Relations between the floristic composition of isolated young woods and their proximity to ancient woodland

Abstract. Recent studies indicate that, in the present‐day agricultural landscape, the floristic composition of young woodland communities can be fully developed if the woods are situated adjacent to ancient woodlands. Four 70‐yr‐old deciduous woods in the Carpathian foothills were examined in relation to three adjacent ancient oak‐hornbeam and oak‐pine woodlands, which are the nearest source of woodland species diaspores. On the basis of data from 208 plots, the frequencies of various species groups in the field layer of the woods were analysed. The dependence of vegetation differentiation within the recent woods on (a) distance to the border with the ancient woodlands and (b) light intensity was examined by Partial Detrended Canonical Correspondence Analysis (DCCA). A significant relation between distance to ancient woodland and species composition was found for recent woods on rich brown soils. The vegetatively propagating species, myrmecochores and small autochores attained higher cover values near ancient woodland; endozoochores and anemochores were most abundant further away. Within recent, more open woods on poor podzolic and leached brown soils, colonisation is strongly inhibited by dense growth of Carex brizoides ; here, vegetation regeneration is much slower than in woods on rich soils much further away from the source of diaspores.