Title
Balkanic pine forests (Pinus sylvestris) with Bruckenthalia spiculifolia, Hypericum cerastoides
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Macedonia; Bulgaria: Rhodope mountains (large-scaled), Pirin, Rila, rarely Osogovo, Lozenska Gora; Greece: Pieria Ori, Rhodope mountains
area frequency
11 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Pinus sylvestris-Vaccinium myrtillus-community (Penev 1963); Pineta sylvestris Bondev 1991. Not yet surveyed in Greece (no tables published on part of the Greek), probably not different to Bulgaria, with running out of boreal-montane species to the south.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Closed forest pine forests, often with a tree layer of quite a uniform age (probably due to the effects of forest fires). The higher shrub layer is either very sparse or absent, but the dwarf shrub layer is richly developed (with greater aridity of the site, however, it tends to be sparser). Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba participate more strongly in the transition region to F153.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Pinus sylvestris predominating, locally admixed Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica; Pinus peuce, Picea abies
Shrub layer
Chamaecytisus eriocarpus, Sambucus racemosa, Lonicera caerulea, Corylus avellana
Herb layer
Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Bruckenthalia spiculifolia; Hypericum cerastoides, Digitalis viridiflora, Deschampsia flexuosa, Hieracium murorum, Pteridium aquilinum, Fragaria vesca, more rarely Oxalis acetosella
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Hypnum cupressiforme
Diagnostically important species
Pinus sylvestris; Chamaecytisus eriocarpus; Bruckenthalia spiculifolia, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Hypericum cerastoides, Digitalis viridiflora
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In the Rhodope mountains monodominant communities prevail, and mixed forests with Quercus dalechampii, with Pinus nigra (Rhodope mountains, Pirin mountains) or mixed forests with beech (Pirin, Rila, Rhodope mountains, Osogovo, and Stara Planina mountain ranges) are rarer.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Picea abies, Pinus peuce, Pinus nigra, Quercus dalechampii, Fagus sylvatica forests.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
krummholz scrubs (C39), spruce forests (D41), oak-hornbeam forests (F67), species-rich beech- and mixed beech forests (F152, F153, F154, F156), Quercus polycarpa-forests (G9), Balkan oak forests (G26), hop forests (G55, G56), black pine forests (K15, K16), alluvial forests (U18).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Betula pendula, Populus tremula pioneer stands, Juniperus communis subsp. alpina, Juniperus communis subsp. communis, Corylus avellana scrub.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Pteridium heaths, Epilobium angustifolium forest clearance communities; pasture grounds: short-grass meadows with Agrostis capillaris, Nardus stricta.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
---
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Rumex alpinus communities.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
High-mountains (plateaux, saddles, arêtes)
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
montane-altimontane; 1000-2000 m
Geology (bedrock)
siliceous rock (Palaeozoic, Precambrian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
ranker, acidic mountain brown soils; (leptosols; chromic luvisols; dystric cambisols)
soil texture
sandy, loamy-grouany, often stone-rich to rocky
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to dry, locally moist
soil reaction
strongly to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic to mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII), X
average annual temperature
6-8 °C
average annual precipitation
800-900 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 14-20 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -3 to -2 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
sub-Mediterranean climate of high altitudes: snow-rich, short dryness in summer (danger of fire); transition between the continental and Mediterranean climate. Influenced by the Mediterranean climate in the south.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
not endangered; secondarily expanded at the expense of beech forests. Preserved as a high-growing pine forest due to frequent ground fires, but occasionally damaged by forest grazing and timber harvesting. Protected in Bulgaria in some nature reserves and national parks (Pirin national park, nature reserves in the Rhodope mountains).
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All natural communities.
causes of endangerment
formerly forest fires, grazing, and now acid rain.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of all semi-natural stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Greece: Pieria Ori (west-side), Rhodope mountains north of Drama; Bulgaria: Rhodope mountains, Pirin, Rila, more rarely Osogovo.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Bondev 1991; Horvat, Glavač & Ellenberg 1974; Penev 1963; Voliotis 1976
Compiled by
Th. Raus and E. Bergmeier; Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by I. Bondev
