Różnorodność i rozmieszczenie roślin naczyniowych jako podstawa regionalizacji geobotanicznej Wyżyny Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej

Abstract

The present study is devoted mainly to issues related to the phytogeography of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland — one of the most valuable regions of Poland from the naturalist point of view. The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, known also as the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura, is located in southern Poland and occupies an area of 2615 km2 (KONDRACKI 1988). This territory is stretched between Kraków and Częstochowa as a belt of hills with elevations between 300 and 500 m a.s.l., about 100 km in length (Fig. 1). A characteristic landscape element are limestone rocky crags, often with castle ruins positioned on top of them, as well as numerous caves and erosion valleys. This area has an extraordinarily rich and varied flora — numerous mountain and thermophilic plants, relicts and even endemics are found here. Geographical range limits and migration pathways of many plant species can be traced here as well. A comprehensive summary of results of research on the flora of this region can be found in the monograph entitled Konspekt flory roślin naczyniowych Wyżyny Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej — Outline of vascular flora of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (URBISZ AN. 2004). Data gathered in this manner forms the basis of detailed floristic and phytogeographical analysis included in the present work, with the main goals of establishing the position of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland in the geobotanical division of Poland and studying its phytogeographical diversity in conditions of modern-day anthropopressure.