Ground vegetation under natural stress conditions in Scots pine forests on fixed sand dunes in southwest Estonia

Abstract

Ecosystems on dunes are influenced by critical environmental factors (mineral nutrients, water deficiency, etc.) considered decisive for their existence. The present paper is based on studies carried out on dunes on the coastal area of the Baltic Sea, southwest Estonia. The nature of forest ecosystems on dunes was studied from the aspects of chemical characteristics of soil, vascular plant species richness and diversity. Sampling sites on the dunes with different heights were selected in Cladina and in Vaccinium vitis-idaea site-type Scots pine forests. Vascular plant species richness and diversity were related to edaphic gradients. On the dune with a height of 32.1 m a.s.l., significant relationships were revealed between the number of species of ground vegetation, pH, volumetric water content in soil and the position of the sample plots. No relationships were revealed between the number of vascular plant species, soil pH, volumetric water content and mineral nutrients on the dune with a height of 9 m a.s.l. The most frequent and abundant plant species on the higher dune were Deschampsia flexuosa, Vaccinium vitis-idaea and V. myrtillus; the highest number of species were found at the bottom of the dune, while on the top only some xeromorphic species such as Festuca ovina, Sedum acre and Crepis tectorum occurred. On the lower dune, the most frequent were Vaccinium vitis-idaea, V. myrtillus and Melampyrum pratense, while V. uliginosum was found only on the bottom and slope and Empetrum nigrum on the top of the dune.

Keywords:

• Coastal dunes
• Ground vegetation
• Scots pine forest
• Soil chemistry

Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the Estonian Science Foundation (grant No. 6022) and by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (project No. 0170021s08). The authors would like to thank Tiina Elvisto from Tallinn University (Estonia) for scientific consultationsoin botany, and Kersti Poom and Helen Kösta for technical assistance.