Alpin Zone Plant Societies

Alpin zone plant societies are beginning from upper limits of forest ecological systems and reach to the heights where snow cover is continuing (approximately between 2. 000 and 3. 500 meters).

If you remember that a rough and mountainous country, Turkey has 129 peeks exceeding three thousand meters, it can be mentioned that Alpin zone plants are covering a very wide area within the country, even all of the pastures known as "plateau" are inside in this plant zone.

There is no tree within Alpin zone plant societies, similar as steppes, there are one or more years long lived but natural conditions enduring grassy plants. But here limiting factor not allowing cultivation of trees is not the small amount of rain, but is low environmental temperature. Snow cover continuing from October to May, is allowing plant maximum four or five months to live. At the upper parts of Alpin zone, you are not even be able to see grasses. You can only face with likens which are the unions of colorful mosses and mushrooms on the rocks.

Lower parts of the Alpin plant zone are the places where soil is thick and genuine meadow grasses are plentiful. Generally soil layer become thin and plant cover become rare at upper parts. Here you can face with mine, hercai menekşeler, yıldız çiçekleri, kar çiçekleri, kardelenler, düğünçiçekleri, yalaçiçekleri, damkorukları, taşkıranlar, zambaklar, süsenler, and ağlayan gelin flowers generally at hallows composed of rock cracks. Orman gülü and big çan çiçekleri, sonbahar çiğdemleri with yellow and white colored flowers at plateaus of East Black Sea, are also the members of this plant societies.