Title
Northeast European hygrophilous spruce forests (Picea obovata, Picea abies x Picea obovata) with dwarf shrubs, sedges and mosses (Vaccinium uliginosum, Carex globularis, Equisetum sylvaticum, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Polytrichum commune)
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Russia: between lake Onega and the northern Ural, increasing to the east
area frequency
208 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Piceetum myrtilloso-sphagnosum, Piceetum equisetoso-Sphagnosum.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Complex of spruce fen forests (a) and horsetail-peat-moss-spruce forests (b) in wet hollows and at the edge of mires. spruce (Picea obovata, Picea abies x obovata) dominates in the tree layer with admixtures of pine and downy birch. Hardly developed shrub layer. Field layer with dominant dwarf shrubs or wood horsetail, sedges and peat-mosses.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Picea obovata, Picea abies x Picea obovata, admixed Pinus sylvestris, Betula pubescens
Herb layer
a) Vaccinium uliginosum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Ledum palustre, Maianthemum bifolium, Orthilia secunda;
b) Equisetum sylvaticum, Carex globularis, Carex disperma, Viola palustris, Dryopteris carthusiana, Oxalis acetosella, Trientalis europaea
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
a, b) Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum russowii, Polytrichum commune
Diagnostically important species
Picea obovata, Picea abies x Picea obovata; Equisetum sylvaticum, Carex globularis, Carex disperma, Vaccinium uliginosum, Viola palustris; Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum russowii
Ecological variants
see the heading 'stand structure'
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
euro-Siberian and Siberian herb species east of Lake Onega: Rubus humulifolius, Crepis sibirica etc.; in the north Rubus arcticus.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Pinetum ledo-sphagnosum and mires, Piceetum vacciniosum, Chamaemoro-Piceetum, Vaccinio-Pinetum, Cladonio-Pinetum.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
spruce forests (D2, D3, D4, D6, D10, D11), pine forests (D45, D47, D48), raised bogs (S3), aapa mires (S16), transition bogs (S20), alluvial forests (U2, U3).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
spruce plantations, birch forests.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
No details
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
water-logged basins and hollows, edges of mires
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland
Geology (bedrock)
glacial sediments (Pleistocene) above Triassic, Permian
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
gley, podzole, peaty soil-gley and peat soils; (gleyic podzols; gleyic and dystric podzoluvisols; dystric histosols)
soil texture
sandy, loamy, clayey
soil moisture, water balance
paety-swampy, wet
soil reaction
strong to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic, oligo-mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VIII(VI), VIII2
average annual temperature
0-2 °C
average annual precipitation
400-600 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
16-20 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
to -12 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
---
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Good state of preservation.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
No details
causes of endangerment
Timber exploitation, clear felling.
required measures for protection and restitution
No details
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Russia: Zapovednik Kivač, Svirskij (along the lower course of the Svir).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Dmitrieva 1973; Gavrilov & Karpov 1962; Gribova, Isačenko & Lavrenko (Red.) 1980; Jakovlev & Voronova 1959; Ničenko 1954; Ničenko 1960b; Sambuk 1927; Shimanjuk 1931; Smirnova 1943; Smirnova 1954; Sokolov 1928; Vasilevič 1983; Zinserling 1932
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová and H. Wagner based on documents by V. I. Vasilevič
