The Riparian Alder Forests of the Sopron Hills

The present study demonstrates the classification of the riparian alder forests of theAlpokalja region through the analysis of their stands in the Sopron Hills. Besides the historical,ecological and floristic data collection, the differentiation of these forests was examined using36 coenological relevés recorded according to the Braun-Blanquet method. Cluster analysis,principal component analysis and TWINSPAN analysis were applied in the process; the definitionof diagnostic species for the resulting units was carried out by fidelity analysis using the coefficient. The presence of three alder forest associations was verified by the research in thestudy area. In the vicinity of the lower and middle sections of the streams, characterized bystagnant water, small patches of swampy alder forests (Angelico sylvestris – Alnetum glutinosae)occur. In the fast-flowing stream sections alder woods rich in species of mesophilic deciduousforests (Aegopodio – Alnetum glutinosae) can be found, while along the middle and upper sectionsof the streams, at sites with seepage water, mixed ash-alder forests with montane herb species(Carici remotae – Fraxinetum) are typical. The investigations revealed that the Carex brizoidesdominance-type alder groves were secondary forests that formed in former meadows and theybelong to the 3 mentioned riparian alder forest types.