Title
Subatlantic Cardamine bulbifera-beech forests (Fagus sylvatica)
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Germany: highlands of the Eifel, Westerwald, Knüll, Vogelsberg, Rhön, Meißner, Harz
area frequency
9 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Dentario bulbiferae-Fagetum Lohmeyer 1962, corresponds to Hordelymo-Fagetum Kuhn 1937, montane high altitude form.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Middle to tall-growing cathedral forests in which beech dominates. Shrubs do not play any appreciable role, and are often completely absent. On the other hand the herb layer is usually luxuriantly developed. Mosses are sparse and are more substantially represented only in certain forms.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Fagus sylvatica dominating, Acer pseudoplatanus interspersed in stems to troops, Fraxinus excelsior, locally Acer platanoides, Ulmus glabra, Tilia platyphyllos
Shrub layer
sparsely Sorbus aucuparia, Daphne mezereum, Lonicera xylosteum, Sambucus racemosa, Rubus idaeus, Crataegus laevigata
Herb layer
Cardamine bulbifera, Galium odoratum, Mercurialis perennis, Lamium montanum, Dryopteris filix-mas, Hordelymus europaeus, Milium effusum, Carex sylvatica, Viola reichenbachiana, Anemone nemorosa, Scrophularia nodosa, Poa nemoralis, Melica uniflora, Oxalis acetosella, Athyrium filix-femina; montane species: Polygonatum verticillatum, Senecio ovatus, locally Ranunculus platanifolius, Stellaria nemorum, Lunaria rediviva, Aconitum lycoctonum subsp. vulparia, Petasites albus, Cicerbita alpina, Anthriscus nitida, Campanula latifolia, Geranium sylvaticum; acidophilous formations: Luzula luzuloides, Poa chaixii, Maianthemum bifolium, Hieracium murorum, Convallaria majalis, Deschampsia flexuosa
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Atrichum undulatum
Diagnostically important species
Fagus sylvatica, Acer pseudoplatanus; Cardamine bulbifera, Galium odoratum, Mercurialis perennis, Viola reichenbachiana, Hordelymus europaeus; montane differential species: Polygonatum verticillatum, Senecio ovatus, Stellaria nemorum, locally Ranunculus platanifolius, Petasites albus, Cicerbita alpina, Lunaria rediviva
Ecological variants
Dentario-Fagetum luzuletosum on base-poorer soils, D.F. athyrietosum and D.F. F. stachyetosum at humid air as well as wet sites, geophyte-rich form with Corydalis cava, Corydalis intermedia, Allium ursinum, Gagea lutea, Gagea spathacea, Anemone ranunculodes, D. F. with montane tall forbs in the upper montane belt in plateau locations and particularly on seeping wet and scree slopes.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Eastern strain with Lathyrus vernus, Lilium martagon, Asarum europaeum, Vicia sylvatica, Ranunculus lanuginosus.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Horsetail and woodrush Carpathian birch forest (Equiseto-Betuletum carpaticae); herb-rich alder swamp forests of high altitudes (Crepido-Alnetum); stitchwort/alder forest (Stellario-Alnetum), high altitude form; wet sycamore-ash forest (Adoxo-Aceretum); wet tufted hairgrass-sycamore mixed forest and tufted hairgrass-sycamore-alder forest (Deschampsio cespitosae-Aceretum); montane woodrush-beech forest (Luzulo-Fagetum); montane grass pea-beech forest (Lathyro-Fagetum); small-leaved lime-wych elm slope and block debris forest of high altitudes (Tilio-Ulmetum glabrae); Festuco-Fagetum Schlueter 1957.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
species-poor beech forests (F83, F85, F90), species-rich beech forests (F110, F111, F113), Sphagnum magellanicum-raised bogs (S10).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
spruce forests, often fern-rich with Athyrium filix-femina and Dryopteris dilatata, Oxalis spruce forests (often shrub-rich); hawthorn-hazel-sycamore tree hedges, Sambucus racemosa-Sorbus aucuparia pioneer trees; Senecio ovatus-Epilobium angustifolium forest clearing vegetation, tall-forb fringes (Bistorta officinalis-Epilobium angustifolium community, Aegopodium podagraria-Centaurea montana fringe (Rhone)).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Yellow oatgrass meadows (Geranio-Trisetetum, Poo-Trisetetum), matgrass communities (Knautio-Nardetum), white clover meadows (Alchemillo-Cynosuretum).
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Galeopsio-Aphanetum, typical and Sinapis arvensis subassociation; Veronico agrestis-Fumarietum, Lapsana altitudinal form, sometimes with Viola tricolor.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Without usage: fringe communities: Chaerophylletum aurei (Rhone, Vogelsberg, Knuell), Epilobio-Geranietum robertiani.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Uplands
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
montane; (400) 500-950 m
Geology (bedrock)
basalt, phonolithe, melaphyr, tuffs (Tertiary), diabas, lime-, clay-, chalky clay stones (Triassic, Devonian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
base-rich brown soils, parabrown soils, locally loose brown soils, rendzines, ranker, colluvia; (eutric and stony cambisols; eutric luvisols; rendzic and eutric leptosols)
soil texture
loamy, often grouany-stony or block-rich soils
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moderately dry
soil reaction
moderately to weakly acidic
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic, eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI7c, VI9b, VI(X)a
average annual temperature
5-7 EC
average annual precipitation
700-1200 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 12-16 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
January -4 to -1 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
---
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Many semi-natural stands are still relatively well preserved.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection.
causes of endangerment
Cutting and clearing of forests; transformation of semi-natural forests into coniferous plantations; agricultural usage; burdening of the air with nutrients and pollutants.
required measures for protection and restitution
Preservation of all semi-natural stands with various forms of protection. Semi-natural silviculture.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Germany: NWZ 21 Brandhagen (North Rhine-Westphalia); High Rhön: western slope of the Stirnbergs, nature reserve Schafstein, Ulster-Spring area with nature reserve Kesselrain and Black Forest, Langenstütig, Höllerskopf, nature reserve Gangolfsberg and Elsbachtal (Bavaria); High Westerwald: Aubachtal, Rabenscheider Holz (Hessen); nature reserve Vessertal, biosphere reservate in the nature park Thuringian Forest (Thuringia); nature reserve Tännichen and nature reserve Albrechtshaus (Saxony-Anhalt); nature reserve Zweibach, nature reserve Steinbach (Saxony).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
Germany: Hutweiden between Rabenscheid and Gusternhain, Hutweiden northwest of Dierdorf (High Westerwald, Hessen); nature reserve Rotes Moor and Mathesberg (Rhön), Heidelstein and adjacing highlands of the nature reserve Lange Rhön (Bavaria); nature reserve Vessertal with rich mountain meadows (Thuringia).
Most important references (author, year)
Bohn 1996; Grüneberg & Schlüter 1957; Hofmann 1962; Hofmann 1964b; Landesamt für Umweltschutz Sachsen-Anhalt (Hrsg.) 2000; Lohmeyer 1962; Schlüter 1959a; Schlüter 1959b; Schubert 1972b; Trautmann (Red.) 1973
Compiled by
U. Bohn; H. Schlüter
