B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 35. 2004 (Budapest, 2004)
Papp, Beáta: Contributions to the bryoflora of the Pontic Mts, North Anatolia, Turkey
Studia bot. hung. 35, pp. 81-89, 2004 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BRYOFLORA OF THE PONTIC MTS, NORTH ANATOLIA, TURKEY B. PAPP Department of Botany, Hungarian Natural History Museum H-1476 Budapest, Pf. 222, Hungary; E-mail: pappbea@bot.nhmus.hu A collecting trip was made in July 2001 in the northeastern part of the Pontic Mts. Mainly the mixed evergreen-deciduous forest zone was visited between 600-1,200 m a.s.l. Altogether 151 bryophyte taxa (38 liverworts and 113 mosses) were collected during the field trip. Five species (3 hepatics and 2 mosses) are reported for the first time from Turkey. These are Harpanthus scutatus, Nardia scalaris, Scapania subalpina, Blindia caespiticia and Taxiphyllum densifolium. Careful comparison of the old and recent literature showed 53 taxa (10 liverworts and 43 mosses) new to the A4 grid square of HENDERSON (1961). Key words: A4 grid square, bryoflora, Pontic Mts, Turkey INTRODUCTION The Pontic mountain range belongs to the North Anatolia region of Turkey. In the eastern part (called Lazistan) the range is high, continuous and lies close to the Black Sea, with several peaks over 3,000 m. Most of the bedrocks are of volcanic origin (granite, granodiorite, andésite). On the northern side of the mountains the rivers cut deep gorges flowing down to the sea. Thanks to the moist climate, this area supports the largest tracks of closed forests in Turkey. Here, the most striking climatic feature is the heavy rainfall (2,350 mm/yr), distributed all year round; when it is not raining, the hills are frequently hidden in mist. The mean yearly temperature is 18.5 °C, the coldest month is January with 6 °C and the warmest one is July with 24 °C average temperature. On the southern side the range falls steeply to the plateau of Eastern Anatolia. The climate on this part is much drier, hence there is a big contrast in the vegetation of the two sides of the mountain (DAVIS 1965). In Lazistan many higher plant species occur that do not extend further west. The flora of Lazistan is connected with that of adjacent western Georgia, including the western part of the main ranges of the Caucasus. The flora of the montane coniferous forests and the alpine zone shows close link s with the same zones in the Caucasus and with the mountains of Central Europe. The northern slopes of the Pontic mountain range are covered by mixed forests dominated by Alnus glutinosa, Fagus orientális and Picea orientális. The main constituents of the undergrowth are Rhododendron ponticum, R. flavum, Buxus sempervirens, Rubus platyphyllos (DAVIS 1965). Studia Botanica Hungarica 35, 2004 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest
