The dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

vegetation type of the littoral

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

, located in the

Dinaric Mountains mixed forests The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agenc ...

ecoregion in southeastern Europe. Pure stands of dinaric

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba'', native to Europe *''Abies amabilis'', native to western North America *''Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a fir native ...

(''Abies alba'') forests appear on

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

escarpments in the montane zones of

Orjen Orjen (Serbian Cyrillic: Орјен, ) is a transboundary Dinaric Mediterranean limestone mountain range, located between southernmost Bosnia and Herzegovina and southwestern Montenegro. Its highest peak is Veliki kabao, which stands at . ...

Velebit Velebit (; it, Alpi Bebie) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the nor ...

Biokovo Biokovo () is the second-highest mountain range in Croatia, located along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the rivers of Cetina and Neretva. It is sometimes referred to as Bijakovo, especially among inhabitants of the easter ...

and

Prenj Prenj ( sr-cyrl, Прењ) is a mountain range in the Dinaric Alps of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in eastern Herzegovina near Mostar, Jablanica and Konjic. The highest peak is ''Zelena glava'' at . Prenj massif has at least 11 peaks ...

. They comprise one of the most interesting formations of Balkan vegetation types as the forests bear several rare plants and are of striking beauty. As a highly endemic and rare vegetation type of the dinarids, it needs protection.

Structure

Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests have an open structure which is environmentally sensible. As storms of bora and scirocco type are common on the coastal dinaric mountains, wind plays a great role in the formation of the highly labile structure in the pure silver fir communities. Silver firs can reach up to on limestone and trunk diameters of have been observed.

Distribution

Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are dispersed in smaller patches on the hypercarstic littoral karst mountain environments of the dinarids. Prominent are those on

and

, appearing on bare limestone escarpments in the montane lifezone between . The abundance of precipitation on these coastal mountains of up to 5000 mm/m²a with the dry soil conditions restricts these pure silver fir forests to the most rainy and humid spots of the dinarids.

Ecology

Silver fir is a constituent of montane central European forests. As a rare species in dry climates of the Mediterranean, the silver firs presence on Mt. Orjen are restricted to humid northern slopes. A marked difference in the fir's vegetation patterns is seen here. It has a common cause in soil formation. High soil-water content in terrae fuscae on glacial superstratum leads to beech-fir forests, whereas dry initial rendzinas on glacio-karstic substrate support xeric dinaric calcareous silver fir forests. The latter endemic community rich in submediterranean species has evolutionary parallels with

Bosnian Pine ''Pinus heldreichii'' (synonym ''P. leucodermis''; family Pinaceae), the Bosnian pine or Heldreich’s pine, is a species of pine native to mountainous areas of the Balkans and southern Italy. Description It is an evergreen tree up to in height ...

communities.

Floristic composition

Dinaric calcareous silver fir forests are among the most species-rich montane ecosystems in the

. Mixed deciduous-silver fir peony ''(

Paeonia daurica ''Paeonia daurica'' is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the peony family. It has slender carrot-shaped roots, leaves mostly consisting of nine leaflets, with one flower per stem. The flower is subtended by none to two leafy bracts, and ...

'' Andrews)-forests with ''Paeonia daurica have the most species rich composition found so far on Orjen ''(

Abies alba ''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and sou ...

Corylus colurna ''Corylus colurna'', the Turkish hazel or Turkish filbert, is a deciduous tree native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, from the Balkans through northern Turkey to northern Iran. It is also found growing wild in the forests of Western Himal ...

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though mor ...

Acer intermedium ''Acer hyrcanum'' is a maple species sometimes referred to as Balkan maple. It grows in southeastern Europe and western Asia. ''Acer hyrcanum'' is a deciduous tree up to 15 meters (50 feet) tall. Leaves are up to 4 cm (1.6 inches) across, u ...

Tilia cordata ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

Acer pseudoplatanus ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved ...

Pinus heldreichii ''Pinus heldreichii'' (synonym ''P. leucodermis''; family Pinaceae), the Bosnian pine or Heldreich’s pine, is a species of pine native to mountainous areas of the Balkans and southern Italy. Description It is an evergreen tree up to in height ...

).'' * Syntaxonomic chart of mixed deciduous-silver fir-peony forest at Orjen

Plant list

Typical plants of the many times dry basic Kalkomelasol soil plant Biotope:
C. OREOHERZOGIO-ABIETALIA Fuk. 1969
a) O r e o h e r z o g i o-A b i e t i o n Ht. emend. Fuk.
1. Oreoherzogio-Abietetum Fuk.

Literature

* Pavle Cikovac: Sociology and ecology of silver fir forests on Mt. Orjen - Montenegro. LMU Munich 2002, Department of Geography {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinaric Calcareous Block Fir Forest Dinaric Mountains mixed forests Lists of biota of Europe Lists of plants Flora of Southeastern Europe Temperate coniferous forests Forests of Croatia