The Epiphytic Bryophyte Vegetation of Buxus sempervirens L. forests in the Fırtına Valley (Rize, Turkey)

The Fırtına Valley forests are of the 100 forests in the world whose conservation is a priority due to the natural old forests they have. In this study, the epiphytic bryophyte vegetation of the Buxus sempervirens L. forests located in the Fırtına Valley (Rize, Northern Turkey), which is one of the nine hotspots in Turkey and Turkey’s only boxwood forest, was investigated. The relevés taken from living tree trunks in 2020 were analyzed according to the Braun-Blanquet methodology, and ordinated and classified using the Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DECORANA) and the Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN). As a result of the analyses, Exsertotheco crispae-Allenielletum besseri ass. nov. subass. typicum and leucodontetosum sciuroidis subass. nov., and Alleniello besseri-Palamocladietum euchloronis ass. nov. were described and characterized. All syntaxa were presented by analyzing them in terms of their ecological and floristic classifications.