Silva Balcanica, 16(2)/2015 hAbitAts And distribution of fern species in bilecik, turkey Cengiz Türe Anadolu University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Ecology, Eskişehir Atila Ocak Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Art and Science, Department of Biology, Division of Botany AbstrAct The study aimed at establishment of fern species in the forest area of Bi- lecik, Turkey. Twelve Pteridophyta species belonging to four families were recorded, Aspleniaceae being the most represented family with the largest number of species. Fern that was more sensitive to light and humidity than other plants was observed to grow preferentially in the mesic forests containing Fagus orientalis and Abies nor- dmanniana subsp. equi-trojani, on the calcerous, metamorphic schist rock and soil farmed from these rocks. In this study area, Asplenium scolopendrium ssp. scolopen- drium was the most selective species and had the narrowest distribution whereas Ceterach officinarum had the widest. Key words: distribution, ecology, forest destruction, ferns, Pteridophyta INTRODUCTION The ferns belong to a rather primitive group of vascular plants and also con- tribute significantly to the number of species in the flora of forest areas (Barrington, 1993). Even though those are considered as an important component of vegetation. In general, they receive relatively little attention from biologists when compared to herbaceous vegetation, shrubs and trees in the World (Lehmann et al., 2002). Although ferns are a notable feature of Turkey flora, there are little papers pub- lished either on their ecology or on regional patterns of diversity (Parris, Fraser- Jenkins, 1980; Kaynak, 1989; Kaynak, Tuyji 1991; Yıldırımlı, 1996; Türe, Ocak 1997). Whereas, it can also be critical players in ecosystem establishment because of two free-living and fundamentally different generations (Russell, Vitousek, 1997; Watkins et al., 2007 ). Population ecology of pteridophytes has attracted considerable attention by 39 researchers lately. However much remains unknown, particularly with respect to species’ specific differences in reproduction and the reflection of these differences in species’ distribution patterns (Peck et al., 1990). The ecological factors that vary with the human impact include temperature, potential evapotranspiration, length of growing season, humidity, air pressure, nutrient availability, ultraviolet radiation and rainfall which can all have an influence on the distribution of fern species (Gurung, 1985; Vasudeva, Bır, 1987; Barrington, 1993). These environmental events strongly influence establishment and persistence of gametophyte populations. Many ferns cannot adapt to this new environment because they need water to fertilize and moist to develop their protals. Especially, both anthropogenic causes and forest destruc- tion, as a result of natural events, alter the equilibrium of soil-water. Soil gets poor, microclimate changes and barren areas occur (Kornas, 1985). Serial observations revealed that the greatest mortality was related to increased exposure to drought and erosion after loss of the forest canopy (Peck et al., 1990). One of the important questions in this discussion is to what extent the lo- cal and regional species compositions are affected by regional conditions such as climate and soils (Tuomisto, 1998; Page, 2002). With the increasing awareness of human impacts on both species survival and habitat integrity, ecologists are now asked to not only understand, but increasingly to predict habitat suitability, in order to design effective conservation and research programs (Lehmann et al., 2002; Türe, Böcük, 2010). Therefore, understanding both the geographic and environmental dis- tributions of species is central to conservation ecology (Türe, Böcük, 2010). The purpose of the present paper is to examine the distribution patterns of ferns in Bilecik, Turkey, in detail. MATERIAL AND METHODS Bilecik is in the northwest of Turkey where Marmara, west of Black Sea, o o o o Aegean and Central Anatolia intersects (39 39’ and 40 31’ N, 23 41’ and 30 40’ W). It is very important area because effects of three phytogeographical divi- sions including Euro-Siberian Region, Mediterranean Region and Irano-Turanian Region can be seen in the area. Defected surface of Bilecik consists of hilly area and plains split by valleys. 32% of its land is mountains, 8% of it is plains and 60% of it is plateaus. It is surrounded by three mountains including, Sündiken Mountain in the east, Uludağ in the northwest and Gülümbe in the north (Anonymous, 1982). According to the data from Forecast General Office (1994), the average tempera- o ture in the region is 12.3 C and total annual precipitation is 436.4 mm. The region is in the influence of dry-Mediterranean and semi-precipitated-Mediterranean cli- mate (Akman, 1990). In the frame of the study plan, field trips were made every two weeks to the region periodically during previously carried out research (Türe, Ocak, 1997). This study was performed during the research of inventory and monitoring of biological 40 Fig. 1. Localities of the research area diversity in Bilecik (2014-2015). In Table 1, Pteridophytes determined in the study area and their localities (Fig. 1) were given. During these trips, fern samples were collected and became herbarium material. To identify the plants, Davis’s (1965) ‘Flora of Turkey’ and other flora books (Hegi, 1984) were used. Rock and soil samples were taken from at least two sites, where ferns were distributed, to determine the soil (0-25 cm deep). Some of the physical and chemical analysis of the soil samples was realised at Eskisehir Forest Region Office, Fidanlık Soil Analyze Laboratory. To characterize the soils of the area following methods were used: Schieber calcimeter for Ca-content and Walkey-Blade for organic matter analyses. Time Do- main Reflectometry for Soil Moist and Beckmen pH meter was used to determine pH (Black, 1965; Anonymous, 1994). Means of the given values were used to form 41 Table 1 Pteridophyta taxa determined in the study area and their localities Taxa Localities Asplenium adiantum-nigrum 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 Asplenium onopteris 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 Asplenium ruta-muraria 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 17 Asplenium scolopendrium ssp. scolopendrium 1, 2, 3, 8 Asplenium trichomanes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 16 Ceterach officinarum 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Cheilanthes persica 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 Dryopteris filix- mas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 Equisetum telmateia 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 16 Polypodium vulgare subsp. vulgare 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 16 Polystichum aculeatum 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 15, 16 Pteridium aquilinum 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15 tables according to the data. Rocks were identified at Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Mining in Eskişehir Osmangazi University. Also, in- formation about the environment in which fern distributed was recorded during the field trips. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Twelve fern species belonging to four families were determined at the end of the study. Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. (Equisetaceae), Asplenium trichomanes L. subsp. trichomanes, Asplenium adianthum-nigrum L., Asplenium onopteris L., Asplenium ruta-muraria L., Ceterach officinarum DC., Asplenium scolopendrium (L.) Newm. subsp. scolopendrium (Aspleniaceae), Cheilanthes persica (Bory) Mett. ex Kuhn. (Sinopteridaceae), Pteridium aquilinium (L) Kuhn. (Hypolepidoceae), Polystichum acualetum (L) Roth., Dryopteris filix-mas (L) Schott. (Aspidiaceae) and Polypodium vulgare L subsp. vulgare (Polypodiaceae). Habitats of species that showed distribution in the study area were indicated in and means of the results of soil sample analyses are indicated in Table 2. From the results, it is seen that all spe- cies prefer rocky and soil grounds under the forest. Rivers and water resources in barren areas ensure for ferns to keep their existence in the area. Only Ceterach offici- narum and Cheilanthes persica showed distribution in the barren areas. These results can be concluded according to Table 2. Equisetum telmateia, Asplenium scolopen- drium subsp. scolopendrium and Dryopteris filix-mas prefer to live on metamorphic 42 Table 2 Habitat of fern taxa distribution and results of soil analyses Rock Barren Organic Soil Wet- Under CaCO Taxa Soil Area area pH matter 3 moist Main rock lands forest (%) s s (%) (%) A. adiantum-nigrum - - + + - 7.5 4.81 13.20 14.50 Calcerous A. onopteris - + - - + 7.3 3.78 3.70 17.20 Calcerous A. ruta-muraria - + + + - 7.1 4.61 3.12 18.50 Calcerous A.scolopendrium ssp. + + + + - 6.1 10.7 0.10 39.42 M. Schist scolopendrium 43 A.trichomanes ssp. trichomanes + + - + - 7.4 4.95 3.04 23.90 Calcerous C. officinarum + + + + + 7.5 2.78 26.12 7.30 Calcerous Ch. persica + + + + + 7.3 5.41 10.72 10.21 Calcerous D. filix- mas + - + + - 5.7 8.45 0.11 8.32 M. Schist E. telmateia + + + + + 6.3 9.28 0.12 23.10 M. Schist P. aculeatum + + - + - 6.5 12.23 0.16 41.51 M. Schist P. vulgare subsp. + + + + - 6.4 10.50 0.52 23.20 M. Schist vulgare Pt. aquilinum - + - + - 6.2 6.86 1.19 14.60 M. Schist schist rocks or soil farmed from these rocks, high organic matter and low CaCO3, high soil moist and low pH (5.5-6.3). These areas consist of Fagus orientalis Lipsky and Abies nordmanniana sub- sp. equi-trojani (Asc. & Sint. ex Boiss.) Coode & Cullen, Pinus sylvestris L., Pinus nigra Arn. subsp. pallasiana (Lamb) Holmboe var. pallasiana forests. It was deter- mined that Asplenium trichomanes developed on both calcerous and metamorphic schist rock or soil farmed from these rocks. In soils that these species disturbed, organic matter and soil moisture are low, pH (7.0-7.4) and CaCO3 are high. Besides the forest formation as mentioned before, they also show distribution in the forests that consist of tree communities such as Quercus cerris L.