Assessement of plant species diversity in deciduous forests In the context of climate change [Articol]

Abstract

During recent years, biodiversity and its assessment have occupied an important position in the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests), and Climate Change. The main component of forest ecosystems, in addition to tree edificators, is the ground vegetation. The individual vegetation layers comprise an important feature of the overall biodiversity of forest ecosystems. Their composition, diversity and structure constitute both important factors in the assessment of their biodiversity and also important bioindicators of environmental changes. Vegetation is a source of the primary production of ecosystem; it controls gas exchange with the atmosphere and plays an important role in the biocycles of both water and nutrients within the ecosystem. It is also an important indicator of the status of forest ecosystems for the relatively easy and inexpensive assessment of ground vegetation monitoring and constitutes an acknowledged basis for biodiversity assessment.