Title
East Caucasian oak forests (Quercus pedunculiflora) and hornbeam-oak forests (Quercus pedunculiflora, Carpinus betulus) with Ulmus minor
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Russia: Daghestan (lower course of the Samur, border towards Azerbaijan); northeast Azerbaijan: foothill lowland along the Caspian coast; east Georgia, northwest Azerbaijan: valley lowland of Alazani and Agritchai (not on the map)
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
No details
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Tall-stemmed forests (18-30 m), with a maximum height of 35 m for oak and a maximum stem diameter of 1.2 (2) m. The 3-5 m shorter Carpinus betulus (70-80 cm stem diameters) is the most frequent codominant, and there are also admixtures of Ulmus minor. The shrub layer is generally well developed, and the occurrence of lianas is typical; the herb layer with a dense tree crown is very interspersed, and genuine forest species are rare. At open sites the flora is rich in grasses.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus pedunculiflora, Carpinus betulus, admixed Ulmus minor, here and there with Fraxinus excelsior, Acer campestre, Acer cappadocicum, Tilia begoniifolia, Acer platanoides, (at the Alazani: Acer velutinum, Pyrus caucasica, Morus alba). along river shores: Alnus barbata, Pterocarya pterocarpa, Populus x canescens
Shrub layer
Crataegus pentagyna, Crataegus rhipidophylla, Mespilus germanica, Prunus divaricata, Carpinus orientalis, Cornus sanguinea subsp. australis
Lianas
Smilax excelsa, Periploca graeca, Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris, Clematis vitalba, Cynanchum acutum, Solanum persicum, Hedera pastuchowii (Hyrcanian)
Herb layer
Brachypodium sylvaticum, Dactylis glomerata, Cynodon dactylon, Carex sylvatica, Carex pendula, Carex divulsa, Carex remota, Viola alba among others
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus pedunculiflora, Carpinus betulus, Ulmus minor, Crataegus pentagyna, Crataegus rhipidophylla, Mespilus germanica, Prunus divaricata, Cornus sanguinea subsp. australis, Smilax excelsa, Periploca graeca, Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris, Clematis vitalba, Cynanchum acutum, Solanum persicum, Hedera pastuchowii
Ecological variants
Different moisture and trophy forms.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In the region of the Alazani river with Acer velutinum (Hyrcanian).
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Flood-plain forests with Alnus barbata, Pterocarya pterocarpa, Populus nigra, Populus x canescens, Salix excelsa
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
Caucasian mixed hornbeam-oak forests (F170), steppes (M18a), deserts (O9), dune vegetation (P16).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Cleared, shrub-rich forest remnants and scrub with Paliurus spina-christi, Berberis vulgaris, Pyracantha coccinea, Rhamnus pallasii.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Pastures.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Orchards and vineyards, vegetable gardens, melon fields.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Foothill lowlands, river deltas, floodplain terraces influenced by mountain rivers and torrents
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland (-colline)
Geology (bedrock)
fluviatile (Holocene) sediments, debris nests, colluvia
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
nutrient-rich colluvisols, brown soils, gleys; (eutric chromic cambisols; eutric gleysols)
soil texture
sandy to gravely loam
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moist
soil reaction
moderately acidic to neutral
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic, eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VII2b
average annual temperature
10-13 EC
average annual precipitation
450-700(900) mm
average temperature of the warmest month
August 22-25 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
January -1 to 2 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
The yearly amplitude of the average monthly temperature reaches 23-24,5 EC.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
The natural vegetation has been destroyed almost everywhere by man, and in areas only shrub-rich substitute communities are preserved; the mapping unit is not protected in any nature reserves.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Caucasian Quercus pedunculiflora-forests are very rarely preserved and because of that extremely worthy of protection.
causes of endangerment
Clearing, transformation into agriculturally useful areas.
required measures for protection and restitution
Establishment of nature reserves for the rare and semi-natural remnants of the oak forests.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Georgia-Azerbaijan: lowland of the valley Alazani-Agritchai (so far not protected).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Lvov 1964; Nachucrišvili 1999
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by A.G. Doluchanov and Ju.R. Šeljag-Sosonko, completed
