Climatic and soil characteristics of the altitudinal vegetation zones and edaphic-trophic units

Classification of forest ecosystems in Slovakia is based on Zlatnik's geobiocenological school. The reconstruction units are forest geobiocoen types (FGT) and these are arranged into groups of forest geobiocoen types (GFGT) and other super-structured units according to phytosociological and ecological similarities. The classification system is based on consideration that permanent ecological conditions are not changing over a long time and that plant species are a good non-direct indicator of ecological conditions with respect to their specific ecological (soil and climatic) amplitude. Because the herb species composition significantly reflects also the changes in tree species layer the floristic analysis of vegetation along with analysis of ecological properties of sites can be used for typisation geobiocoens. Hence, we also need to know these ecological (climatic, soil and terrain) characteristics. The analysis of basic climatic and soil characteristics of the selected super-structured geobiocenological units (altitudinal vegetation zone (avz), edaphic-trophic non-waterlogged and waterlogged units) showed the high variability of both climatic and soil values.