Ancient forest plant species in Western Belgium: A species list and possible ecological mechanisms

? Ancient-forest plant species are well known indicators of the ecological value, of forests. We statistically derived a list of 66 forest plant species which are associated with ancient forest habitat in Western Belgium. Most of these species are so called true forest species. Within our study area we found no subregional differences in affinity for ancient forest. In order to identify the ecological mechanisms responsible for the phenomenon of ancient-forest species, we compared their Ellenberg indicator values to those of other forest plant species. Compared to other forest species, ancient-forest species are preferring more acid soils and deeper shadow. There is no significant difference in soil moisture or soil nitrogen preference, neither in dispersal modus between the ancient-forest species and other species. We suggest that the main factor inhibiting the colonization of newly established forests is the high soil phosphate level, characteristic for former arable land. Soil phosphate strongly stimulates the growth of highly competitive species, obstructing the development of ancient forest plants. Finally an evaluation for nature conservation of the studied forests is made on the basis of the ancient-plant species and their indicator value is assessed.

[1]  P. M. Petersen.  Flora, vegetation, and soil in broadleaved ancient and planted woodland, and scrub on RøsnÆs, Denmark , 1994 .

[2]  G. Matlack.  PLANT SPECIES MIGRATION IN A MIXED-HISTORY FOREST LANDSCAPE IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA' , 1994 .

[3]  J. Brunet.  Environmental and historical factors limiting the distribution of rare forest grasses in south Sweden , 1993 .

[4]  Z. Dzwonko,et al.  Distribution of vascular plant species in small woodlands on the Western Carpathian foothills , 1989 .

[5]  Margaret Game,et al.  HISTORICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF VASCULAR PLANT SPECIES IN THE WOODLANDS OF CENTRAL LINCOLNSHIRE , 1984 .

[6]  C. Pigott.  THE EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF VEGETATION , 1982 .

[7]  G. Peterken.  Habitat conservation priorities in British and European woodlands , 1977 .

[8]  J. Diamond,et al.  Island biogeography and conservation: strategy and limitations. , 1976, Science.

[9]  J. Terborgh.  Preservation of Natural Diversity: The Problem of Extinction Prone Species , 1974 .

[10]  C. Pigott.  ANALYSIS OF THE RESPONSE OF URTICA DIOICA TO PHOSPHATE , 1971 .

[11]  S. Siegel,et al.  Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences , 2022, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[12]  P. Putwain,et al.  Soil fertility and its implications for the restoration of heathland on farmland in Southern Britain , 1994 .

[13]  Martin Hermy,et al.  Bossen van Vlaanderen : een historische ecologie , 1993 .

[14]  J. Jeffers,et al.  Responses of Forest Ecosystems to Environmental Changes , 1992, Springer Netherlands.

[15]  W. Laurance,et al.  Predicting the impacts of edge effects in fragmented habitats , 1991 .

[16]  R. Marrs,et al.  A comparison of soil fertility between semi-natural and agricultural plant communities: Implications for the creations of species-rich grassland on abondoned agricultural land , 1990 .

[17]  J. P. Grime,et al.  Comparative Plant Ecology , 1988, Springer Netherlands.