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210<br />
curreNT sTaTe oF baLKaN beech<br />
(Fagus sylvatica ssP. sylvatica) GeNe PooL IN The<br />
rePubLIc oF serbIa<br />
Mirjana Šijačić-Nikolić 1 – Saša Orlović 2 – Andrej Pilipović 2<br />
1 Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgra<strong>de</strong>, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgra<strong>de</strong>,<br />
Republic of Serbia<br />
2 University of Novi Sad, Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment,<br />
Antona Čehova 13, 21000 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia<br />
absTracT<br />
Total forest area of Serbia is 2,412,940 ha. The dominant species in the forest growing stock is beech<br />
(50.4% by volume) with a wi<strong>de</strong> range of vertical distribution, occurring in a great number of forest<br />
types, in different structural forms, in pure or mixed stands, of different origin, at different sites.<br />
The main characteristic of the beech gene pool in Serbia is high individual and group variability in<br />
many morphological and genetic-physiological traits, which results in numerous intraspecific taxa<br />
<strong>de</strong>scribed in this region.<br />
Key words: Balkan beech, bukva (in Serbian), taxonomy, morphology, variability, range, forest<br />
community, environmental conditions, state, forest management system, fungi, insects,<br />
gene pool<br />
TaXoNomy<br />
In Serbia, in addition to European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and oriental beech (Fagus orientalis<br />
Lipsky), according to Jovanović (2000), there is also Balkan beech which is the most represented<br />
species. This author consi<strong>de</strong>rs Balkan beech (Fagus moesiaca Domin, Maly/Czeczott.), as a separate<br />
species in the region of the Balkan Peninsula and Serbia.<br />
Balkan beech was first <strong>de</strong>scribed as a separate taxon by Josef Karel Malý in 1911. The <strong>de</strong>scription<br />
of this taxon was later completed by Czeczott (1933). Opinions regarding the taxonomical status<br />
of this taxon varied. Frequently, it is <strong>de</strong>scribed as a separate unit (Czeczott 1933, Fukarek 1954).<br />
Mišić (195 ) consi<strong>de</strong>rs it a phylogenetical link between F. sylvatica and F. orientalis. Sometimes it<br />
is consi<strong>de</strong>red a hybrid between both species morphologically closer to F. sylvatica (Becker 1981),<br />
a mixture of F. sylvatica and F. orientalis with the occurrence of transition forms dominated by<br />
characters of one of the two species (Stoyanoff 1932), an ecotype (Staňescu 19 9) or i<strong>de</strong>ntical<br />
with the Crimean beech Fagus taurica Popl. (Didukh 1992).<br />
The morphological <strong>de</strong>scription of “F. moesiaca” is rather vague. There is no agreement among<br />
different authors about the morphological traits discriminating between the Balkan and European