Vegetation and sites near the ecotone between near-natural beech (Fagus sylvatica) and black pine (Pinus nigra) forests on the eastern slopes of Mt. Olympos, Greece

Climate projections predict warmer and drier conditions to come over the next few decades for the Mediterranean basin. Climatic change will affect the spatial distribution of plant communities, causing a shift in vegetation patterns.Forest types distribution has been well studied and correlated with abiotic factors on a regional scale with the use of macroclimate variables. Nevertheless, only a few studies exist which describe the way drought, as a microclimatic factor, controls local distribution patterns.This project involves the description of the distribution patterns of two important tree species for Greece and Europe: Fagus sylvatica s.l. (beech) and Pinus nigra var. pallasiana (black pine). In addition, the project aims to the quantification of the threshold of the occurrence of beech, in terms of drought intensity on Mt Olympus, Greece and more over provides a phytosociological classification of the vegetation of the ecotone between those species. The quantification of the threshold will be based on the analysis of this complex factor into its components (climatic features and soil properties) and it will accomplished with measurements carried out on the ecotone between those forest types, where the drought threshold of the occurrence of beech is located.

The outcome of this project will contribute to the phytosociological research of Olympus National Park and offer a basis for the prediction of the local distribution patterns of potential vegetation of Mt. Olympus under a changing climate.