Title
Northeast European spruce forests (Picea abies, Picea abies x Picea obovata, Picea obovata) with dwarf shrubs, herbs and mosses alternating with spruce and pine forests on peat soils and with mires
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Fennoscandian: not shown on the map; Russia: insular in the north Russian lowlands from south Carelia to the Timan ridge
area frequency
110 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
see: D4, D5, D45, D47; S3, S16, S18/19 S20, S23.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Vegetation complex with relief-determined changes consisting of moss-rich dwarf shrub-spruce forests (a) on raised sites (earth banks, hillocks) and mires in hollows as well as water-logged spruce (D5) and pine forests (D47) on peaty soil and bog soils (b) in the transitional regions to mires.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Picea abies, Picea abies x Picea obovata, Picea obovata, Pinus sylvestris, Betula pubescens (especially in moist forests and mires)
Shrub layer
Sorbus aucuparia, Juniperus communis, Salix aurita
Herb layer
a) Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Trientalis europaea;
b) Carex globularis, Equisetum sylvaticum; in mires: Eriophorum vaginatum, Rubus chamaemorus, Carex lasiocarpa among others
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
a) Hylocomium splendens, Dicranum polysetum, Pleurozium schreberi;
b) Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum russowii and many other moss species
Diagnostically important species
see mapping unit D4, D5
Ecological variants
see under the heading 'stand structure'
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In the west Picea abies prevails, while in south Karelia P. abies x P. obovata is dominant, and in the east P. obovata dominates.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
small-area incidences of hygrophilous pine forests (D47, D48) and raised bogs (S3).
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
spruce forests (D2, D3, D4, D5, D8, D9, D10), pine forests (D42, D45, D47, D48), raised bogs (S3, S4) aapa mires (S16), transition bogs (S20), brown mires (S23).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Forestry.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
occasional meadows and pastures.
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
lowlands with a shallow undulating relief
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland
Geology (bedrock)
glacial sediments (Pleistocene) above Triassic, Permian, Devonian
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
podzole, gley-podzole, peaty soil-gley, peat soils; (dystric and gleyic podzoluvisols, orthic and gleyic podzols; dystric histosols)
soil texture
sandy to loamy
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to wet
soil reaction
strongly to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic, oligo-mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
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
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Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
bad state of preservation, natural forests destroyed to a large extent; mainly secondary communities.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Nearly-natural forests.
causes of endangerment
Timber exploitation, clear felling.
required measures for protection and restitution
Control of Timber exploitation, protection of representative stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
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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; Kielland-Lund 1973; Kielland-Lund 1981; Ničenko 1954; Ničenko 1960b; Sambuk 1927; Shimanjuk 1931; Smirnova 1943; Smirnova 1954; Sokolov 1928; Vasilevič 1983; Zinserling 1932
Compiled by
T.K. Jurkovskaja, revision U. Bohn
