Title
Central European-southwest Sarmatian subcontinental mixed pine-pedunculate oak forests (Quercus robur, Pinus sylvestris), partly with Carpinus betulus, with Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Trientalis europaea, Chamaecytisus ruthenicus, Carex digitata, Melica nutans, locally alternating with pine forests (Pinus sylvestris)
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Poland: whole area of the country (apart from Masuria, Lower Silesia and Galicia); Belarus: southern part, Polesje (Pripjat lowland); Ukraine: Wolynien, north of Desna
area frequency
170 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Calamagrostio arundinaceae-Quercetum petraeae (Hartmann 1934) Scamoni & Passarge 1959; Querco roboris-Pinetum J.M. Matuszkiewicz 1988 (= "Pineto-Quercetum" auct. polon.). In contrast to F11 this unit, is classified by W. Matuszkiewicz (1984) to the alliance Dicrano-Pinion (Vaccinio-Piceetea) and not to the Quercion robori-petraeae.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Closed, three- to four-layered forests with a stratified tree layer (up to 35 m, stand often 2-layered with an upper layer of pine and a lower layer of oaks), well developed shrub layer (10-40 %), closed herb layer (30-50 %) of dwarf shrubs, herbs and grasses, and a moss layer with a 10-40 % degree of coverage.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus robur, in the western part also Quercus petraea, Pinus sylvestris, isolated Populus tremula, Carpinus betulus, Picea abies, Betula pendula admixed
Shrub layer
Young growth of trees, Sorbus aucuparia, Frangula alnus, Corylus avellana, Juniperus communis, Euonymus verrucosa, Pyrus pyraster
Herb layer
Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Luzula pilosa, Festuca ovina, Dryopteris carthusiana, Maianthemum bifolium, Trientalis europaea, Rubus saxatilis, Pteridium aquilinum, Melampyrum pratense subsp. commutatum, Oxalis acetosella, Fragaria vesca, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Veronica officinalis, Potentilla erecta, Solidago virgaurea, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Calluna vulgaris, Pyrola rotundifolia, Orthilia secunda, Hieracium lachenalii, Chamaecytisus ruthenicus, Galium schultesii, Melica nutans, Carex digitata, Rubus idaeus, Polygonatum odoratum, Convallaria majalis, Anemone nemorosa, Viola reichenbachiana, Veronica chamaedrys
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Polytrichum formosum, Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens, Dicranum scoparium, Dicranum polysetum, Polytrichum juniperinum, Polytrichum commune, Atrichum undulatum, Eurhynchium angustirete, Plagiomnium affine
Diagnostically important species
Quercus robur, Pinus sylvestris; Calamagrostis arundinacea, Melampyrum pratense, Pteridium aquilinum, Solidago virgaurea; the combination of conifer wood and mixed broad-leaved forest elements is characteristic. Marking highly constant Vaccinio-Piceetea species: Pinus sylvestris, Trientalis europaea, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea; Dicranum polysetum, Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens. Of Querco-Fagetea species are especially to be mentioned: Carex digitata, Carpinus betulus, Corylus avellana, Euonymus verrucosa, Melica nutans and Viola reichenbachiana. Unit F12 is distingiushed from the acidophilous oak forest (Calamagrostio-Quercetum petraeae) F11 adjacing in the west by the occurrence or a distinct higher presence degree of Dicranum polysetum, Hylocomium splendens, Oxalis acetosella, Rubus saxatilis, Trientalis europaea and Veronica officinalis as well as (negatively) by the missing of or more rare occurrence of Deschampsia flexuosa, Carex pilulifera, Poa nemoralis and Quercus petraea.
Ecological variants
Wet forms with Molinia caerulea.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In the western, southern and central parts of the range Carpinus betulus and in the north also Picea abies can be added; western vicariants with scattered Quercus petraea incidences; except for the continuous transition to the unit F11 slightly regional alterations of the community can be recognised. A prominent geographic strain is that of the central-Polish hills where fir and spruce number amongst the stand forming species of the mixed pine-oak forests; here, there are also forms that cross over to fir forests (Abietetum polonicum, D25) with Lycopodium annotinum and Thuidium tamariscinum.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Oligotrophic pine forests (Dicrano-Pinion) of drier to moist sites (Cladonio-Pinetum, Leucobryo-Pinetum, Molinio-Pinetum, Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetum); Oak-hornbeam forests, fens, raised bogs, alder carrs.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
pine forests (D54, D55, D57), mixed acidophilous oak and oak forests (F11, F13, F20t), pedunculate oak and sessile oak-hornbeam forests (F38, F40, F41, F42a, F44, F55, F57), lime-pedunculate oak forests (F70, F71), species-poor sessile oak-beech forests (F80), species-rich beech and fir-beech forests (F107, F110, F119, F125), oak and pine-oak forests (G1), forest steppes (L2, L3), raised bogs (S9, S12), tall sedge-fens (S25), alder carrs (T1), alluvial and moist forests (U9, U11, U24).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Primarily pine forestry; Poland: The sites of this unit occupy more than half of the current actual forest area, and are the most important forest sites economically. They are exploited mostly for pine (and only rarely oak). The pine is treated as the primary timber wood in the high upper tree layer, with an approximately 100 year rotation time; Oaks (above all the pedunculate oak, in the western part of the range also the sessile oak) is maintained in the lower tree layer and is sometimes treated as it is in middle forests. Vegetation on clear cut areas of the Epilobio-Senecionetum sylvatici and Calamagrostis epigejos stands; scrub of the Sambuco-Salicion; bramble scrub and bracken stands, as well as anthropogenic Calluna and Sarothamnus heaths.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
In Poland on moist sites usually moderately productive grass meadows of the Bromo-Senecionetum aquatici or autumn grazed meadows of the Junco-Cynosuretum until recently. Annually cut Molinion straw meadows of the Junco-Molinietum type have now become very rare. Mat-grass communities (Polygalo-Nardetum); locally siliceous dry grassland: Diantho-Armerietum in the west, Sileno otitis-Festucetum and Festuco psammophilae-Koelerietum glaucae in the east.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Wheat, rye, potato, flax fields, vegetable gardening, more rarely also wheat fields or fodder plant cultivation. In cereal fields usually poorer forms of the Aphanion (e.g. Vicietum tetraspermae sperguletosum) or Arnoseridion communities occur. Root crops are accompanied mostly by poor forms of the Echinochloo-Setarietum. In manured fields close to villages the Setario-Galinsogetum prevails.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Poland: frequently encountered ruderal communities include: Sisymbrietum sophiae, Urtico-Malvetum neglectae, Atriplicetum nitentis, Centaureo-Berteroetum, Echio-Melilotetum; trampled vegetation communities: Lolio-Plantaginetum, Juncetum tenuis.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Poland: flat to hilly periglacial plains; higher valley terraces of the larger rivers and streams, sometimes with inland dunes
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland, colline (to submontane); mostly 100-200 m, in the south as high as 500 m
Geology (bedrock)
outwash of the Saale and Weichsel ice-age; ground and end moraines of the Weichsel ice-age and of the Warthe and Drenthe stage within the Saale ice-age (Pleistocene); fluvioglacial (Pleistocene above Cretaceous) and fluviatile (Pleistocene above Tertiary) sediments
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
weakly humic, podzolized brown soils to weakly developed podzoles; in moister formations mostly pseudogleys or gley-like soils; (humic and dystric cambisols; leptic podzols; dystric and gleyic luvisols; gleyic podzoluvisols; mollic gleysols)
soil texture
lightly loamed to weakly loamy sands
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moderately dry; partly periodically moist
soil reaction
strong to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligo-mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI1, VI(VII)1, VI(VIII),
average annual temperature
5-8 EC
average annual precipitation
500-650 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 18-20 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
January -5 to -3 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
---
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
In Poland there are still quite a lot of semi-natural stands, but in other regions they are rare; the community is endangered as a whole.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
No details
causes of endangerment
Clearing and agricultural use; transformation into pine forestry; increasing intensification and mechanisation of forestry; increasing environmental pollution, especially nitrogen eutrophication, Chernobyl reactor incident (Pripet marsh plain).
required measures for protection and restitution
Preservation of the semi-natural stands, establishment of larger protected areas with natural vegetation complexes.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Poland: Bia»owieóa-National park, Kampinos-National park near Varsovia; Belarus: National park Belaveñskaja puš…a, Polesskij, Pripjatskij zapovednik; Ukraine: Šatskij prirodnyj nacional'nyj park.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Jurkevič (Red.) 1969; Matuszkiewicz 1988; Matuszkiewicz 1981; Matuszkiewicz 1984; Medwecka-Kornaś 1972; Povarnicyn 1971
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by Ju.R. Šeljag-Sosonko, W. Matuszkiewicz, completed and revised by J. Pallas, U. Bohn
