Title
Hercynian (spruce-)fir-beech forests (Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba, Picea abies), partly with Cardamine enneaphyllos, Prenanthes purpurea
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Germany: small-scaled in east Bavaria (Frankenwald, Steinwald); Poland: Sudetes, Eulen- and Rabengebirge, Waldenburger Bergland, Glatzer-Schneeberg-group, Riesengebirge; Czech Republic: Duppauer mountains, Bohemian Forest, Bohemian-Moravian hights, Bohemian intermediate mountains, Sudetes, Javorniky; Slovakia: west Carpathians; Austria: Mühlsektor
area frequency
21 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Dentario enneaphylli-Fagetum Oberdorfer 1957 ex W. & A. Matuszkiewicz 1960 (syn.: Fagetum sudeticum Preising 1938, Abieto-Fagetum sudeticum Neuhäusl 1959, Abieti-Fagetum hercynicum Mikyška 1972).
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Tall-growing, two-layered spruce-fir-beech forest with a closed crown canopy (30-40 m high). The shrub layer is either lacking or only weakly developed. The herb layer has a 60-90 % degree of coverage, mainly with impressive dicotyledon herbs and tall, broad-leaved grasses of the Fagetalia. Sometimes there is a spring aspect with Cardamine enneaphyllos; the moss layer is only fragmentary.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Fagus sylvatica predominating, Acer pseudoplatanus regularly admixed, frequently with Abies alba, in the east more of Picea abies
Shrub layer
Young growth of trees, isolated Sambucus racemosa, Sorbus aucuparia, Lonicera nigra, Rubus idaeus
Herb layer
Cardamine bulbifera, Cardamine enneaphyllos, Dryopteris filix-mas, Festuca altissima, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Viola reichenbachiana, Actaea spicata, Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Carex sylvatica, Milium effusum, Paris quadrifolia, Poa nemoralis, Hordelymus europaeus; montane species: Polygonatum verticillatum, Prenanthes purpurea, Senecio ovatus, Senecio nemorensis, Petasites albus; Further: Oxalis acetosella, Athyrium filix-femina, Mycelis muralis, Maianthemum bifolium, Geranium robertianum, Dryopteris carthusiana, Calamagrostis arundinacea
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Atrichum undulatum, Polytrichum formosum (both quite frequent, but in low amount)
Diagnostically important species
Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba, Picea abies; regional ch/d species: Cardamine bulbifera, Cardamine enneaphyllos, Festuca altissima, Hordelymus europaeus, Euphorbia dulcis. Differential species of the montane altitude form (towards the colline/submontane F119): Polygonatum verticillatum, Prenanthes purpurea, Petasites albus, Senecio nemorensis, Polystichum aculeatum, Sambucus racemosa, Lysimachia nemorum, Lonicera nigra
Ecological variants
Apart from the typical subassociation there are some habitat-conditioned forms: a) mesotrophic, acidic-soil, D.e.-F calamagrostietosum transcending to the Luzulo-Fagetum with Luzula luzuloides, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Deschampsia flexuosa; b) eutrophic D.e.-F. asaretosum with Asarum europaeum and Pulmonaria obscura on rich, weakly acidic to neutral and fresh soils; c) eutrophic, geophyte-rich D.e.-F. allietosum with Allium ursinum, Corydalis cava, Gagea lutea etc. on very rich, neutral, seeping wet soils.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
The regional form on the Schneeberg in eastern Sudetia, characterised by the east Alpine/Illyrian species Cardamine trifolia, is deserving of mention.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Small-sized incidences of Luzulo luzuloides-Fagetum and Lunario-Aceretum, waterspring vegetation, montane Stellario-Alnetum.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
fir- and mixed fir forests (D24, D26), spruce forests (D34, D34a), pine forests (D54a), acidophilous oak- and mixed oak forests (F20t), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F42a, F56, F57, F58), species-poor beech and mixed beech forests (F85, F86, F96, F97), species-rich beech and mixed beech forests (F119, F120, F135), tree-rich raised bogs (S11).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Rarely managed in a near-natural way, and usually afforested with spruce. Forest clearing vegetation: primarily Senecioni sylvatici-Epilobietum angustifolii in the montane Senecio ovatus altitudinal form; regionally also Epilobio-Digitalietum purpureae. Further development via Senecio ovatus and Rubus idaeus stages to the Sambuco racemosae-Rubetum rudis and to pioneer forest stages with Sorbus aucuparia, Salix caprea.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Only small incidences of montane Polygono-Trisetion meadows (Geranio-Trisetetum, Meo-Festucetum, Cardaminopsio halleri-Agrostietum), Nardetalia communities, Festuco-Cynosuretum meadows.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Unsuitable for farming, locally potatoes, rye and oat.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Settlements are rare, only local and small-sized; the vegetation remains little explored.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Mostly slopes and ridges in higher uplands, and also where inversion layers occur (i.e. increasing temperatures with increasing altitude)
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
montane-altimontane; (500)600-1000(1100) m
Geology (bedrock)
base-rich siliceous rocks of different origin, among others volcanites, sedimentary rocks, granites, gneiss; locally limestone (Tertiary, Cretaceous; Palaeozoic, Precambrian)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
predominately middle to deep mostly stony mesotrophic to eutrophic brown soils, more rarely ranker; humus form mull to mull-like mor-like humus; (stony eutric cambisols; eutric leptosols)
soil texture
mostly stone-rich sandy to grouany loames
soil moisture, water balance
fresh
soil reaction
moderately to weakly acidic, partly neutral
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic, eutrophic, locally mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI8c, VI9b, VI(X)b
average annual temperature
4-7 EC
average annual precipitation
700-1200 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
13-17 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-5 to -3 EC
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)
As a result of the long-standing preferential treatment of the spruce (for economic reasons), semi-natural beech forests have become quite rare in the Hercynian mountain ranges. Despite this there are still many semi-natural stands which allow us to identify the floristic-socioecological make-up of the association in its broad range of variations.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection; important biotopes of endangered species, among others Cicerbita alpina, Polystichum brownii, Lunaria rediviva.
causes of endangerment
Transformation into spruce forest with a short rotation time; often heavily burdened by environmental pollution from industrial emissions.
required measures for protection and restitution
Semi-natural forestry, regeneration of semi-natural stands, protection of the natural remnants.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Czech Republic: biosphere-reserve Kíivoklátsko, mount Špi…ák in the Iglau mountains (Bohemian-Moravian hights), mount ZátoÁská hora near Volary, Berg Kokrhá… near Špindlerçv mlýn (Riesengebirge); Poland: some sites in the national park Riesengebirge, in the nature reserves in the Eulengebirge and in the Glatzer Schneeberg, especially worthy of protection (because highly endangered) are the occurrences in the Katzbach-, Raben- and Heuscheuergebirge.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Matuszkiewicz 1984; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1960; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1973; Moravec, Husová, Neuhäusl & Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1982; Müller Th. 1992; Neuhäuslová 2001b; Seibert 1968
Compiled by
U. Bohn based on documents by R. Neuhäusl, Z. Neuhäuslová and W. Matuszkiewicz
