Title
Pre-Carpathian beech forests (Fagus sylvatica), partly with Carpinus betulus, Abies alba, with Cardamine glanduligera, Symphytum tuberosum subsp. angustifolium, partly S. cordatum
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Widely distributed at the margin of the Carpathians. Poland: Beskides (lower altitudes) and their foreland, low mountain range (Lysa Gora), Krakow Jura and adjacent landscapes; Roztocze and the southeasterly adjacent hilly country, "Opole" and northern foreland of the east Carpathians; Podolia (here only insular); Slovakia: Východoslovenský, Vihorlát; Ukraine: western part of the Podolian hilly country, northern part of the east Carpathians; Romania: east and south Carpathians, Apuseni-mountains; Hungary: Matra, Bükk
area frequency
53 polygons .
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Dentario glandulosae-Fagetum Matuszkiewicz 1964 ex Guzikowa & Korna 1969 (syn: Fagetum carpaticum Klika 1927 p.p., Symphyto cordatae-Fagetum Vida 1959), colline/submontane altitude form; Ukraine: Fagetum podolicum Szafer 1935, Carici pilosae-Fagetum Oberdorfer 1957.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Tall-growing beech or fir-beech cathedral forests with a closed canopy (70-90 %). Shrub layer only weakly developed, and absent in typical stands. The herb layer (60-90 %) has a mosaic structure and consists mainly of short or middle-height, broad-leaved dicotyledon herbs. The moss layer is weakly developed and only in base-poor forms contains some bryophytes.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Fagus sylvatica dominating, admixed Abies alba (occasionally as accompagnying tree species), Carpinus betulus, Quercus petraea, Quercus robur (not rare, but mostly sparsely occuring), isolated Picea abies, Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus
Shrub layer
Young growth of the tree species, otherwise sparsely Daphne mezereum, Euonymus europaea, Euonymus verrucosa, Cornus sanguinea, Corylus avellana
Herb layer
Cardamine glanduligera, Cardamine bulbifera, Symphytum cordatum, Asarum europaeum, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Pulmonaria obscura, Sanicula europaea, Salvia glutinosa, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Polygonatum multiflorum, Viola reichenbachiana, Dryopteris filix-mas, Carex digitata, Paris quadrifolia, Actaea spicata, Circaea lutetiana, Anemone nemorosa, Athyrium filix-femina, Oxalis acetosella, Maianthamum bifolium, Mycelis muralis, Geranium robertianum
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Atrichum undulatum, Eurhynchium angustirete
Diagnostically important species
Fagus sylvatica, Carpinus betulus; Cardamine bulbifera, Cardamine glanduligera, Symphytum cordatum, Polystichum brownii; regional differential species towards other Eu-Fagion-communities in Poland: Euphorbia amygdaloides, Glechoma hirsuta, Salvia glutinosa, Symphytum tuberosum subsp. angustifolium. Differential species towards the colline/submontane altitude form (towards the montane F135): Carpinus betulus; Carex digitata, Hedera helix, Hepatica nobilis, Lathyrus vernus, Stellaria holostea, Veronica chamaedrys. Highly present alliance/order/class-character species: Actaea spicata, Anemone nemorosa, Circaea lutetiana, Daphne mezereum, Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Paris quadrifolia, Polygonatum multiflorum, Pulmonaria obscura, Viola reichenbachiana. Highly present accompagnying species: Ajuga reptans, Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris carthusiana, Geranium robertianum, Maianthemum bifolium, Mycelis muralis, Oxalis acetosella
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
The colline/submontane form of the Dentario glandulosae-Fagetum in Poland is divided into two geographic strains as is the montane form. The west-Carpathian strain in this form also features no differential-species and is subclassified into a number of regional forms. Apart from the "central form" in the submontane belt, the foothills of the west Beskidy mountains until approx. the river Visloka, as well as in Cracovian Jura and its neighbouring hills, there are two prominent regional forms, i.e. that of the Lysa-Gora uplands, where in addition to the usual Cardamine species Cardamine enneaphyllos is also present, and that of the Cieszyn (Tesin) mountains at the westernmost edge of the Silesian Beskidy mountains. This community is especially worthy of mention because of its thermophilous differential-species (Hacquetia epipactis, Orchis tridentata).The east-Carpathian strain is distributed in the submontane belt, in the foothills of the eastern and central Beskidy mountains east of the Visloka, in the neighbouring hills of Roztocze, as well as (beyond the state border) at the edge of Podolia, in Opole and in Podolia itself (as small islands). It is physiognomically characterised by a considerable proportion of hazel (Corylus avellana) in the shrub layer and Carex pilosa, often in vast numbers, in the herb layer. Differential-species of the strain include above all Aposeris foetida and Scilla bifolia. This community transcends, especially in its southeast-colline form, to the Moldavian beech forests with silver lime (Tilia tomentosa) (F127); Ukraine: in the south-eastern part of the range a form with Balkan and Pannonian species (Crocus vernus subsp. vernus, Scutellaria altissima, Polygonatum hirtum), in the western part with Carpathian and other montane forest species (Cardamine glanduligera, Telekia speciosa, Polygonatum verticillatum, Luzula sylvatica, Prenanthes purpurea). In western Podolia with Abies alba and Pinus sylvestris, closer to the Dniester with Viburnum lantana.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
In Romania, small woodrush-beech forests with Hieracium rotundatum, Festuca drymeja; also small-sized incidences of sessile oak-hornbeam forests.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
Alpine rose-dwarf pine shrub (C38), spruce forests (D37), acidophilous oak forests (F22), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F41, F42, F48, F58, F60, F61, F62, F64), species-poor beech forests (F102), species-rich beech and mixed beech forests (F120, F126, F135), Tatar maple-sessile oak forests (G2, G3), mixed Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G9, G10), Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G20), alluvial forests (U11, U16).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
The colline deciduous forest belt is primarily afforested with pine (rarely spruce and Douglas fir) or degraded to low forest, secondary Carpinion-like substitute communities. Sambuco-Salicion scrub; forest clearing communities of the Fragarion alliance (Arctietum nemorosi, Atropetum belladonnae), other forest clearing and fringe communities (Trifolio-Agrimonietum, Vicietum sylvatico-dumetorum, Alliario-Chaerophylletum temuli etc.).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Small areas of meadows (Arrhenatheretum elatioris) and permanent pastures (Lolio-Cynosuretum); in Ukraine there are meadow steppes in places.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Potato, beet, wheat, corn, sunflower fields: most important weed communities: Lamio-Veronicetum politae in root crop fields; Vicietum tetraspermae (on calcareous soils often Caucalidion lappulae communities) in cereal fields.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
In Poland the typical ruderal communities include: Leonuro-Arctietum, Tanaceto-Artemisietum, Urtico-Malvetum, Lolio-Plantaginetum. Communities on trampled ground (Prunello-Plantaginetum).
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
In the mountains and hills mostly on shallow slopes, and sometimes in deeply cut ravines; also on undulating plateaus in the eastern pre-Carpathian loess landscapes
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane; 250-500 m
Geology (bedrock)
sandstone and conglomerates in the foreland, lower altitudes of the flysch-Beskides and the low mountain range (Tertiary, Cretaceous); limestone and chalky clay of different origin (Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous), bluff formation and similar Pleistocene sediments; crystal slate (Precambrian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
meso- tro eutrophic brown soils and parabrown soils, locally pseudo-gleyed; further typical and browned rendzines. humus form mull, exceptionally mull-like mor; (eutric cambisols; orthic and gleyic luvisols; rendzic leptosols)
soil texture
silt-rich loamy sands, sandy loams and loams; locally stone-rich
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to stagnating moist
soil reaction
moderately acidic to weakly alkaline
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII), VI2a, VI9b, VI(X)b
average annual temperature
7-8 EC
average annual precipitation
550-750 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
18-21 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-5 to -3EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Poland: mostly north exposure; concave, often gorge-like terrain forms (but without accumulation of cold air).
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
In Poland there are still quite a few representative stands, but these are endangered by increasing environmental pollution; in Ukraine there are remnants at the eastern and northeastern range limits that are highly worthy of protection (70-140 years old).
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Species worthy of protection (Ukraine): Lilium martagon, Neottia nidus-avis, Cephalanthera rubra, Platanthera bifolia, Platanthera chlorantha, Listera ovata, Epipactis helleborine, Epipactis purpurata, Crocus vernus subsp. vernus, Leucojum vernum, Lunaria rediviva, Galanthus nivalis.
causes of endangerment
General environmental pollution; forest clearing.
required measures for protection and restitution
Semi-natural forest management, designation of protected areas.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Poland: national parks "Ojcow" (Krakow Jura), "Kreuzgebirge" (Lysa Gora), and "Roztocze"; also some nature reserves in the submontane altitude of the Carpathians; Ukraine: in all massifs large enough (Kremenevskij krjañ, hilly country Opolie, Toltrovyj krjañ), in east Carpathians nature reserve Rasto…skij zapovednik, Satanov - forest Satanovskaja da…a, region of the city of Kosov in the Rayon Kosovskij.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Doniţă, Ivan, Coldea, Sanda, Popescu, Chifu, Paucă-Comănescu, Mitetelu & Boşcaiu 1992; Dzwonko 1977; Dzwonko 1984; Ivan, Doniţă, Coldea, Sanda, Popescu, Chifu, Boşcaiu, Mititelu & Paucă-Comănescu 1993; Izdebski et al. 1992; Kosec’ 1971; Matuszkiewicz 1984; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1973; Medwecka-Kornaś 1952
Compiled by
W. Matuszkiewicz; Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by Ju.R. Šeljag-Sosonko, revised by U. Bohn
