Succession of Xeric Calcareous Grassland Toward Thermophilous Oak Forest: The Case of Abava Valley, West Latvia

The succession of semi-natural xeric calcareous grassland plant communities toward deciduous forest communities is poorly studied in Latvia. There is insufficient knowledge on the natural transformation of dry calcareous grasslands of Festuco-Brometea into thermophilous quasi-climax oak forest communities of Quercetea pubescentis that are very rare in Latvia. In this paper, a geobotanical study is presented that included studies of soils, tree age, spatial pattern of trees, vegetation composition of different succession stages, and analysis of environmental factors. The study was conducted in the Abava Valley, West Latvia, an area that is unique with species-rich xeric calcareous Festuco-Brometea grasslands, thermophilous oak forests dominated by Quercus robur, and intermediate secondary succession stages with young to medium-aged Juniperus communis and Pinus sylvestris formations.