Forest vegetation diversity of the Slivenska Mountain (Eastern Stara planina, Bulgaria)

Abstract

Abstract This study deals with the diversity of forest vegetation in the Slivenska Mountain (Eastern Stara planina) and presents a contemporary classification scheme for the identified syntaxa. A total of 137 relevés were collected and analyzed using specialized software (JUICE 7.0 and PC-ORD Version 4). As a result, forest vegetation is classified into 10 associations, 3 subassociations, 4 variants and 5 communities They belong to 7 alliances, 5 orders and 3 classes: Carpino-Fagetea sylvaticae, Quercetea pubescentis and Alno glutinosae-Populetea albae. The recorded 18 distinguished vegetation groups show a relatively high diversity of forest plant communities of the study area.