The sessile oak in the Macchia of Panna woods

Abstract

The paper describes the main characteristics of oak stands with sessile oak (Quercuspetraea), recently discovered in the Mugello valley (Florence district). Sessile oak, a speciesconsidered as rare in Italy, is spontaneously present in the area under investigation, andparticularly in aged coppice, characterised by Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) as dominantspecies. Growth indexes have shown sessile oak as less vigorous than Turkey oak. As aconsequence of the studies, Macchia of Panna woods should be given furtherinvestigations and protection, due to their peculiar stand structure and tree species,characterised by the remarkable presence of sessile oak on clay soils. In this context, aspecific thinning was proposed, in order to favour sessile oak instead of Turkey oak, inthe conversion of coppice into high forest.