Misplaced Pages

#542457

48-414: In behalf to a great variability in elevation, Lurë-Dejës Mt National Park is densely populated in vegetation . Higher plant life consists mainly of both coniferous and deciduous trees, particularly around the shores of the lakes. The most common tree native to Lurë is the european beech along with silver fir , black pine , red pine and bosnian pine . Especially protected is the balkan pine , which

96-425: A community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). Prior to this, the two terms (vegetation and flora) were used indiscriminately, and still are in some contexts. Augustin de Candolle (1820) also made a similar distinction but he used the terms "station" ( habitat type) and "habitation" ( botanical region ). Later, the concept of vegetation would influence

144-455: A defensive and housing purpose. The city fortification and housing architecture often served as a model, with loopholes adopted from the city ramparts, and sanitary and other elements from the town houses were included. The tower is multi-story building with the base usually a square between 6 and 10 meters, less often a rectangle, and the height is between 11 and 20, and in some cases up to 25 meters. They were built from limestone, covered with

192-458: A name associated with its most characteristic feature. Zall Gjoçaj, part of the expanded park, is an intensively fissured and mountainous landscape with a great variety of natural features including valleys , glacial lakes and dense forests without human intervention. Elevations in the area vary from 600 metres to over 2,000 metres above the Adriatic . The geomorphological conditions of

240-563: A plan that would turn the area into an agritourism hot-spot under the 100 Villages Initiative, consisting in the renovation of traditional tower houses, and the reconstruction of the road connecting the park with Rreshen and the A1 motorway . Construction works for the latter started in late 2021 with the widening and stabilization of the existing road structure. In 2019, a number of local NGOs such as Co-Plan and North Green Association in collaboration with local stakeholders planted 1000 new trees inside

288-534: A recently renovated Catholic Church. The region is also home to Albanian Independence signatory Dom Nikollë Kaçorri . In May 2002, Joseph Limprecht who served as the US Ambassador to Albania died from a heart attack, at the age of 55, while visiting Lure National Park . In 2018, the park was expanded and renamed Lurë-Mt Dejës National Park to include former Zall-Gjocaj National Park for a total coverage area of 20,242 ha. The Albanian government has outlined

336-527: A regular and recurring part of the long-term system dynamic. Fire and wind disturbances are prevalent throughout many vegetation types worldwide. Fire is particularly potent because of its ability to destroy not only living plants but also the seeds, spores, and living meristems representing the potential next generation, and because of fire's impact on fauna populations, soil characteristics and other ecosystem elements and processes (for further discussion of this topic see fire ecology ). Temporal change at

384-507: A slower pace is ubiquitous; it comprises the ecological succession field. Succession is the relatively gradual structure and taxonomic composition change that arises as the vegetation modifies various environmental variables over time, including light, water, and nutrient levels. These modifications change the suite of species most adapted to grow, survive, and reproduce in an area, causing floristic changes. These floristic changes contribute to structural changes inherent in plant growth even in

432-410: A tented roof made of wood shingle or limestone slabs . The walls near the ground floor are always slightly thicker than the walls on the upper floors, varying between 100 and 152 cm. Odžaks were built next to the towers as regular one or two-story residential buildings with a rectangular base. They were built of stone, adobe and wood. There is always a spacious courtyard surrounded by a wall with

480-788: Is threatened with extinction and only common in the west of the Balkan Peninsula . The southern section of the park has a meadow of multicolour flowers and several coniferous trees, which is called the Field of Mares, offering pristine views over the landscape. In terms of phytogeography , the park falls within the Pindus Mountains mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome . The park shelters numerous species. Most important wildlife inhabiting

528-683: Is also thought to date to the early Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and may well have been the residence of a local bey . Hrelyo's Tower, built in 1334–5 by prōtosebastos Hrelja in the courtyard of the Rila Monastery , is a pre-Ottoman example of an autonomous tower that served residential as well as defensive purposes. Besides featuring habitable floors, the 75 feet (23 m) Hrelyo's Tower also includes an Orthodox chapel on its top floor. The tradition of tower houses in Greek architecture existed since Byzantine and Frankish times. Although

SECTION 10

#1732781121543

576-456: Is broader than the term flora which refers to species composition . Perhaps the closest synonym is plant community , but vegetation can, and often does, refer to a wider range of spatial scales than that term does, including scales as large as the global. Primeval redwood forests , coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs , desert soil crusts , roadside weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated gardens and lawns; all are encompassed by

624-466: Is estimated that as much as 50% of the original Lura National Park has been destroyed. In 2014, the Government of Albania launched a controversial rehabilitation campaign including reforestation , roadwork, and the putting of new signs. Local stakeholders have criticized the project as merely superficial. In the meantime, local non-governmental organizations such as Ecovolis are trying to revitalize

672-705: The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), and originally developed by UNESCO and The Nature Conservancy ), the classification is hierarchical and incorporates the non-floristic criteria into the upper (most general) five levels and limited floristic criteria only into the lower (most specific) two levels. In Europe, classification often relies much more heavily, sometimes entirely, on floristic (species) composition alone, without explicit reference to climate, phenology or growth forms. It often emphasizes indicator or diagnostic species which may distinguish one classification from another. In

720-870: The Middle Ages in the Balkans , particularly in Albania , Kosovo and Montenegro , but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Greece , North Macedonia and Serbia , as well as in Oltenia , in Romania . Originating from the Mediterranean-Medieval stone tower houses, they were developed by Albanian carpenter-mason craftsmanship, which had a strong reputation within the Ottoman as well as

768-530: The Ottoman-period architecture has almost completely disappeared from Greek urban centres, there are scattered examples of tower houses built in Ottoman Greece and during the chifliks . Alongside the fortified houses of Mani (called xemonia ), there are also residential towers ( koule ) of Ottoman origin. In Kosovo the traditional two- or three-storey kulla s were built mainly between

816-463: The arched gate , protecting courtyard, towers and odžaks . There are also other buildings in the yard, including water well or water well pump . A particular type of tower is the captain's tower . They were built in the same way as those of landlords, but below these towers there were often dungeons. Examples of fortified residential towers in Bulgarian lands include the 16th-century Tower of

864-600: The golden eagle . According to Albanian poet Gjergj Fishta , "Him/her who has not seen Lura, he/she has not seen Albania", meanwhile British renowned traveler Edith Durham has been quoted as follows: "When I came up the Qafë Lurë, I saw such a beautiful field, that I had never seen in any place of the Balkans". Following the fall of communism in the 1990s, the area suffered massive deforestation from illegal logging and forest fires that severely affected ecosystems . It

912-666: The phytosociological approach in the study of vegetation relies upon a fundamental unit, the plant association , which is defined upon flora. An influential, clear and simple classification scheme for types of vegetation was produced by Wagner & von Sydow (1888). Other important works with a physiognomic approach includes Grisebach (1872), Warming (1895, 1909), Schimper (1898), Tansley and Chipp (1926), Rübel (1930), Burtt Davy (1938), Beard (1944, 1955), André Aubréville (1956, 1957), Trochain (1955, 1957), Küchler (1967), Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois (1967) (see vegetation classification ). There are many approaches for

960-472: The 17th century, a time when there was continuous fighting in the Dukagjini region , although most of the ones that still remain are from the 18th or 19th century. They are almost always built within a complex of buildings with various functions, but kullas in towns exist mostly as standalone structures. They are also positioned within the complex of buildings that they exist in a way that makes it possible for

1008-419: The 18th century and the early part of the 20th century. They are constructed entirely of locally excavated stone, though some incorporate decorative wooden elements in the upper floors. Historically the kullas have been inhabited solely by men, with women and children housed in a connected annexe. The exterior walls are a meter thick at ground level but become thinner towards the roof. The small openings that play

SECTION 20

#1732781121543

1056-430: The Adriatic coast. The practice became very widespread among both Christian and Muslim communities during the decline of Ottoman power in the 17th century and flourished until the early 20th century. The tower houses were typically made out of stone, rose three or four storeys, and were square or rectangular in shape. They served both military (defence, watchtower ) and civilian (residential) purposes in order to protect

1104-646: The European elites for the construction of advanced residential housing. Mid-19th century studies pointed out that all the men – almost without exception – who build walls, fell trees and saw lumber in the European part of the Ottoman Empire and in the Kingdom of Greece , were from Albania, specifically from mountainous regions. For metal work Balkan Egyptians were contracted, and specific fortification features were sometimes left to stone mason specialists from

1152-474: The FGDC standard, the hierarchy levels, from most general to most specific, are: system, class, subclass, group, formation, alliance, and association . The lowest level, or association, is thus the most precisely defined, and incorporates the names of the dominant one to three (usually two) species of a type. An example of a vegetation type defined at the level of class might be " Forest, canopy cover > 60% "; at

1200-638: The Meshchii (converted into a clock tower in the 19th century) and the 17th-century Kurtpashov Tower in Vratsa in Bulgaria's northwest. The Pirgova (Pirkova) Tower , similar in purpose but different in design, was built in the southwestern town of Kyustendil in the 14th or 15th century. The tower in Teshovo in south Pirin , noted for its relatively sophisticated water conduit and sewage system,

1248-480: The Ottoman invasion of the Balkans, especially in Gjirokastër. Albanian kullë are predominantly found in the north of the country, with notable instances in the south being Berat , Gjirokastër , Himara , and Këlcyrë . Kullas are heavily fortified buildings with small windows and shooting holes, because their main purpose was to offer security in a fighting situation. The first kullas that were built are from

1296-428: The absence of species changes (especially where plants have a large maximum size, i.e., trees), causing slow and broadly predictable changes in the vegetation. Succession can be interrupted at any time by disturbance, setting the system back to a previous state or off on another trajectory altogether. Because of this, successional processes may or may not lead to some static, final state . Moreover, accurately predicting

1344-460: The characteristics of such a state, even if it does arise, is not always possible. In short, vegetative communities are subject to many variables that set limits on future conditions' predictability. Generally, the larger an area under consideration, the more likely the vegetation will be heterogeneous. Two main factors are at work. First, the temporal dynamics of disturbance and succession are increasingly unlikely to be in synchrony across any area as

1392-436: The classification of vegetation (physiognomy, flora, ecology, etc.). Much of the work on vegetation classification comes from European and North American ecologists, and they have fundamentally different approaches. In North America, vegetation types are based on a combination of the following criteria: climate pattern, plant habit , phenology and/or growth form, and dominant species. In the current US standard (adopted by

1440-462: The extended family. Tower houses are called in Albanian : kullë ; Bosnian : odžak Bulgarian : кули , kuli ; Serbian : кула , Romanian : culă , all meaning "tower", from Arabic ‏ قَلْعَة ‎ ( qalʿa , “fort, fortress”) via Persian qulla , meaning "mountain" or "top", and Turkish kule . Types of tower houses in Albanian architecture existed before

1488-548: The future of the expanded national park is being threatened by the construction of hydro electric power plants in Zall-Gjocaj that would further cripple the already fragile ecosystem of the area. Vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa , life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It

Lurë-Dejë Mountain National Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

1536-403: The inhabitants to survey the surrounding area. Kullas in towns are usually built as standalone structures, while in villages they are more commonly found as a part of a larger ensemble of kullas and stone houses, usually grouped based on the family clan they belonged to. Certain kullë were used as places of isolation and safe havens, or "locked towers" ( Albanian : kulla ngujimi ), intended for

1584-465: The level of a formation as " Winter-rain, broad-leaved, evergreen, sclerophyllous, closed-canopy forest "; at the level of alliance as " Arbutus menziesii forest"; and at the level of association as " Arbutus menziesii-Lithocarpus dense flora forest", referring to Pacific madrone-tanoak forests which occur in California and Oregon, US. In practice, the levels of the alliance and/or an association are

1632-510: The most often used, particularly in vegetation mapping, just as the Latin binomial is most often used in discussing particular species in taxonomy and in general communication. Like all biological systems, plant communities are temporally and spatially dynamic; they change at all possible scales. Dynamism in vegetation is defined primarily as changes in species composition and structure. Temporally, many processes or events can cause change, but for

1680-491: The park by planting of trees and removing debris around the lakes, some of which are drying up. Nature is also helping by naturally spreading seeds of new trees which are growing at different areas of the park. Accommodation consists of several family run hotels and guesthouses near the park in Fushë-Lurë. The area around Lura features traditional tower houses , the once industrial mining town of Kurbnesh, Ottoman mosques, and

1728-521: The park includes the european brown bear , eurasian lynx , eurasian wolf , european pine marten , roe deer and western capercaillie . Small mammals include the red squirrel and edible dormouse . The twelve glacial lakes within the national park were formed during the ice age . They are located in the northeastern part of the nation in the Dibër County at an elevation between 1,200 and 1,500 m (3,937 and 4,921 ft). Each lake carries

1776-455: The protected area. In 2020, GIZ Albania undertook the planting of 7000 trees in Lurë. Since 2021 a project called Trees for Lurë planted 22793 trees within the area of the national park, restoring 15.22 ha of the forest. In 2022, Trees for Lurë established tree nursery in Fushë-Lurë and started growing saplings locally, planting first 1081 locally grown trees during 2023 planting season. However,

1824-477: The region reflects the dynamic geological history, tectonic movements and erosive activity of the rivers flowing through the park. Most of the area is covered by a mixture of beech , fir , pine , ash and maple trees growing on limestone and dolomite. The park's woods are important because they provide shelter for numerous fauna . Most notable amongst them is the brown bear and grey wolf . Other large mammals include lynxes , roe deers and birds such as

1872-435: The role of windows are called frëngji , and their tiny size is due to the kulla's historical use as a fortification and as a means of protection against attacks. Aspects of kulla life are strongly influenced by Muslim culture , especially the segregation between men and women in social spaces and entrances. The kullas' characteristic double sets of entrances and staircases (main and side) reflect this division, since only

1920-636: The sake of simplicity, they can be categorized roughly as abrupt or gradual. Abrupt changes are generally referred to as disturbances ; these include things like wildfires , high winds , landslides , floods , avalanches and the like. Their causes are usually external ( exogenous ) to the community—they are natural processes occurring (mostly) independently of the natural processes of the community (such as germination, growth, death, etc.). Such events can change vegetation structure and composition very quickly and for long periods, and they can do so over large areas. Very few ecosystems are without some disturbance as

1968-463: The side entrance and staircase lead to the private family quarters. Kullas are also well-suited to the Kosovan climate as their construction allows them to remain cool in the summer and warm during winter. Examples include Jashar Pasha's Tower, Haxhi Zeka's Tower, Xhafer Syla's Tower, Mazrekaj Tower, Janjevo Tower, Tomić's Tower, and Osdautaj's Tower. Nenadović's Tower ( Serbian : Кула Ненадовића )

Lurë-Dejë Mountain National Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-405: The size of that area increases. Different areas will be at various developmental stages due to other local histories, particularly their times since the last significant disturbance. This fact interacts with inherent environmental variability (e.g., in soils, climate, topography, etc.), also a function of area. Environmental variability constrains the suite of species that can occupy a given area, and

2064-405: The study of vegetation is common among biogeographers working on vegetation on a world scale, or when there is a lack of taxonomic knowledge of someplace (e.g., in the tropics, where biodiversity is commonly high). The concept of " vegetation type " is more ambiguous. The definition of a specific vegetation type may include not only physiognomy but also floristic and habitat aspects. Furthermore,

2112-475: The term vegetation . The vegetation type is defined by characteristic dominant species, or a common aspect of the assemblage, such as an elevation range or environmental commonality. The contemporary use of vegetation approximates that of ecologist Frederic Clements' term earth cover , an expression still used by the Bureau of Land Management . The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of

2160-460: The territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , and today there are over forty villages and hamlets named Kula and twelve Kulina, thirty-one settlements are called Odžak, four Odžaci and one Odžačina. A number of these towers and odžaks have been declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina . Local feudal lords of the Ottoman era built these stone multi-storey towers on their estates with

2208-571: The two factors interact to create a mosaic of vegetation conditions across the landscape. Only in agricultural or horticultural systems does vegetation ever approach perfect uniformity. There is always heterogeneity in natural systems, although its scale and intensity will vary widely. Tower houses in the Balkans Tower houses ( singular: Albanian : kullë ; Bosnian : odžak Bulgarian : кули , kuli ; Serbian : кула , Romanian : culă ) developed and were built since

2256-490: The usage of the term biome with the inclusion of the animal element. Other concepts similar to vegetation are " physiognomy of vegetation" ( Humboldt , 1805, 1807) and "formation" ( Grisebach , 1838, derived from " Vegetationsform ", Martius , 1824). Departing from Linnean taxonomy , Humboldt established a new science, dividing plant geography between taxonomists who studied plants as taxa and geographers who studied plants as vegetation. The physiognomic approach in

2304-565: The use of persons targeted by blood feuds ( gjakmarrja ). An example can be found in Theth , northern Albania. There are also instances of fortified tower houses in Gjirokastër built in the 13th century, pre-dating Ottoman conquest. Towers and odžaks are usually built next to each other as fortification and residential buildings. Although easily confused they differ in material and purpose. However, sometime one building can be both at once. There used to be over three hundred such facilities in

#542457