baumzaehlen - Primeval Forests & Their Trees

The tallest reliably measured native European tree is a 62.26-metre Picea abies (Norway spruce) in Slovenia¹. However, there are claims of even taller Abies nordmanniana subsp. nordmanniana (Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir) trees from the Russian and Abkhazian Western Caucasus^{2 3 4 5}. The highest claims are 85 m ² and 78 m ³. The latter is an estimate by Vladimir Dinets, calculated from the length of the shade of the tree⁶, thus certainly very inaccurate; moreover, the entire area in which this tree grew was logged to clear land for the Sochi Olympics in 2014 ⁷. For the very greatest height (85 m), see Buynyy Natural Monument. A 70-metre A. nordmanniana is said to have been felled in Abkhazia in 1959 ⁴.

Caucasus Nature Reserve is likely one of the grandest protected areas in the world. Two thirds of the park (2957 km²) is forested, mostly with primeval A. nordmanniana – Fagus orientalis (oriental beech) forest⁴. The forest type resembles the montane Fagus sylvatica (European beech) – Abies alba (European silver fir) – P. abies forest of central and southern Europe. However, Picea is lacking⁴. Picea orientalis (Caucasian spruce) prefers slightly drier climate and is not present in this area⁴. There are even pure A. nordmanniana stands in places. Trees of other species are scanty in the Abies–Fagus forest, the most common being Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple) and Acer platanoides (Norway maple). The low and open subalpine forests of the upper slopes are dominated by Betula pubescens var. litwinowii (Caucasian downy birch), Sorbus aucuparia (European rowan) and Acer trautvetteri (red-bud maple). Individual A. nordmanniana trees also grow almost to the forest limit. B. pubescens var. litwinowii and S. aucuparia form the natural tree limit⁴. On the ridges from approx. 2000 m upwards, there are subalpine meadows, partly natural, partly created by pasturing in the past; pasturing is not practised anymore⁴. Along rivers there are Alnus glutinosa subsp. barbata (black alder) and Alnus incana (grey alder) stands. On the valley bottoms there are also small overgrown meadows and long-abandoned cabins. Most tree species are easy to identify but e.g. B. pubescens var. litwinowii and B. raddeana of the subalpine forests may be difficult to distinguish – the often mentioned difference, the reddish bark of the latter, is not always true.

The tallest trees in the Nature Reserve grow in the central part of the long Kisha Valley⁵. My measurements with a German–Russian group in 2018, using TruPulse 200X laser, resulted in 60.5 m as the maximum height of A. nordmanniana. We did not know the exact location where the very tallest trees should grow, and very likely there are slightly taller trees in the valley. The average height of these A. nordmanniana stands was 45–55 m. Anyway, the data we collected seems to indicate that the claimed extreme heights of A. nordmanniana are not true. One possibility to estimate the maximal height potential of A. nordmanniana is to compare heights that the species often reaches with the corresponding heights of the well-known species P. abies. In the tallest P. abies forests, e.g. in Biogradska Gora National Park, Perućica Nature Reserve and also in the Kirnitzsch Valley of Saxony Switzerland National Park (Germany), the species often reaches 50–55 m, according to my measurements. This holds true also for A. nordmanniana in Caucasus Nature Reserve and Buynyy Natural Monument, where the tallest A. nordmanniana are said to be growing⁵ and where the species often reaches 50–55 m, according to our measurements. This could indicate that the maximal height of A. nordmanniana could be approximately the same as that of Picea abies.

The Nature Reserve forms the main part of the Western Caucasus World Heritage site and is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Reserve is famous particularly for its over 1000 wisents; though they are actually hybrids between lowland wisent (Bison bonasus bonasus), Caucasian wisent (B. bonasus caucasicus) and American bison (B. bison). Hundreds of brown bears (Ursus arctos) and a few reintroduced Persian leopards (Panthera pardus saxicolor) live in the Reserve, too.⁴ Elevations range from about 600 m to 3346 m (Mt. Tsakhvoa). The entire reserve is mountainous, slopes varying from gentle to steep. A small separate Buxus sempervirens (European box) forest at the Black Sea coast is administratively a part of Caucasus Nature Reserve. Apart from a few popular hiking routes, visiting the reserve needs a special permit, including the Kisha Valley.

References:

1       http://www.ents-bbs.org/viewtopic.php?f=386&t=4642

2       IUCN (1999): World Heritage Nomination - IUCN Technical Evaluation: Western Caucasus (Russian Federation).

3       https://www.conifers.org/

4       Pers. comm.

5       Caucasus Nature Reserve, e-mail (2018).

6       Dinets, W., e-mail (2011).

7       Dinets, W., e-mail (2018).

Official sites:

http://kgpbz.ru/

http://www.zapoved.ru