A Kerka-vidék gyertyános-tölgyesei

In this study, the phytosociological characteristics of oak-hornbeam forests in the Kerka valley, sW Hungary are summarized using 50 vegetation samples. These forests grow on alluvial soils affected by high groundwater table, and thus are best regarded as extrazonal communities exhibiting some characteristics of hardwood gallery forests. The high number of submontane elements are particularly typical of them: Aco-nitum vulparia,Adoxa moschatellina, Anemone nemorosa, Anemone ranunculoides, Asarum europaeum, Athyrium filix-femina, Cardamine bulbifera, Cerastium sylvaticum, Coryda-lis cava, Coridalis solida, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Gagea spathacea, Galanthus nivalis, Galeobdolon luteum, Isopyrum thalictroides, Knautia drymeia, Lathyrus vernus, Leucojum vernum, Lilium martagon, Luzula pilosa, Maianthemum bifo-lium, Mercurialis perennis, Milium effusum, Oxalis acetosella, Paris quadrifolia, Pulmonaria officinalis, Ranunculus lanugi-nosus, Sanicula europaea, Scilla drunensis, Stellaria holos-tea, Veronica montana, etc. The high frequency of Fritillaria meleagris is particularly noteworthy. These plants are likely to be relics of the cooler and wetter, and less extreme Beech I. phase of the Holocene. The occurrence of some sub-Med-iterranean species (Carex strigosa, Helleborus dumetorum, Knautia drymeia, Vicia oroboides) suggests some degree of relatedness to the oak-hornbeam forests in the zala Hills (Helleboro dumetorum-Carpinetum). The studied woods are sharply separated from the oak-hornbeam forests of Western Transdanubia (Cyclamini-Carpinetum), and exhibit relatively closer similarity to the oak-hornbeam forests of the Mura and Drava floodplains and the Raba River valley (Veronico montanae-Carpinetum). syntaxonomically, they are best identified with the latter under the name Veronico montanae-Carpinetum scilletosum drunensis.