Föhrenwälder auf Mergelböden des Aargauer Juras

Abstract

In the Aargau Jura mountains of NW Switzerland, marly soils (Effingerschichten) are common. Due to earlier dismantling of marl, they are particularly poor in plant nutrients and produce only loose pine forests and neglected grasslands. In spite of that, today these forests are refugia for numerous endangered plant species (many orchids). A cumulative species list of 12 such pine-forest habitats contains 274 species. Step by step, this list is then reduced with regard to species steadiness and frequency in order to assess the species and ecological characteristics typical of these forests.