engleski

The influence of climate and relief properties on crown condition status of Common beech - a case study of Medvednica massif, Croatia

Twelve forest research plots, with complete crown condition data sets in the period 2004-2006 were chosen to represent the variety of environmental conditions present on Medvednica massif. The climate data from the meteorological station Puntijarka, located on top of Medvednica, were used for the statistical and GIS spatial analysis of the influence of climate properties on the crown condition of Common beech. Beech was chosen as a model species because of its wide ecological amplitude (low to high elevation, various expositions). Climate parameters used in the model included annual precipitation, precipitation in the vegetation period, mean annual air temperature, mean air temperature in the vegetation period, and various climate indexes. The climate data from the meteorological stations Puntijarka and Grič were used for the analysis of climate properties in the research area, and elevation of the experimental plots and data from the nearest meteorological station were used to obtain the estimate of the mean annual and vegetational air temperature (0C) and annual and vegetational precipitation (mm) on each research plot. The differences in beech defoliation were tested using the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The influence of climate variables on defoliation was tested by univariate and multivariate regression. The share of moderately to severely damaged trees (crown defoliation over 25%) was highest in 2004, an expected result of the 2003 drought. This value was significantly higher than in the following two years. The determining climate parameter explaining the changes in defoliation was precipitation in the vegetation period, and the most determining relief parameter was elevation. Defoliation was higher with low vegetational precipitation and higher elevation.

Defoliation; beech; elevation; precipitation

nije evidentirano