Title
North and east European hygrophilous pine forests (Pinus sylvestris) with Betula pubescens, with dwarf shrubs (Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium uliginosum, Ledum palustre), Equisetum sylvaticum and mosses (Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum russowii)
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Finland: large-scaled north and east of the Bothnian Gulf; Esthonia; Latvia; Russia: from the western border to the Ural foreland
area frequency
324 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Oxycocco-Pinetum Kielland-Lund 1981; Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetum Kleist 1929; Pineta sphagnosa Sambuk 1987.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Three-layered pine forests with dominating Pinus sylvestris and admixtures of Picea abies, Picea obovata, Betula pubescens. The tree layer is 8-12 (until 22) m in height with a canopy closure of 30-70%. The shrub layer is absent; dwarf-shrub-rich herb layer (10-90 % coverage); closed moss layer with dominating peat-mosses.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Pinus sylvestris, admixed Picea abies, Picea obovata, Betula pubescens s. l.
Herb layer
Ledum palustre, Vaccinium uliginosum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Eriophorum vaginatum, Andromeda polifolia, Empetrum nigrum, Carex lasiocarpa, Carex globularis, Equisetum sylvaticum
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum russowii, Sphagnum magellanicum, Polytrichum commune
Diagnostically important species
Pinus sylvestris; Vaccinium uliginosum, Ledum palustre, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Eriophorum vaginatum; Sphagnum spp., Polytrichum commune
Ecological variants
scattered bilberry-peat-moss pine forests (secondary forests probably having arisen from spruce forests) in flat depressions on sandy and loamier-sandy peaty soilish and podzolised gley soils (Picea abies and Betula pubescens up to 40 %, Sphagnum girgensohnii and Sphagnum angustifolium dominate). Moss-peatmoss-pine forests on a weakly depressed relief with slow running to stagnant groundwaters, dominating Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium vitis-idaea as well as Polytrichum commune and Sphagnum girgensohnii (often arising as a result of fire damage to other types). Sorrel-peat-moss-pine forests particularly at river headwaters, at the edges of mires, in severely waterlogged basins. Menyanthes trifoliata, Potentilla palustris, Equisetum fluviatile, Phragmites australis, Calamagrostis canescens etc. are characteristic. In the moss layer Sphagnum magellanicum, S.warnstorfii, Sphagnum capillifolium and Sphagnum angustifolium dominate.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
in the west a formation type with Molinia caerulea.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
small area incidences of Scandinavian East European spruce forests, alder carrs, aapa mires, raised bogs.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
spruce forests (D1, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D10, D11, D12, D14, D15, D16, D19), pine forests (D42, D45, D48, D49, D55), salt vegetation (P20), raised bogs (S18/19, S2, S3, S9), tree-rich raised bogs (S12), aapa mires (S15), transition bogs (S18/19, S20), brown mires (S23), alder carrs (T1), birch carrs (T4), alluvial forests (U2, U3).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
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grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
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arable land (characteristic weed communities)
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settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
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Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Edges of mires, groundwater influenced sandy plains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland-colline
Geology (bedrock)
glacial, fluviatile and fluvioglacial sediments (Pleistocene above Devonian, Permian); granite, gneiss (Precambrian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
oligotrophice peaty soil-gley, gley-podzole, peat soils; (dystric gleysols; gleyic podzols; dystric histosols)
soil texture
sandy, loamy-sandy
soil moisture, water balance
very wet, wet
soil reaction
strongly acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VIII2, VIII(VI)3
average annual temperature
0-5 °C
average annual precipitation
400-650 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
15-20 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
-9 to -3 °C in the west (Baltic Sea area), up to -12 °C in the east
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
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Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Hardly threatened by forestry practices. Since semi-natural stands occupy large areas, no special protective measures are necessary.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
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causes of endangerment
rare fires.
required measures for protection and restitution
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Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Russia: Zapovednik Svirskij (lower course of the Svir), Darvinskij, Central’no-Lesnoj.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Kielland-Lund 1981; Laasimer 1965; Matuszkiewicz 1984; Ničenko 1960a; Rysin 1975; Sambuk 1987
Compiled by
T.K. Jurkovskaja, N.M. Kalibernova
