Trends of Changes in the Upper Limits of Eagle Claw Maple Distribution in the Northwestern Caucasus
The state of <i>Acer platanoides </i>L. populations was assessed on some mountain ridges of the northwestern Caucasus, at the upper limit of its distribution (the Belaya, Malaya, and Bol'shaya Laba River basins). Stem diameters, age, and sanitary state were determined in trees of fir-beech forests in the transitional (between high- and middle-mountain) zone (1400-1700 m a.s.l.). The results obtained testify to the upward migration of <i>A. platanoides </i>over the past few decades, probably, due to recent climate warming. However, this tendency is not universal, and in some areas, the upper distributional limit remains stable.