. and variants Carex alba C 3 2 2 4 3 1 Fraxinus onius A2 + + + Fraxinus onius B 1 1 1 2 + Cephalanthera rubra C + + + Osttya carpinifolia Al 1 Osttya carpinifolia A2 2 + Osttya catpinifolia B + Helleborus niger C 2 2 3 Neckera crispa D + + 1 1 3 Goodyera repens C Phyllitis scolopendrium Mercurialis perennis 1 1 1 1 1 Festuca altissima 1 Galium odoratum + + Sanicula europaea + + 1 + + Calamagrostis varia 2 + 2 2 1 1 Luzula sylvatica + + Orthilia secunda + Hieracium sylvaticum + + 1 + Carex sylvatica Cardamine bidbifera Veronica montana Aremonio-Fagion Cyclamen pitrpitrascens C Cardamine enneaphyllos Scopolia caniiolica Lamium on'ala Primula vulgaris Vicia oroboides Cardamine kitaibelli Homogyne sylvestris Fagetalia sylvaticae Fagus sylvatica Al 2 2 34344445 4 Relevé number 2 1 3 4 5 7 6 8 Fagiis sylvatica A2 1 + h + + . + Fagiis sylvatica B + 1 H 1 2 + + Fagus sylvatica C + + + Fagus sylvatica D - Daphne mezereitm B + + h + + + + Salvia gliitinosa C 1 + h + + + Viola reichenbachiana + - + . + Acer pseudoplatamis Al - Acer pseudoplatamis A2 - Acer pseudoplatamis B + + h + + Acer pseudoplatamis C - Mycelis muralis + h + + + + Prenanthes purpurea + + h + + + Senecio ovatus + - + Geranium robertianum + + + Dtyopterisfilix-mas Acer platanoides Al + Acer platanoides A2 + + + Galeobdolon flavidum C Paris quadrifolia - Euphorbia amygdaloides - Brachypodium sylvaticum + Ulmus glabra Al Ulmus glabra B + + Ulmus glabra C Carex pi losa + Neottia nidus-avis + + Polygonatum midtiflorum + - + Rosa an'ensis B + + - Actaea spicata C + + Campanula trachelium + + + Hordelymus europaeus - 1 Polystichum aculeatum Sambucus nigra B + 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19 17 18 20 1 1 + + + 1 + + 1 + 2 2 1 + + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 1 + + 1 + + 1 + 1 + 1 Meli ca nutans C + Symphytum tuberosum Lonicera alpigena B + Polygonatum verticillatum C Lonicera nigra B Arum maculatum C Tilia platyphyllos Viola sp. Epilobium montanum Adoxa moschatellina Euphorbia dulcis + Prunus avium + Lilium martagon + Querco-Fagetea Carex digitata C + + + 1 Euonymus latifolius B + + Euonymus verrucosus + + 1 Sorbus aria A2 + . + Sorbus aria B + + + + + + Ajuga reptans C + + + Anemone nemorosa + + + Clematis vitalba B + Lilium martagon C + + + Lonicera xylosteum B + + + + Melittis melissophyllum C + Athyrium filix-femina Hedera helix B + + + + Acer obtusatum A2 + + Acer obtusatum B + + + + + Acer obtusatum C + + Tilia platyphyllos B + + Vinca minor C + Pyrits pyraster B + Hepatica nobilis C 1 + Ilex aquifolium A2 Relevé number 2 1 3 4 5 7 6 8 Ilex aqiiifolhim B Tanins communis C + h Cornus mas B h Acer campestre Circaea intermedia C Taxus baccata A2 Ulmus minor B Cephalanthera longifolia C 1 accinio-Piceetalia Picea abies Al 1 H 2 2 + Picea abies A2 + 1 h + Picea abies B h - Picea abies C h + Dryopteris expansa Dryopteris dilatata Dryopteris carthusiana Galium rotundifolium Others Moehringia muscosa C + h + + Oxalis acetosella + + - Sorbus aucuparia B + + h + Asplenium trichomanes C + h + Solidago virgaurea 1 h + 1 Rosa pendulina B + H 1 1 Polypodium vulgare C - + Rubu s idaeus B - Asplenium ntta-muraria C h + + Asplenium viride + Solanum dulcamara + Cardaminopsis arenosa + Fragaria vesca h + Glechoma hirsuta + Gentiana asclepiadea h Sorbits aucuparia Sorbits aucuparia Crataegus monogyna Cruciata glabra Polygala chamaebuxus Piptatherum virescens Rubu s sp. Saxifraga rotundifolia Solanum dulcamara Cardamine flexuosa Rubu s fruticosiis Euonymus europaeus Moehringia trinervia Cirsium erisithales Digitalis grandiflora Fragaria sp. Thalictrum aquilegiifolium Ribes sp. Galium aparine Veratrum album Pteridium aquilinum Mosses Ctenidium molluscum Hypnum cupressiforme Isotechyum myuntm Plagiochila asplenioides Dicranum scoparium Fissidens taxifolius Tortella tortuosa Plagiomnium undulatum Thamnobryum alopecuntm Rhizomnium punctatum Neckera complanata Plagiothecium sylvaticum 1 1 + 1 3 + 1 1 + Relevé number 2 1 3 4 5 7 6 8 Chrysosplenium alternifolhim ........ Mnhim sp. ....... 4 Cladonia sp. +....... Dictamnus albus .. + ..... Atrichum undidatum .... + ... Marchantia polymorpha .... + ... Encalypta streptocarpa ....... 4 Fissidens cristatus . + . + . 1 . . Dicranum polysetum ........ Btyum capillare ........ IsO oi 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19 17 18 20 K > o H H >