Two New Tall Herb Communities with the Dominant Laserpitium Siler and Grafia Golaka from the Se Alps (Ne Italy, W Slovenia)

The article describes two new tall herb communities in the Southeastern Alps, Centaureo julici-Laserpitietum sileris and Laserpitio sileri-Grafietum golakae. Both are long-term successional stages in the overgrowing of abandoned hay meadows in the altimontane and subalpine belt of the southern and southwestern Julian Alps (including the Julian Prealps), partly also the Carnic Alps, that have been abandoned for over 50 years. In the succession sere where the altimontane-subalpine Illyrian beech forest (Dentario pentaphylli-Fagetum, Ranunculo platanifolii-Fagetum, Polysticho lonchitis-Fagetum) is the potential natural vegetation on steep, sunny limestone (rarely dolomite) slopes, the species Laserpitium siler and (or) Grafia golaka act as inhibitors also due to their high allelopathic potential; in turn, spontaneous afforestation with spruce and some deciduous trees has been slow and gradual.