A New Distribution Area of Taurus Fir (Abies cilicica Carr.) in Turkey

Abstract

Taurus fir (Abies cilicica Carr.) is one of the four native fir species of Turkey, where the Taurus Mountains are the main distribution area. According to literature, the natural habitat area is to be found in the provinces of Antalya, Mersin, Adana and Kahramanmaraş. Recently, we identified a discrete population of this species in Mazdalıyayla region, Çubuklu village of Yahyalı district, Kayseri province. In this paper, both the recently discovered population of Taurus fir is presented and some observations and findings are described. This new growing area of Taurus Fir is localized in the range of 38o07ı27ıı -35o13ı59ıı , 38o07ı52ıı -35o15ı40ıı and 38o08ı19ıı –35o15ı13ıı. The vertical range of Taurus Fir is between altitudes of 1,560 and 1,780 m. The aspect of the area is north-northwest. The total area of fir trees in this new range is 42 ha. In this forestry region, three 10x10 m experimental plots are established. According to the measurement results, the diameter of trees is between 8 cm and 59 cm while the height of trees is between 200 cm and 1,130 cm. The soil has middle textures and low amount of organic material. It is sandy loam-clayey loam, slight-middle alkaline, and salt-free according to the laboratory results. There is a 3-5 cm dead coat-humus layer on the soil surface. It was observed that improper cutting of large diameter fir trees had been performed in the past years. But recently, no anthropogenic damages for the fir trees in the area are seen. The identification of this new fir forest has a very distinct significance due to the contact to steppe vegetation.