B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 30-31. 1999-2000 (Budapest, 2000)

Papp, Beáta; Rajczy, Miklós: Contributions to the knowledge of bryophytes of the forests along the Fekete-Körös, SE Hungary

Studia bot. hung. 30-31, pp. 57-67, 1999-2000 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF BRYOPHYTES OF THE FORESTS ALONG THE FEKETE-KÖRÖS, SE HUNGARY B. PAPP and M. RAJCZY Department of Botany, Hungarian Natural History Museum H1476 Budapest, Pf. 222, Hungary Recent studies revealed the presence of fifty-one bryophyte species (5 liverworts, 46 mosses) in the forests along the Fekete-Körös river, near Gyula, SE Hungary. Three species (Bryum rubens, Campylium polygamum, Orthotrichum pallens) are considered rare in Hungary, and 9 species (Lophocolea heterophylla, Metzgeria furcata, Anomodon longifolius, Eurhynchium angustirete, Fissidens taxifolius, Homalia trichomanoides, Isolhecium alopecuroides, Leucodon sciuroides, Pseudoleskeella nervosa) are rare in the Great Hungarian Plain. Key words: bryophytes, Fekete-Körös, flora, statistical analyses INTRODUCTION Continuous riverine ash-elm-oak forests are located at the eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, along the rivers Fekete-Körös and Fehér-Körös. These are remnants of the once vast forests which occupied the broad valley systems of these rivers and their tributaries up to the mountains Erdélyi-szigethegység (Transylvania, Romania). In the past the forests at the eastern margin of the Great Hungarian Plain following the rivers stretched from the mountains towards the plains, where they became fragmented and mixed with marshlands and grasslands. By now these areas had been converted into agricultural land, but forest fragments along the river Körös survived here. Presently, ca 70% of these forests is dominated by native tree species {e.g. Quercus robur, Fraxinus angustifolia ssp. pannonica, F. excelsior etc), 25% is occupied by adventive or introduced species, and 5% is clear-cut area or young plantation. Most of the stands consist of individuals of almost the same age, very often exclusively ash and oak, without any other woody species. In their shrub layer the number of species is very low. The herb layer is often dominated by nitrophilous weeds like Urtica dioica. It is interesting that the understorey is remarkably rich in submontane vascular plant species, although the precipitation is quite low (MOLNÁR et al. 1998). In spite of the unsatisfactory present situation of the composition and silvicultural characteristics of these forests, they are essential for nature conservaStudia Botanica Hungarian 30-31, 1999-2000 Hungarian Natural History Museum