B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 33. 2002 (Budapest, 2002)

Bebya, S.: The fir forests of the Caucasus Mountains and considerations on their preservation

Based on our investigation, we compiled a list of 13 plant species that require urgent protection and need to be brought into the regional Red Book. These are: Acer sosnowskyi, Blechnum spicant, Castanea saliva, Colchicum speciosum, Corydalis caucasica, Corylus colchica, Daphne caucasica, D. pseudosericea, Pachyphragma macrophyllum, Polystichum woronowii, Rhododendron ungernii, Sorbus migarica, Ulmus glabra. For the purposes of practical forestry and the commercial use of the fir forests a simplified grouping of the Abies nordmanniana forests was outlined (BEBYA 2002). For each of these a system of measures is also offered, which will hopefully result in the rational use of the given category, will help to improve commercial productivity, and will bring more protection from improper exploitation. Experience based on this approach will hopefully take practical measures on a larger scale also. The practical grouping of the Abies forests is as follows: - festucosum; - luzulosum; - mixtaherbosum; - those with undergrowth of Colchidean elements; - subalpine. The ecological characteristics of the species and the Abies nordmanniana forests, their ways of natural renewal and the composition and age structure of the stands, require special attention to their means of exploitation (ORLOV 1951, GULISASHVILI 1972, BEBYA 1972). The "voluntary selective felling" and the "group-selective felling" best suit the nature of these forests and these have proven more effective than the "industry-selective" and "gradual" felling practiced nowadays. Both the economic effectiveness and the protective functions of forestry operations should be brought into harmony with the complex aims of habitat preservation and securing the best renewal of the fir species without additional expenses. This is possible by the even and continuous use of the forests, with increasing its general productivity by 11-14%, compared with the current, haphazard methods of logging practiced by the industry, including selective logging. The concerns and tasks discussed in the work aim at the preservation not only the highest possible species diversity of these Abies forests (along with the protection of endemic, rare and vanishing plant species) but also the protection of the standard and unique plant associations. In the plant record of the Abies forests of the Caucasus, 6 species of woody plants (10% of the total 62) are listed in the Red Book of the USSR. More emphasis should be put on the preservation of these. If cutting the Abies nordmanniana (and Fagus) forests continues at the present rate, these majestic stands may disappear from the slopes of the Caucasus for-