Variety of habitats associated with common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) growing in Lithuania

Abstract

Common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) is an important conifer from the ecological and economical point of view. In some areas of the distribution range, it is a widely studied species. Up till now insufficient attention has been paid to junipers growing in the Baltic countries where it is one of three natural conifers and important forest tree species. Recently, molecular markers-based diversity of Lithuanian populations of J. communis was determined, although related biological and ecological variables remain undisclosed. The present study is aimed at the evaluation of biotic and abiotic environment of J. communis according to plant species composition. Fourteen sites with J. communis were selected in the  territory of Lithuania. At each site undergrowth trees and shrubs, herbaceous species, dwarf shrubs, and mosses were recorded and the abundance of each species was evaluated. Abiotic environment characteristics were obtained using Ellenberg’s indicator values (EIV) of the  plant species neighbouring junipers. In the  sites with J. communis, 80 species of herbs and dwarf shrubs belonging to 18 families were registered. The  largest variety of herbaceous species and dwarf shrubs (18–22 per site) was registered for sites representing xero-thermophile fringes. Species coverage data recorded in the  sites in most cases allowed to group sites according to their habitats. Despite rather small territory of the  present survey (latitude (N) 56°07’–54°11’, longitude (E) 21°06’–26°30’), the  ranges of indexes for environment factors of juniper sites were rather wide: 6.0–7.3 for light, 3.0–5.8 for temperature, 3.7–5.3 for continentality, 4.2–7.8 for soil moisture, 2.7–7.4 for soil reaction, and 2.7–4.4 for soil nitrogen. Among the  sites selected by us, the most contrasting in terms of EIV were locations representing coastal brown dunes covered with natural Scots pine forests and xero-thermophile fringes.