Short Database Report |
Krzysztof Świerkosz‡, Anna Wójcicka-Rosińska§, Iwona Kuras-Hilares|, Paweł Pech¶, Kamila Reczyńska#
|
Corresponding author: Krzysztof Świerkosz ( krzysztof.swierkosz@life.pl ) Academic editor: Jürgen Dengler
© 2025 Krzysztof Świerkosz, Anna Wójcicka-Rosińska, Iwona Kuras-Hilares, Paweł Pech, Kamila Reczyńska.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Świerkosz K, Wójcicka-Rosińska A, Kuras-Hilares I, Pech P, Reczyńska K (2025) LAURA: a resurvey database of forest vegetation in southwestern Poland. Vegetation Classification and Survey 6: 131-132. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.150538
|
 |
Abstract
The LAURA database is a resurvey dataset documenting long-term changes in forest vegetation across southwestern Poland. It currently includes 842 phytosociological relevés from 409 plots across 20 sites. The dataset covers a wide range of forest types, from lowland riparian forests up to subalpine woods. The database primarily relies on archival data collected between 1955 and 2000, which are revisited at the originally described locations, mostly in nature reserves. The average time span between surveys is 35 years, with a minimum of 14 years. The LAURA database provides valuable insights into the long-term effects of environmental change on forest communities. It may facilitate studies on species composition shifts, biodiversity trends, and forest succession in response to factors such as climate change, land-use history, and conservation efforts. Additionally, by integrating part of its dataset (35%) with forestREplot and ReSurveyEurope, it contributes to large-scale comparative analyses of European forest ecosystems.
Keywords
Alno glutinosae-Populetea albae, Carpino-Fagetea sylvaticae, forest vegetation, quasi-permanent plot, Quercetea pubescentis, resurvey vegetation database, southwestern Poland, Vaccinio-Piceetea
GIVD Fact Sheet
E-mail and ORCID
- Krzysztof Świerkosz (Corresponding author, krzysztof.swierkosz@life.pl), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5145-178X
- Anna Wójcicka-Rosińska (anna.wojcicka@geosilva.pl)
- Iwona Kuras-Hilares (iwona.kuras@onet.eu), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5754-512X
- Paweł Pech (paw.pech@gmail.com)
- Kamila Reczyńska (kamila.reczynska@gmail.com), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0938-8430