Title
East and South Carpathian spruce forests (Picea abies), partly with Abies alba, with Leucanthemum waldsteinii, Hieracium rotundatum
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Ukraine: large-scaled in the east Carpathians; Romania: east, south Carpathians, Apuseni mountains
area frequency
19 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
a) Hieracio transsilvanico-Piceetum (Zlatnik 1935) Pawlowski & Braun-Blanquet 1939 em. Borhidi 1957 (Piceetum carpaticum Soó 1930 p.p., Piceetum transsilvanicum Soó 1944 p.p.); b) Chrysanthemo rotundifolio-Piceetum Krajina 1933 em. Borhidi 1957; c) Saxifrago cuneifoliae-Abieti-Piceetum (Soó 1944) Borhidi 1971; d) Bruckenthalio-Piceetum Borhidi 1969; e) Bazzanio-Piceetum Braun-Blanquet & Sissingh 1939, Sphagno-Piceetum (Tüxen 1937) Hartmann 1942; Telekio speciosae-Alnetum incanae Coldea 1990, Soldanello majori-Piceetum Coldea & Wagner 1998.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
According to its structure, this mapping unit resembles the west-Carpathian D36. Three-layered forests where the relatively closed tree layer (15-20 m) is dominated by spruce with fir in the lower zone, an open shrub layer, a dwarf shrub-, grass-, perennial- and fern-rich acidophilous herb layer, and a well developed moss layer. a) a widespread unit with monodominant spruce on fresh, acid, siliceous sites of the eastern and southern Carpathians in the altimontane belt; b) a fern and tall herb-rich formation type on moist, well ventilated, nutrient-rich high altitude sites, mainly on base-rich silicate rock; c) acid-soil spruce-fir forests in the montane belt, bordering on a) and b) further down, mainly on silicate rocks; d) dwarf-shrub-rich, thinned out, low-growing spruce forests at the upper tree line in the subalpine belt on shallow, strongly podzolised acid soils. spruce mixed with Pinus cembra, Pinus mugo and Juniperus communis subsp. alpina; e) azonal peat-moss and dwarf-shrub-rich spruce forests, sometimes with downy birch, on extremely acid and moist to boggy sites (north exposed rock slopes, block slopes, hollows), sometimes at the margins of raised bogs.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Picea abies dominating, in lower altitudes with Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, at the upper limit partly with Pinus cembra
Shrub layer
Sorbus aucuparia subsp. glabrata, Juniperus communis subsp. alpina, Lonicera nigra, Salix silesiaca, Ribes petraeum, Pinus mugo, Rosa pendulina
Herb layer
Lycopodium annotinum, Homogyne alpina, Huperzia selago, Moneses uniflora, Melampyrum sylvaticum, Luzula sylvatica, Dryopteris dilatata, Calamagrostis villosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Circaea alpina, Oxalis acetosella, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Athyrium distentifolium, Polygonatum verticillatum, Fragaria vesca; regional endemic species: Campanula abietina, Soldanella hungarica subsp. major; additionally with a) Hieracium rotundatum, Euphorbia carniolica;
b) Leucanthemum waldsteinii, Rumex alpestris, Adenostyles alliariae subsp. alliariae, Caltha palustris;
c) Saxifraga cuneifolia, Polypodium vulgare, Dryopteris filix-mas, Lamium galeobdolon, Gentiana asclepiadea, Cardamine glanduligera;
d) Bruckenthalia spiculifolia, Hieracium aurantiacum, Viola declinata, Potentilla aurea subsp. chrysocraspeda, Phyteuma nanum;
e) Equisetum sylvaticum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Geum rivale, Carex elongata, Epilobium palustre, Eriophorum vaginatum
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Hylocomium splendens, Dicranum scoparium, Scleropodium purum, Polytrichum formosum, Pleurozium schreberi, Plagiothecium undulatum, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Sphagnum quinquefarium;
e) Bazzania trilobata, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum russowii, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum squarrosum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Plagiomnium affine, Mnium stellare, Polytrichum commune, Polytrichum strictum
Diagnostically important species
Picea abies; Hieracium rotundatum, Luzula sylvatica, Leucanthemum waldsteinii, Bazzania trilobata, Homogyne alpina, Calamagrostis villosa, Luzula sylvatica, Athyrium distentifolium, Campanula abietina, Soldanella hungarica subsp. major, a) Hieracium rotundatum, Euphorbia carniolica; b) Leucanthemum waldsteinii, Rumex alpestris, Caltha palustris; c) Saxifraga cuneifolia, Cardamine glanduligera; d) Bruckenthalia spiculifolia; e) Equisetum sylvaticum, Eriophorum vaginatum, Bazzania trilobata, Sphagnum spp.
Ecological variants
in each case several subassociations depending on soil trophy, moisture, exposure and depth of the soil.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
quite homogeneous.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
see under the heading "Structural feature", Telekio-Alnetum incanae at streams.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
alpine grasslands (B46, B47), alpine rose-dwarf pine scrub (C38), species-poor beech forests (F102), species-rich beech- and mixed beech forests (F125, F126, F135), Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G9), brown mires (S24), alluvial forests (U16).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
used mostly for forestry, pioneer communities on clear felled areas.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Meadows and pastures.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
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settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Slopes, ridges and valleys in the high-mountains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
predominately altimontane; (700) 1200-1600 (1750) m, on inversional sites in mountain interiors declining up to 600 m
Geology (bedrock)
predominately siliceous rocks: granite, gneiss, sandstone, andesite (Palaeozoic), locally carbonate rocks, flysch (Tertiary, Cretaceous)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
ferrum-humus podzole, podzolic brown soils, on lime subalpine humus carbonate soil; (leptic podzols; stony dystric cambisols; humic leptosols)
soil texture
loamy sand to clayey loam, mostly stony
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moist, locally wet
soil reaction
strongly to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic, oligo-mesotrophic, mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
X
average annual temperature
1-4 °C
average annual precipitation
1000-1200 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
12-14 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
-7 to -5 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Cold and snow-rich mountain climate.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
mainly intensely used; only a few semi-natural forests have been preserved; very important for maintaining the water balance and soil protection in the mountains.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All natural forest communities, numerous regional endemic species.
causes of endangerment
Transformation for spruce forestry, timber felling, soil erosion.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of the semi-natural remnants.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Romania: Rodna-, Fagaras-, Retezat-mountains.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Borhidi 1971; Borza 1934; Boşcaiu 1971; Coldea 1990; Coldea & Wagner 1997/1998
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by N. Doniţă, completed by U. Bohn referring to Borhidi 1971
