Endangered Forest Communities in Central Europe: Mapping Current and Potential Distributions of Euro-Siberian Steppic Woods with Quercus spp. in South Slovak Basin

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Temperate deciduous forests are among the endangered forest communities in Central Europe currently facing several anthropogenic impacts, such as the intensification of forest management (including global climate change), but also the consequences of natural disturbances on plant diversity and the dynamics of natural forest communities. If we want to preserve the natural composition of forest ecosystems, it is necessary to understand the changes that significantly negatively affect complex biological systems. As part of the research, we focused on the evaluation and identification of the priority habitat 91I0* Euro-Siberian steppic woods with Quercus spp., which is classified as an endangered habitat. The aim of this research was to supplement the current list with new habitat sites of European importance at the level of the South Slovak basin. The methodology was based on phytosociological research, and it was a syntaxonomic classification of forest communities with a special focus on Euro-Siberian oak forests on loess and sand. The results of the current and potential expansion of the habitat of the Euro-Siberian oak forests on loess and sand in the South Slovak basin will help to meet the national and legislative requirements of the European Commission under the Directive on the status of habitats and species of European importance. ABSTRACT: In this article we focus on the issue of determining the presence and status of the priority habitat 91I0* Euro-Siberian steppic woods with Quercus spp. in the South Slovak basin. As part of the issue, we try to verify the correctness of the procedure of the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic in the search for potential habitats and areas of European importance by converting the typological map to a map of habitats. Habitat 91I0* occurs in Slovakia in the form of three subtypes, namely Thermophilous and supra-Mediterranean oak woods (Carpineto-Quercetum and Betuleto-Quercetum), Acidophilous oak forests (Quercetum), while the last-named subtype is divided into two subunits: Medio-European acidophilous oak forests—part A and Pannonic hairy greenweed sessile oak woods—part B. Due to the current unsatisfactory state of the mentioned habitats, the requirement of the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic is to find and add new areas with the occurrence of habitat 91I0* in the south of Central Slovakia. During the mapping in the Lučenecká and Rimavská basins, greater emphasis was placed on the occurrence of the subtype Thermophilic Pontic-Pannonian oak forests on loess and sand, but its presence has not been confirmed. Subsequently, we focused on the search and identification of habitats in the model area, which is the area of European importance SKUEV0957 Uderinky. The result is a map of habitats in this area, which we then compare with a typological map, which determines the reliability of the converter used by the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic.