GENETIC STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN BEECH ( Fagus sylvatica L . ) SEED STANDS FROM DIFFERENT FOREST SITES OF GORJANCI MOUNTAINS AS REVEALED

Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in Europe, with a total coverage of 1.184.369 ha or 58.4 % of total area (SFS 2011). Forests are well preserved, and sustainable, semi-natural and multifunctional management has been traditionally and legally incorporated into the forestry practice. In the 1990s, the genetic variation of beech populations in Slovenia and, in comparison, with its variation in Central and South-Eastern Europe were studied using isoenzyme gene markers (Brus et al. 1999, Gömöry et al. 1999). Results have shown the existence of genetic diff erences between provenances of beech from the north-western part of the investigated area and provenances of beech from the eastern part of Balkan Peninsula. Th e obtained results further supported the hypothesis that during the ice ages European beech was present in microrefugia at the south-eastern periphery of Alps and on the territory of present-day Slovenia (Brus et al. 2000). Findings were confi rmed by the UDK 630*165+187 (Fagus sylvatica L.) (001) Izvorni znanstveni članci – Original scientific papers Šumarski list, 1–2 (2013): 25–32