D1: North European open moss-rich spruce forests (Picea abies, in the east Picea abies x Picea obovata, Picea obovata) with Pinus sylvestris, Betula pubescens, Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii, alternating with open pine and spruce forests on half-bog soils and with aapa mires

Title

North European open moss-rich spruce forests (Picea abies, in the east Picea abies x Picea obovata, Picea obovata) with Pinus sylvestris, Betula pubescens, Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii, alternating with open pine and spruce forests on half-bog soils and with aapa mires

Geographical distribution

Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)

Norway: a) Eu-Piceetum myrtilletosum Kielland-Lund 1981; b) Eu-Piceetum dryopteridetosum Kielland-Lund 1981; c) Chamaemoro-Piceetum Kielland-Lund 1962; Sweden: Vaccinium-Myrtillus-Typ Ilvessalo 1937, 1960. Mossrik blåbärsskog Tamm & Holmen 1961. Frisk blåbärstyp Arnborg 1964. Deschampsia-Myrtillus-type, Hylocomium-Myrtillus-type, Ledum-Myrtillus-type, Kalela 1970; Uliginosum-Empetrum-Myrtillus-type Kalela 1961. Örtfattig sumpskog Tamm & Holmen 1961; Finland: Empetrum-Myrtillus-type; Russia: Piceetum-empetroso-myrtillosum auct. ross.

Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)

Norway: Typical for the spruce stands of the Eu-Piceetum is the columnar, deeply branched growth and the individual character of the trees. The stands often have a selectively logged construction. The two subassociations colonise different sites: the myrtilletosum (a) is distributed on base-deficient morainal soils, influenced little by water, the dryopteridetosum (b) is typical for richer and/or seeping moist soils of the mountains. The Chamaemoro-Piceetum occurs at the margins of raised bogs and in wet basins. The trees are often acinacifolious and branched all the way down to the ground. Spruce forests and swamp forest species prevail in the soil vegetation. An uneven soil surface is typical, where dwarf shrubs and mosses grow in hummocks while in the hollows peat-mosses and swamp forest species settle; Sweden: open forests with dominant Picea abies and sometimes Pinus sylvestris in the tree layer, and scattered Betula pubescens, often Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii. Dwarf shrubs and mosses prevail of which moisture loving species predominate. Russia: In this mapping unit moss and lichen-moss-rich spruce forests (cf. D2) at hilltops and slopes of lower elevations alternate with wet spruce forests (cf. D3) in basins and hollows. In small areas, mires, swamp forests (Picea obovata, Betula pubescens) and peat-moss pine forests (cf. D43) occur at the edges of the mires.

Dominant and most frequent species in different layers

Diagnostically important species

Picea abies, Picea abies x obovata, Picea obovata, Betula pubescens; a, b) Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Trientalis europaea, Listera cordata, Cornus suecica, Linnaea borealis, Empetrum hermaphroditum, Melampyrum pratense; Hylocomium umbratum, Brachythecium reflexum, Dicranum polysetum, Dicranum fuscescens; Cetraria islandica, Nephroma arcticum, Cladina arbuscula, Cladina mitis, Cladina rangiferina; b) Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Dryopteris expansa, Oxalis acetosella, Anemone nemorosa, Agrostis capillaris; c) Rubus chamaemorus, Ledum palustre, Vaccinium uliginosum, Carex globularis; Sphagnum wulfianum, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum fuscum, Sphagnum russowii

Ecological variants

fresh, sometimes fern-rich, as well as damp to wet formation types, often on peaty soil and bog soils. Locally tall herb-rich formation types with Aconitum lycoctonum, Cicerbita alpina and Trollius europaeus.

Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)

Scandinavian strain with Picea abies, Finnish-Russian strain with Picea obovata, Chamaedaphne calyculata.

Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)

Norway: Betuletum geranietosum subalpinum Nordhagen 1943 (Lactucion alpinae); Betuletum empetro-hylocomiosum Nordhagen 1943 (Cladonio pinion Kielland-Lund 1981) and bog vegetation mainly of the Caricion nigrae and Oxycocco-Empetrion; Barbilophozio-Pinetum Kielland-Lund 1967; Russia: small-aread incidences of north-east-European larch light forests (Larix sibirica) with lichens, mosses and dwarf bushes in the Pečora region; Larch forests (Larix sibirica) with Picea obovata, dwarf shrubs and herbs in valleys of the Timan hills; small areas of aapa mire complexes (S16).

Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)

arctic scrun tundra (B19, B28), alpine vegetation (B41, B42), birch and spruce open woodlands (C1, C3, C4, C5), birch forests (C9, C10, C11), spruce forests (D2, D3, D4), pine forests (D42, D43, D44, D45, D47), raised bogs (S2, S3, S4), aapa mires (S15, S16), transition mires (S18/S19), brown mires (S21, S23), alluvial forests (U3).

Land use, substitute communities

Site conditions of the mapping unit

Importance for nature protection

Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection

Most important references (author, year)

Aaltonen 1919; Arnborg 1964; Bendiksen & Halvorsen 1981; Cajander & Ilvessalo 1921; Cajander & Ilvessalo 1921; Gribova, Isačenko & Lavrenko (Red.) 1980; Hägglund & Lundmark 1977; Ilvessalo 1960; Kalela 1961; Kalela & Kaliola (Ed.) 1973; Kielland-Lund 1967b; Kielland-Lund 1973; Kielland-Lund 1981; Lakari 1920; Nordhagen 1943; Spjelkavik & Vorren 1976; Tamm & Holmen 1961; Teivainen 1952

Compiled by

O. Vevle, L. Påhlsson, Hähmet-Ahti and Karttunen, T.K. Jurkovskaja, revised by U. Bohn