Title
Baltic-Byelorussian-Ukrainian lime-pedunculate oak-hornbeam forests (Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata) with Picea abies
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Poland: Masurian, Suwa»ki-lake district, Bia»owieóa; Russia: Kaliningrader region; Lithuania: coast and southern part of the country (as far as Kaunas and Vilnius); Belarus: Polesje and southern part of the country as far as Minsk; Ukraine: north Wolynien
area frequency
59 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
mostly Tilio-Carpinetum Tracz. 1962 subboreal race; in Poland occasionally also the most soil-rich formations of the Serratulo-Pinetum J. Matuszkiewicz 1988.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Tree layer 70-90 % (often 2-3 sublayers); Shrub layer up until 50 % and more; Herb layer above 40-80 % (mostly herbs and gramineous perennials that are primarily hemicryptophytes with quite a high proportion of geophytes); moss layer up to 5 (10) % or often absent (bryophytes). The upper tree layer consists of Quercus robur with very sparse additions of Acer platanoides, Picea abies as well as Fraxinus excelsior (on rich soils) or Pinus sylvestris (on poor soils); the lower, denser tree layer consists of Carpinus betulus and Tilia cordata. The height of the 80-120 year old stands is 24-26 m. The shrub layer is sparse, the herb layer is species-rich and comprises boreal and central European species.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata, Picea abies (not dominating in nearly-natural stands), Acer platanoides among others; additionally Pinus sylvestris
Shrub layer
Young growth of trees, otherwise Corylus avellana, Euonymus verrucosa, Euonymus europaea among others; additionally in certain formations Lonicera xylosteum, Cornus sanguinea, Daphne mezereum, Frangula alnus
Lianas
often Hedera helix (only up to the altitude of medium snow covering)
Herb layer
Aegopodium podagraria, Anemone nemorosa, Carex pilosa, Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Stellaria holostea, Maianthemum bifolium, Oxalis acetosella among others; dry-mesotrophic formations with Calamagrostis arundinacea, Vaccinium myrtillus; moist/eutrophic formations with overlapping Alno-Padion species; additionally Russia: Convallaria majalis, Carex pilosa, Equisetum sylvaticum, Asarum europaeum, Viola odorata, Sanicula europaea, Polygonatum multiflorum, Pulmonaria obscura, Mercurialis perennis, Trientalis europaea
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Atrichum undulatum, Eurhynchium angustirete
Diagnostically important species
Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata; Euonymus verrucosa, Isopyrum thalictroides, Ranunculus cassubicus, also Carex pilosa; species of the subboreal race: Picea abies; Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Equisetum pratense, Cardamine bulbifera and other rare overlapping Fagion species (Festuca altissima, Hordelymus europaeus). "Negative marks" of the race within the regional-ass (= missing of the demanded species): Cruciata glabra, Galium schultesii (both ch. ass.), Acer pseudoplatanus, Quercus petraea alliance and order ch: Aegopodium podagraria, Ajuga reptans, Anemone nemorosa, Asarum europaeum, Carex pilosa, Daphne mezereum, Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Hepatica nobilis, Lamium galeobdolon, Lathyrus vernus, Milium effusum, Polygonatum multiflorum, Ranunculus lanuginosus, Stellaria holostea, Viola reichenbachiana. Important acompagnying species: Dryopteris carthusiana, Maianthemum bifolium, Oxalis acetosella; additionally in Russia: Quercus robur, Populus tremula, Sorbus aucuparia, Vaccinium myrtillus, Trientalis europaea
Ecological variants
In addition to the typical form there are extreme trophically/hygrically determined subassociations: Tilio-Carpinetum calamagrostietosum (Calamagrostis arundinacea, Vaccinium myrtillus, sparsely Trientalis europaea); T-C. stachyetosum (Stachys palustris and other hygrophilous Alno-Ulmion species); T-C. corydaletosum (megatrophic, geophyte-rich with Corydalis cava, Allium ursinum, Ficaria verna, Gagea lutea, Gagea minima).
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
The community itself is a geographic strain of the subcontinental oak-hornbeam forest, without any further regional subclassification. In Poland in the northern subrange of the spruce (Eastern Masuria, the Bialystok and Suvalki regions) its potential distribution is practically everywhere and it is indeed quite common. Further north and east in the Baltic states and Belarus it can be encountered as far as the limit of the hornbeam’s distribution.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Nemoral pine-oak forests; small occurrences of alluvial-type ash-alder forests and alder carrs.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
spruce forests (D19), pine forests (D49, D55), acidophilous oak forests (F13), mixed oak-hornbeam beech forests (F38, F41), dune vegetation (P4), raised bogs (S2), tree-rich raised bogs (S12), alder carrs (T1), birch carrs (T4), alluvial and moist forests (U9, U10, U11, U24).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Pine, pine-oak and rarely spruce plantations; low forest; mantle communities (Carpino-Prunetum spinosae); clear-cut vegetation (Fragarion vescae, mostly anthropogenic!); fringe communities (Trifolion medii, Alliarion).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Poland: only locally distributed and usually in small areas of eutrophic grass meadows of the Arrhenatherion elatioris (fresh sites) or the Calthion (moist sites; the Cirsietum rivularis Ralski 1931, a geographic vicariant of the Cirsio-Polygonetum R. Tuexen 1951) that are cut several times per year. Permanent pastures of the Lolio-Cynosuretum R. Tuexen 1937. On poorer sites that have arisen due to excessive usage there are poor Alopecurion meadows or matgrass communities (Polygalo-Nardetum Preising 1949).
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Poland: mainly arable land; predominant usage: traditional cultivation of ryes, wheat, potatoes and beets; sometimes also of industrial and fodder plants. The regional characteristic community on cereal fields is the Consolido-Brometum (Denissow 1930) Tuexen & Preising 1950, and on root crop fields is the Lamio-Veronicetum politae Kornaś 1950 or the richest forms of the Echinochloo-Setarietum Krus. & Vlieg. (1939) 1940; in the vicinity of villages, with nitrogen overfertilised fields there is the Galinsogo-Setarietum (Tuexen & Beck. 1942) Tuexen 1950.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Poland: this has long been a preferred settlement area with closely set villages, rich farm estates and larger town settlements. The ruderal vegetation in places is usually luxuriantly developed with characteristic communities: Balloto-Chenopodietum, Tanaceto-Artemisietum vulgaris. Trampled vegetation communities (Lolio-Polygonetum arenastri, on well-used forest paths Prunello-Plantaginetum).
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Periglacial lowland (ground moraine, higher floodplain terraces, valley slopes), hills
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland, colline; (50) 100-200 (250) m
Geology (bedrock)
marine sediments (Holocene); boulder loams, shallow fine-grained sands above loam or ribbon clay (Pleistocene), fluviatile and glacial sediments (Pleistocene above Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic) (ice dam sediments of the Weichsel, Saale and Elster ice-age)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
meso- to eutrophic brown soils, lessivée, crypto- to eu-podzolized brown soils, gley- and pseudogley-soils, also brown (or browned) alluvial soils of the vega-type; (eutric podzoluvisols; orthic and gleyic luvisols; eutric cambisols)
soil texture
lightly loamed-loamy sands to (heavy) loams
soil moisture, water balance
moist to fresh
soil reaction
acidic to neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI1, VI(VII), VI(VIII)
average annual temperature
5-7 EC
average annual precipitation
500-800 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 17-19 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
January, February regionally -6 to -4,5 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Transitional region to the subatlantic climate.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Small, residual forests that are widely scattered are sometimes quite well preserved (the natural species composition can still be clearly recognised). Larger stands are quite rare, usually in a few expansive forest regions; forests are highly worthy of protection and have a soil protecting function.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Species worthy of protection: Lilium martagon, Polygonatum verticillatum.
causes of endangerment
Increasing environmental pollution; transformation into spruce forestry.
required measures for protection and restitution
Strict protection of all semi-natural remnants.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Poland: under strict protection in the Bia»owieóa- National park, reserves in the Borker and Rominter heath; Lithuania: near Klajpeda, Kaunas and Vilnius, not mapped near the village of Mazaleja (Rayon Elgavskij); Latvia: not mapped near the city of Limbañi (Rayon Valmierskij).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
Poland: especially in the Bia»owieóa-National park; also in several nature reserves.
Most important references (author, year)
Faliński 1986; Labanauskas 1962; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1985
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová, W. Matuszkiewicz, by interpretation of documents by Ju.R. Šeljag-Sosonko
