Borhidi Attila: A Zselic erdei (Dunántúli Dolgozatok Természettudományi Sorozat 4., 1984)
significantly differs from that of the Mecsek and agrees with the flora of Inner Somogy. Zselic is therefore regarded as' a part of the flora district of Inner Somogy /Somogyicum/. 2. The climate is characterized by submediterranean' climatic elements /the precipitation-coursa, types of Köppen and Ztílyomi: x" + x"f + xx"= 62 %/, combined with a considerable montane influence of the Alps /+ x"f = 42 #/. Consequently, the precipitation conditions of the area are highly favourable •for the forest vegetation. Most part of the region, falls.within, the zone of hornbeam-oak woods /Querco-Carp inetum s.l./, while in the western ad central parts- of the hill-country even submontane beechwocd zone may develop. 3. The hornbeam-oak woods of Zselic and of southern Transdanubia, in general, are continuations and«the northernmost representatives of the Illyrian beechwood and hornbeam-oak wood zones, extending northwards to Lake Balaton. Nearly 30 plant species of South- and Southwest-European ditribution patterns occur in them which hardly, - if at all, cross this northern boundary. 4. The illyrian beechwoods can be regarded, contrary to the opinion of many Central European authors, as a phytosciologically independent alliance named, Pagion illyricum Ht 38. The independence of the glliance is proved by 20 characteristic, mostly endemic plant species, and by further 24 widespread South-European Fagetalia-species as characteristic species of second order,or as so called diagnostic species. The alliance can also be diagnosed and distinguished from the Central European beechwoods based on more than 100 discriminative Balkan and submediterranean species of various phytosociological pattern /mainly Orno-Cotinetalia and Querco-Fagetea/ represented frequently in the Illyrian beechwoods. 5. As a result of the comparitve literatura review, the distribution of the alliance was fairly ascertained. Accordingly, the Fagion illyricum includes the hornbeem-oak woods, neutrophilous-basiphilous beechwoods /from the submontane to the subalpine level/, rocky beechwoods and ravine-forests of the Dolomites, of the South Tyrolian, Friuliah, Carniolian, Julian and Camnian Alp, of the.Karawankas, of the Croatian and Slovenian Medium-Heith Mountains, of Southwestern Hungary /South-Transdanubia/, of the Croatian and Slovenian Karasts, the Croatian and Slovenian Karsts, the Dinaric, Alps, further of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania. 6. Owing to the high phytosociological similarity of hornbeam-oakwoods • and submontane beechwoods the alliance Carpinion podolico-illyricüm Ht 58 or the later Carpinion illyricum Ht 74 /in Horvat-Glavac and Ellenberg/ cannot even be distinguished as a suballiance . 7. On the basis of the-studied 850 phytosociological relevés the associations of Fagion illyricum can be subdivided into 4 suballiances as fllows: a/ hornbeam-oakwoods and 'submontane beechwoods /Primulo acauli-Fagelon/ b/ Montane and subalpine beechwoods, fir-beechwoods and mapple-beechwoods /Lonicero nigrae-Pageion/ c/ Western Illyrian rocky beechwoods /Ostryo-Fageion/ d/ -Eastern Illyrian-Moesian turkey nut-beechwcods /Fago-Colurneion/. The two latter subaliiance include mainly edaphic beechwood-associations, and their compositions are similar in many floristic respects to the oakwoods. 142
