| Popis: |
Župa Dubrovačka is one of the Croatian region less known from geobotanical point of view. The aim of this research is to carry out a phytosociological study of the area. Study area (surface area of 22.81 km², altitude ranging 0-628 m a.s.l.) is characterized by complex geomorphological features (steep hillsides, agricultural terraces on slopes, occurrence of intermittent or permanent springs, etc.) and wide substrata diversity. The coast (cliffs, rocky and pebble beaches) has a total length of 11.4 km. Sea depths in Župa Dubrovačka Bay are between 2 and 48 m. The area has 8, 300 year-round inhabitants (estimated 2011), but this number increases several-fold in summer. Vegetation analyses were mainly focused on the forest community and allowed the physiognomic and structural description of the climatophilous and edaphoxerophilous forest vegetation (holm oak forests), edaphohygrophilous forest vegetation (deciduous forest communities of Populus spp. and Salix spp.), evergreen shrublands (maquis formations), garrigues, perennial grasslands and azonal (psammophilous, rupicolous, riparian) vegetation. The vegetation analysis was performed using the phytosociological method of the Zürich-Montpellier sigmatist school (Braun-Blanquet 1964). Output of the phytosociological study is a syntaxonomic diversity. Setting the syntaxonomic scheme of the vegetation was our secondary objective. Finally, the plant communities of the Župa Dubrovačka region are the direct result of many ecological factors, such as the nature of the substrate, climatic conditions, which vary depending on the aspect, elevation, etc. The ancient human actions especially grazing, fire and cutting, and more recently the urbanization of the coastal zone excludes any possibility of recovery of woody vegetation and is causing a severe fragmentation on the plant landscape. |
