LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  1 
KRONOLOGIJA JELKE (Abies alba Mill.) ZA OBMOČJE POHORJA 
 
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE SILVER FIR (Abies alba Mill.) FROM POHORJE, 
SLOVENIA 
 
Tom LEVANIČ*, Katarina ČUFAR** 
 
*Dr., Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za lesarstvo, 1000 Ljubljana, Rožna dolina c. VIII/34 
**Prof. dr., Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za lesarstvo, 1000 Ljubljana, Rožna dolina c. 
VIII/34 
 
IZVLEČEK  
Opravljene so bile dendrokronološke raziskave jelke (Abies alba Mill.) z Lovrenškega 
Pohorja. Analize šririn branik so bile opravljene na kolutih 25 zdravih, odraslih, vladajočih in 
sovladajočih  jelk in na izvrtkih lesa iz dveh starih kmečkih stavb iz istega vzorčnega 
območja. Iz kronologije dreves za obdobje od 1785 do 1996 in kronologij objektov za obdobje 
od 1713 do 1887  je bila sestavljena  284 let dolga pohorska jelova kronologija. Ta se kljub 
oddaljenosti in fitogeografskim razlikam statistično značilno ujema z doslej najdaljšo 
slovensko dinarsko jelovo kronologijo. Obe kronologiji skupaj predstavljata dobro osnovo za 
datiranje jelovine iz celotne Slovenije za obdobje 1712-1996. 
 
ABSTRACT 
Dendrochronological investigations were made in the the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from 
Lovrenc, Pohorje, Slovenia. Tree-ring analyses were made in discs of 25 healthy, adult, 
dominant or codominant silver firs and in cores from the roof construction of two older rustic 
buildings from the same region. Based on chronologies of trees and buildings covering the 
periods 1785-1996 and 1713-1887, was constructed a 284 years long silver fir chronology for 
Pohorje. It showed a statistically significant similarity with the Slovene Dinaric silver fir 
chronology, despite distances between the two regions and great difference in 
phytogeographical conditions. Both chronologies are  expected to be a good base to 
construct a regional Slovene silver fir chronology for dating fir from the period 1712-1996 in 
whole of Slovenia.  
 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  2 
 
CONTENTS / KAZALO 
 
1 INTRODUCTION / UVOD........................................................................................................3 
1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY / CILJI ŠTUDIJE ..............................................................3 
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS / MATERIAL IN METODE.........................................................3 
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION / REZULTATI IN DISKUSIJA.................................................4 
3.1 CONSTRUCTION OF THE POHORJE SILVER FIR CHRONOLOGY / 
SESTAVLJANJE POHORSKE JELOVE KRONOLOGIJE ....................................................4 
3.2 COMPARISON OF THE POHORJE CHRONOLOGY WITH THE SLOVENE DINARIC  
AND FOUR EUROPEAN SILVER FIR CHRONOLOGIES / PRIMERJAVA DOBLJENE 
KRONOLOGIJE S SLOVENSKO DINARSKO IN ŠTIRIMI EVROPSKIMI JELOVIMI 
KRONOLOGIJAMI .................................................................................................................8 
4 CONCLUSIONS / ZAKLJUČKI..............................................................................................10 
5 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................10 
6 POVZETEK............................................................................................................................11 
7 LITERATURE / VIRI ..............................................................................................................12 
8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................14 
9 ZAHVALA ..............................................................................................................................14 
 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  3 
 
1 INTRODUCTION / UVOD 
 
Tree-ring width variation of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.)  in Slovenia was until now 
dendrochronologically investigated only in the Dinaric region, located in the south west, 
between Ljubljana and Trieste. Based on several local chronologies (LEVANIČ / ČUFAR 
1995a,b) a Dinaric silver fir chronology covering the period of 1716 - 1996 was constructed 
(LEVANIČ 1996, LEVANIČ / ČUFAR 1997). It proved to be useful for dating constructions 
from the Dinaric region (LEVANIČ et al. 1997, ČUFAR / LEVANIČ 1998), but we had no 
information on the possibilities of using it for dating constructions made of silver fir from other 
locations in Slovenia with different climatic and soil conditions. 
Besides the Dinaric region, the Pohorje mountain ridge is an important source of this tree 
species.  Pohorje located near Maribor, approx. 150 km to the NE of the Dinaric region, 
basically represents the main subalpine range in Slovenia. Its northern slopes border to the 
Drava River which later joins the Danube River. The region  is heavily wooded. The 
predominating tree species are the Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and the silver fir.  
The two regions belong to different phytogeographic areas with different climate, soils, and 
forest stands. The climate of Pohorje is continental and often influenced by a higher elevation, 
whereas in the Dinaric region it is characterised by the transition of the Mediterranean to a 
moderate continental climate. Typical silver fir forest stands in the Dinaric region belong to 
Abieti Fagetum dinaricum on carbonate bedrock, and on Pohorje to Bazzanio-Abietetum and 
Dryopterido-Abietetum on crystalline bedrock.  
1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY / CILJI ŠTUDIJE 
The objective of this study was to construct a silver fir chronology for Pohorje, to compare 
tree-ring patterns from the Pohorje and from the Dinaric regions, to evaluate the possibility of 
constructing a chronology valid for the entire Slovenia, and to compare the Pohorje 
chronology with some European silver fir chronologies. 
 
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS / MATERIAL IN METODE 
The sampling area was located on Recenjak, Lovrenc  Pohorje, latitude 46°32’30’’, longitude 
15°22’, and 500-600 m above sea level. The wood was taken from freshly cut trees and from 
the roof constructions of buildings. The trees and the  buildings were both located in the 
forests and the farm of Kasjak.  
The test trees were 25 healthy, adult, dominant or codominant silver firs, with DBH approx. 55 
cm and  height above 30 m. The trees were felled between 1995 and 1997. After felling, the 
stem discs were taken  at 4 m above ground. To prolong the chronology of the trees, cores 
were taken from the roof constructions of two rustic buildings, an old house and a barn.  For 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  4 
this, borers constructed by T. BARTHOLIN were used. According to information of the owner, 
the old house was thought to have been built 300 years ago, but a later reconstruction of the 
roof was likely. The barn was supposed to have been built in 1830 and reconstructed in 1888 
as indicated by the number 1888 carved on the roof.  
The tree-ring widths were smoothed and measured  using a LINTAB measuring device 
developed by F. RINN and an Olympus stereo microscope S2 11. The ring widths were 
plotted and cross-dated using a TSAP/X programme and the individual series were averaged 
to 3 chronologies one each for the  trees and both buildings.  
The "Gleichläufigkeit" coefficient was calculated in accordance with HUBER (1943) and 
ECKSTEIN / BAUCH (1969). t-values (tBP) were calculated in accordance with BAILLIE / 
PILCHER (1973), and the cross date index (CDI) in accordance with RINN (1989). The 
pointer years were calculated as per SCHWEINGRUBER et al. (1990). All calculations were 
made with the TSAP/X programme.  
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION / REZULTATI IN DISKUSIJA 
3.1 CONSTRUCTION OF THE POHORJE SILVER FIR CHRONOLOGY / SESTAVLJANJE 
POHORSKE JELOVE KRONOLOGIJE 
The tree-ring series of 21 trees were used to construct a chronology covering the period of 
1785 and 1996. It was particularly well replicated for 1850 to 1996. Fig. 1 shows the length of 
the tree-ring series of individual trees. 
M96POH023041ABI
M96POH014041ABI
M96POH005041ABI
M96POH021041ABI
M96POH007041ABI
M96POH009041ABI
M96POH012041ABI
M96POH017041ABI
M96POH013041ABI
M96POH022041ABI
M96POH025041ABI
M96POH024041ABI
M96POH016041ABI
M96POH001041ABI
M96POH008041ABI
M96POH004411ABI
M95POH006041ABI
M96POH003041ABI
M96POH010041ABI
M96POH015041ABI
M96POH011041ABI
M96POH018041ABI
1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
Sa
m
pl
e 
/ V
zo
re
c
Year / Leto
 
 
Figure 1.  - Block diagram showing the years spanned by the tree-ring series of individual 
trees. 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  5 
Slika 1.- Blok diagram z obdobjem, ki ga premoščajo zaporedja širin branik posameznih 
testnih dreves. 
 
For the old Kasjak house 9 of 10 samples were cross-dated, and a chronology from 1713 
to1852 was constructed. Three elements containing the outer ring below the bark were dated 
1852, indicating that the last considerable reconstruction of the roof took place after the end 
of the growing period of 1952, most probably early in 1953. 
 
POHIS004
POHIS005
POHIS001
POHIS009
POHIS008
POHIS002
POHIS003
POHIS010
POHIS007
1700 1720 1740 1760 1780 1800 1820 1840 1860
Sa
m
pl
e 
/ V
zo
re
c
Year / Leto
 
Figure 2.  - Block diagram showing the years spanned by the tree-ring series of individual 
cores from the old Kasjak house. 
Slika 2.- Blok diagram z obdobjem, ki ga premoščajo zaporedja širin branik posameznih 
izvrtkov iz stare Kasjakove hiše. 
 
Six samples were taken from the barn. All of them were cross-dated and the chronology from 
1745 to 1887 was constructed. Two elements containing the outer ring were dated 1887. 
Based on this date and information on wood-working practices in the 19th century, we may 
suppose that the trees were felled in winter 1987/88, and the barn  was built in 1888; thus the 
dating of the building based on the carved inscription “1888” was confirmed. 
In all cases the tree-ring patterns of individual trees and cores from the construction elements 
showed great similarity between each other. This was confirmed both visually and by 
significant statistical parameters. 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  6 
POHIS012
POHIS014
POHIS015A
POHIS015B
POHIS011
POHIS013
1700 1720 1740 1760 1780 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900
S
am
pl
e
/V
zo
re
c
Year / Leto
 
Figure 3.  - Block diagram showing the years spanned by the tree-ring series of cores from 
the Kasjak barn. 
Slika 3.- Blok diagram z obdobjem, ki ga premoščajo zaporedja širin branik posameznih 
izvrtkov iz Kasjakovega skednja. 
For each of both historic buildings, the tree-ring series of cores were averaged and the 
chronologies constructed. Chronology from the trees and two chronologies from the historic 
buildings  were finally joined into a 284 long silver fir chronology of Pohorje spanning the 
period of  1713-1996 (Figure 4). The chronology and its replication is presented in Fig. 5 and 
its description in Table 1.  
Trees / Drevesa
Old house / Stara hiša
Barn / Skedenj
1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
C
hr
on
ol
og
y
/K
ro
no
lo
gi
ja
Year / Leto
 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 1 1 
1 1 
1 1 
1 1 1 1 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  7 
Figure 4. Block diagram showing the years spanned by the chronologies of trees, old house 
and barn. 
Slika 4.- Blok diagram z obdobjem, ki ga premoščajo kronologije dreves, stare Kasjakove 
hiše in Kasjakovega skednja. 
 
1700 1720 1740 1760 1780 1800 1820
Year / Leto
10
100
1000
Tr
ee
-ri
ng
 w
id
th
 (0
,0
1 
m
m
)
Ši
rin
a 
br
an
ik
e
0
25
50
Sa
m
pl
e 
de
pt
h
G
lo
bi
na
 k
ro
no
lo
gi
je
 
1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920
Year / Leto
10
100
1000
Tr
ee
-ri
ng
 w
id
th
 (0
,0
1 
m
m
)
Ši
rin
a 
br
an
ik
e
0
25
50
Sa
m
pl
e 
de
pt
h
G
lo
bi
na
 k
ro
no
lo
gi
je
 
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Year / Leto
10
100
1000
Tr
ee
-ri
ng
 w
id
th
 (0
,0
1 
m
m
)
Ši
rin
a 
br
an
ik
e
0
25
50
Sa
m
pl
e 
de
pt
h
G
lo
bi
na
 k
ro
no
lo
gi
je
 
Figure 5.- The Pohorje silver fir chronology. The curve represents the chronology and the 
area the number of samples (= sample depth). 
Slika 5.- Pohorska jelova kronologija. Krivulja predstavlja kronologijo in površina pod njo 
število vzorcev (= globina kronologije). 
 
Table 1 - Statistical parameters for nonstandardised Pohorje silver fir chronology. 
Tabela 1.- Statistični kazalniki nestandardizirane Pohorske jelove kronologije. 
 
Time span Obdobje 1713 - 1996 
Length (years) Dolžina (let) 284 
Mean tree-ring width (mm) Povprečna širina branike (mm) 1.43 
Minimum tree-ring width (mm) Najožja branika (mm) 0.37 
Maximum tree-ring width (mm) Najširša branika (mm) 2.89 
Standard deviation (mm)  Standardna deviacija (mm) 0.576  
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
1 1 1 1 
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
--'-
'--
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  8 
Mean sensitivity Srednja stopnja občutljivosti 13 % 
Relative mean sensitivity Relativna sred. stop. občutlj. 16 % 
Autocorrelation (1) Avtokorelacija (1) 0,91 
Variance Varianca 0.3321 
 
For the best replicated part of the chronology between 1773 and 1996, based on 13 or more 
tree-ring series, pointer years and intervals were calculated. We present only those showing 
a simultaneous response of 90-100 % firs (Table 2). 
 
Table 2.- List of positive and negative pointer years and the pointer interval for the Pohorje 
silver fir chronology. 
Tabela 2.- Seznam pozitivnih in negativnih značilnih let in intervalov za pohorsko jelovo 
kronologijo. 
 
Negative / negativna 1773, 1830, 1847, 1856, 1862, 1868, 1872, 1886, 1896, 1906, 
1917, 1920, 1942, 1950, 1954, 1957, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1991 
Positive / pozitivna 1774, 1780, 1804, 1831, 1836, 1853, 1861, 1866, 1873, 1890, 
1903, 1910, 1925, 1943, 1949, 1955, 1964, 1966, 1977, 1983, 1987 
Pointer interval / 
značilni interval 
1796 (+) 1797 (-) 1798 (+) 
 
3.2 COMPARISON OF THE POHORJE CHRONOLOGY WITH THE SLOVENE DINARIC  
AND FOUR EUROPEAN SILVER FIR CHRONOLOGIES / PRIMERJAVA DOBLJENE 
KRONOLOGIJE S SLOVENSKO DINARSKO IN ŠTIRIMI EVROPSKIMI JELOVIMI 
KRONOLOGIJAMI 
 
The Pohorje chronology was compared with the Dinaric silver fir chronology and the four 
European ones listed in Table 3. 
 
Table 3.- Comparison of the Pohorje chronology with the Slovene Dinaric and  four European 
silver fir chronologies 
Tabela 3.- Primerjava pohorske kronologije s slovensko dinarsko in štirimi evropskimi jelovimi 
kronologijami 
 
Chronology Country tBP GLK % CDI Author 
Kronologija Država    Avtor 
Dinaric Slovenia 9.8 71 398 LEVANIČ 1996  
South German, Germany 5.5 70 244 BECKER / GIERTZ-
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  9 
stand 1993 SIEBENLIST 1970, SPURK / 
FRIEDRICH - personal 
communication 
Bavarian Forest Germany 5.4 215 68 ECKSTEIN / SASS 1988 
Abetone Italy 4.1 108 64 SCHWEINGRUBER, ITRDB 
Bannwald Switzerland / / / SCHWEINGRUBER, ITRDB 
 
tBP - t-value after Baillie-Pilcher, GLK - “Gleichläufigkeit”, CDI - Cross Date Index 
tBP - t-vrednost Baillie-Pilcher, GLK - koeficient časovne skladnosti, CDI - indeks navzkrižnega 
datiranja 
/ - values nonsignificant, vrednosti neznačilne 
 
The most significant values were obtained in both Slovene chronologies. Besides the values 
shown in Table 3, they have the following common negative pointer years 1872,1917, 1942, 
1979, and the positive ones  1861, 1866, 1873, 1910, 1925, 1943, 1987. 
The high similarity indicates that the growth of silver fir is, despite distance and differences 
between sampling areas, influenced by factors common to the whole of Slovenia. We think 
that both the Dinaric and Pohorje chronologies may represent a basis to construct a Slovene 
silver fir chronology valid in the entire region. 
 
The similarity of the Pohorje chronology with the European ones was significant in all cases 
with, one exception from Bannwald, Switzerland. This is in accordance with BECKER (1978), 
FELIKSIK (1993), and KYNCL / KYNCL (1996) who were observing similarity between tree-
ring patterns of silver fir at several European sites. 
 
The comparison of Slovene chronologies with European ones presented in Table 4 shows 
that the Pohorje chronology correlates better with both German ones and that the Dinaric 
chronology correlates better with the Italian one. The results are in accordance with the 
opinion of foresters, who observed that Pohorje is among the areas in Slovenia showing the 
most pronounced Central European characteristics (ROBIČ, personal communication). 
This information is also important for the future dating of tree species like the Norway spruce 
and oaks (Quercus petraea Liebl. and Quercus robur (L.)) that show great variability of tree-
ring patterns within Slovenia and do not show any similarity with the neighbouring countries.  
 
 
 
Table 4.- Parameters for comparison of two Slovene chronologies with three European ones. 
For information on chronologies see Table 3.  
Tabela 4.- Primerjava obeh slovenskih kronologij s tremi Evropskimi. Podatki o kronologijah 
so v tabeli 3. 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  10 
 
 Pohorje Dinaric 
 tBP GLK % tBP GLK % 
South German 5.5 70 4.4 59 
Bavarian Forest 5.4 68 5.0 66 
Abetone 4.1 64 6.2 62 
 
4 CONCLUSIONS / ZAKLJUČKI 
 
• Silver fir growing in two separate and different areas of Slovenia, the Pohorje and the 
Dinaric region, shows great similarity between tree-ring patterns. 
• The Pohorje chronology was proved to be statistically similar with two German and one 
Italian one, but showed no similarity with the Swiss one. 
• Comparison of the two Slovene chronologies with three European ones showed that the 
Pohorje chronology correlates better with both German ones and that the Dinaric 
chronology correlates better with the Italian one.  
5 SUMMARY 
 
Dendrochronological investigations were made in the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Lovrenc, 
Pohorje, in the NE Slovenia. Tree-ring analyses were made in discs of 25 healthy, adult, 
dominant or codominant silver firs and in cores from roof construction of two older, rustic 
buildings from the same region, using a LINTAB measuring device and a TSAP/X 
programme. We constructed a chronology of trees spanning the period of 1785-1996. The 
chronology of the old house spanned the period of 1713-1852 and the chronology of barn 
1745-1887. We demonstrated that the last considerable reconstruction of the house roof took 
place after the end of the growing period of 1852. Dating of the cores containing the outer 
ring 1887 confirmed dating based on the carved inscription “1888”. The three chronologies 
were joined into a 284 years long silver fir chronology for Pohorje spanning the period of  
1713-1996.  
It was compared with the Slovene silver fir chronology of the Dinaric region. Despite distance 
and great differences between the two regions, we confirmed a similarity of both with a 
tBP=9.8, GLK=71% and CDI=398. The chronologies have 21 common negative, 21 positive 
signature years, and one common signature interval. They are a good basis for constructing a 
regional Slovene silver fir chronology for dating in the whole of Slovenia. 
Two Slovene chronologies were compared with the following European ones: South German, 
stand 1993 (BECKER / GIERTZ-SIEBENLIST 1970; SPURK / FRIEDRICH, personal 
communication), Bavarian Forest - Germany (ECKSTEIN / SASS 1988), Abetone - Italy 
(SCHWEINGRUBER, ITRDB), Bannwald - Switzerland (SCHWEINGRUBER, ITRDB). Both 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  11 
Slovene chronologies proved to be statistically similar with the two German and one Italian 
chronology, but showed no similarity with the Swiss one. The Pohorje chronology correlates 
better with both German ones and the Dinaric chronology correlates better with the Italian 
one. 
 
6 POVZETEK 
 
Rastni vzorec jelke (Abies alba Mill.) je bil v Sloveniji v zadnjih letih podrobno preiskan 
(LEVANIČ / ČUFAR 1995 a, b), vendar so bile vse dosedanje raziskave omejene na jelko iz 
Dinarske regije. Sestavljena je bila 279 let dolga regionalna dinarska jelova kronologija, ki 
temelji na lesu dreves iz več kot 10  rastišč (LEVANIČ 1996, LEVANIČ / ČUFAR 1997). 
Pokriva obdobje od leta 1716 do 1994 in je med drugim zelo uporabna za datiranje lesa iz 
zgodovinskih objektov (LEVANIČ et al. 1997, ČUFAR / LEVANIČ 1998). Ugotovljeno je bilo 
da se statistično značilno ujema z v Evropi najbolj znano južnonemško jelovo kronologijo. 
Da bi preverili domet dinarske kronologije v Sloveniji smo se odločili, da bomo raziskali rastni 
vzorec jelke s Pohorja in ga primerjali s tistim iz dinarske regije. Jelka iz rastišč na  Pohorju 
ima velik gospodarski pomen. Rastne razmere na Pohorju se močno razlikujejo od tistih v  
Dinarski regiji, saj območji pripadata različnima geografskima in fitogeografskima območjema 
z različno klimo in tlemi. Jelka v obeh območjih raste tudi v različnih gozdnih združbah. 
Cilj pričujoče raziskave je bil sestaviti čim daljšo kronologijo jelke z območja Pohorja, jo 
primerjati z Dinarsko kronologijo, oceniti možnost za sestavo jelove kronologije za celotno 
območje Slovenije in pohorsko kronologijo primerjati z nekaterimi evropskimi jelovimi 
kronologijami. 
Les za raziskave smo odvzeli iz dreves in starih stavb na Kasjakovi domačiji s pripadajočimi 
gozdovi. Domačija se nahaja na Recenjaku na območju Lovrenškega Pohorja. Za raziskave 
smo odvzeli les  25 zdravih vladajočih in sovladajočih jelk, ki so bile odkazane za posek v 
letih 1995 do 1997. Iz posekanih dreves smo odvzeli kolute na višini 4 m. Za podaljšanje 
kronologije dreves smo odvzeli še izvrtke jelovine iz stropnih oz. strešnih konstrukcij dveh 
stavb, stare hiše in skednja. Hiša je po pričevanjih stara okoli 300 let, vendar je bila v 
preteklosti verjetno večkrat popravljena. Skedenj so domnevno postavili leta 1888, o čemer 
priča vrezana letnica. Vzorce lesa smo odvzeli s svedrom premera 16 mm, ki ga je 
skonstruiral T. BARTHOLIN. 
Merjenje širin branik smo opravili na gladko obdelanih vzorcih lesa s pomočjo merilne mizice 
LINTAB proizvajalca F. RINN-a in stereo mikroskopa Olympus S2 11. Širine branik smo 
izmerili na 0.01 mm natančno. Zajem in obdelava podatkov je potekala s pomočjo IBM -
kompatibilnega osebnega računalnika in programa TSAP/X avtorja F. RINNA. Zaporedja širin 
branik smo grafično prikazali v odvisnosti od časa, jih med seboj sinhronizirali ter izračunali 
povprečja za posamezno drevo, rastišče in stavbo. Ker je bil za vsako drevo znan natančen 
čas poseka, smo lahko zaporedja širin branik dreves takoj po merjenju datirali. Zaporedja 
LEVANIČ T., ČUFAR K. 1998. The chronology of the silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from Pohorje, Slovenia = 
Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  12 
širin branik obeh stavb smo najprej medsebojno sinhronizrali, sestavili kronologiji objektov in 
ju datirali s pomočjo kronologije dreves. 
Proučena drevesa, so bila zelo stara, saj je najstarejše imelo na višini 4 m 228 branik. Za 
kronologijo smo lahko uporabili zaporedja širin branik 21 dreves. Sestavljena kronologija je 
bila dolga 212 let in je pokrivala obdobje od 1785 do 1996. Pokritost je bila posebno dobra v 
obobju 1850 do 1996. Del kronologije pred letom 1850 smo želeli izboljšati in podaljšati s 
kronologijama stavb (Slika 1).  
Iz stare hiše smo odvzeli 10 izvrtkov in sestavili kronologijo za obdobje 1713-1852 (Slika 2). 
Rezultati kažejo, da je bila obsežna prenova stropne in strešne konstrukcije opravljena po 
zaključku vegetacijske dobe 1852, najverjetneje spomladi 1853. 
Iz skednja smo odvzeli 5 izvrtkov in sestavili kronologijo, ki premošča obdobje 1745-1887 
(Slika 3). Več vzorcev, ki so vsebovali zadnjo braniko pod skorjo, smo datirali v leto 1887. Ta 
datum kaže, da so les posekali pozimi 1887 / 1888, skedenj pa najverjetneje postavili 
spomladi 1888. S tem smo potrdili datiranje na osnovi vrezane letnice “1888”. Visoko značilne 
vrednosti koeficientov datiranja kažejo, da je bil les za obe stavbi  posekan v gozdovih okoli 
kmetije, od koder smo izbrali tudi raziskana drevesa. 
Kronologije dreves in obeh stab smo združili v kronologijo dolžine 284 let  za obdobje 1713 
do 1996. Imenovali smo jo pohorska jelova kronologija (Slika 5, Tabela 1, Tabela 2). 
Preverili smo ujemanje pohorske in dinarske kronologije. Statistični kazalniki ujemanja so bili: 
tBP 9,8; koeficient časovne skladnosti 71% in indeks navzkrižnega datiranja 398 (Tabela 3). 
Vsi kazalniki kažejo na visoko značilno ujemanje obeh kronologij, kljub dokajšni oddaljenosti 
in različnim rastiščnim razmeram v obeh območjih. 
Pohorska kronologija je bila statistično značilno podobna jelovim kronologijam iz južne 
Nemčije, Bavarskega gozda in Abetone-ja v Italiji (Tabela 3). Primerjava obeh slovenskih 
kronologij s tremi evropskimi je pokazala, da se rastni vzorci Pohorske jelke bolje ujemajo z 
nemškima kronologijama, rastni vzroci Dinarske jelke pa z italijansko kronologijo (Tabela 4). 
Pohorska in dinarska kronologija skupaj predstavljata dobro osnovo za sestavo regionalne 
kronologije za datiranje na celotnem območju Slovenije. 
 
 
 
7 LITERATURE / VIRI 
 
BAILLIE, M.G.L. / PILCHER J.R., 1973. A simple cross-dating program for tree-ring research. 
Tree-Ring Bulletin, 33, 7-14. 
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to archaeology and history. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Archaeological Series 
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Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
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No. 4. Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, Oxford University, Publ. No. 
2, BAR International Series, 51, 101- 114. 
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Sloveniji - stanje 1997 (Reference chronologies for dendrochronological dating in Slovenia - 
their state in 1997). Arheološki vestnik, 49, (In print). 
ECKSTEIN, D. / BAUCH, J., 1969. Beitrag zur Rationalisierung eines dendrochronologischen 
Verfahrens und zur Analyse seiner Aussagesicherheit. Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt, 
88, 230-250. 
ECKSTEIN, D. / SASS, U., 1988. Dendroecological assessment of decline and recovery of fir 
and spruce in Bavaria forest In: BUCHER J.B., BUCHER-WALLIN I. (Eds.): Air pollution and 
forest decline. Proc. 14th Meeting for Specialists in Air Pollution Effects on Forest 
Ecosystems.- IUFRO P2.05, Interlaken, Switzerland, Oct. 2-8, 1988, Birmensdorf: 255-260. 
FELIKSIK, E., 1993. Teleconnection of the radial growth of fir (Abies alba Mill.) within Central 
Europe, Dendrochronologia, 11, 171-175. 
HUBER B., 1943. Über die Sicherheit jahrringchronologischer Datierung. Holz als Roh- und 
Werkstoff, 6, 263 - 268. 
KYNCL, J. / KYNCL, T., 1996. Dating of historical fir (Abies alba) wood in Bohemia and 
Moravia. Dendrochronologia, 14, 237-240. 
LEVANIČ, T., 1996. Dendrokronološka in dendroekološka analiza propadajočih vladajočih in 
sovladajočih jelk (Abies alba Mill.) v dinarski fitogeografski regiji (Dendrochronological and 
dendroecological study of dominant and co-dominant declining silver firs (Abies alba Mill.) in 
Dinaric phytogeographic region). Disertacija (Dissertation) Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za 
lesarstvo. Ljubljana, Univerza v Ljubljani: 165 
LEVANIČ, T. / ČUFAR, K., 1995a. Primerjava standardnih kronologij jelke (Abies alba Mill.) v 
dinarski fitogeografski regiji Slovenije. (Comparison of standard chronologies of silver fir 
(Abies alba Mill.) in the Dinaric phytogeographical region of Slovenia). Zbornik gozdarstva in 
lesarstva, 46, 131-144. 
LEVANIČ, T. / ČUFAR, K., 1995b. Three local silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) chronologies from 
the Dinaric phytogeographic region of Slovenia. Dendrochronologia, 13, 127-134. 
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regional chronology. Dendrochronologia, 15, (In print). 
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Kronologija jelke (Abies alba Mill.) za območje Pohorja. Zbornik gozdarstva in  lesarstva, 55: 135-149. 
  14 
 
8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
The work was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia 
and by the Restoration Centre of the Republic of Slovenia. We thank Miha Stopajnik, 
engineer of wood science and technology, for his great help in the field and the laboratory 
while preparing his graduation thesis. 
 
9 ZAHVALA 
Raziskava je potekala v okviru projekta Dendrokronološke raziskave v Sloveniji, ki jo financira 
Ministrstvo za znanost in tehnologijo republike Slovenije, sofinancira pa jo Restavratorski 
center republike Slovenije. V okviru raziskave je Miha Stopajnik, dipl. ing. les. pripravil svojo 
diplomsko nalogo. Zahvaljujemo se mu za  veliko pomoč pri delu na terenu in v 
dendrokronološkem laboratoriju.