Title
East Polish-Ukrainian lime-pedunculate oak-hornbeam forests (Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata) without Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, with Galium schultesii
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Poland: eastern part of the country (middle Weichsel); Ukraine: wolynisch-Podolian plate as far as to the Dnjepr (e. g. near Kiev)
area frequency
51 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Tilio-Carpinetum Traczyk 1962, central Polish race.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Two- to three-layered tree layer, with mostly a 60-80 % coverage (deciduous trees, regionally also conifers - mostly pine - as a secondary type of tree); the shrub layer has a 20-40 % coverage (deciduous forest); the herb layer has a 70-90 % coverage (mesophilous to hygrophilous deciduous forest herbs, in poorer forms also grasses and sparsely distributed dwarf shrubs); moss layer absent or weakly developed (and then only a few bryophytes).
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur (in the western part also Quercus petraea), Tilia cordata, Acer platanoides; sparsely in moist formations Ulmus, Fraxinus excelsior and occasionally Alnus glutinosa
Shrub layer
Corylus avellana, Euonymus verrucosa, Euonymus europaea, Crataegus spp., Rubus idaeus, Lonicera xylosteum
Lianas
häufig Hedera helix, mostly only vegetativ (as far as to the altitude of snow covering)
Herb layer
Galium schultesii, Carex pilosa, Melampyrum nemorosum, Ranunculus cassubicus, Isopyrum thalictroides, Stellaria holostea; Anemone nemorosa, Anemone ranunculoides, Lamium galeobdolon, Aegopodium podagraria, Asarum europaeum, Corydalis cava, Corydalis solida, Hepatica nobilis; in moist formations also Festuca gigantea, Circaea lutetiana, Stachys sylvatica and other hygrophilous Alno-Ulmion species; in drier formations Calamagrostis arundinacea, Vaccinium myrtillus (mostly steril) among others
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata; Dactylis polygama, Melampyrum nemorosum, Stellaria holostea, Carex pilosa, ”Sarmatian” species (Cruciata glabra, Euonymus verrucosa, Galium schultesii, Isopyrum thalictroides, Ranunculus cassubicus)
Ecological variants
In addition to the typical form there are extreme trophically/hygrically determined subassociations: Tilio-Carpinetum calamagrostietosum (Calamagrostis arundinacea, Vaccinium myrtillus); T.-C. stachyetosum (Stachys palustris and other hygrophilous Alno-Ulmion species); T.-C. corydaletosum (geophyte-rich with Corydalis cava, Allium ursinum, Ranunculus ficaria, Gagea lutea, Gagea minima).
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Middle Polish (Masovian) strain of the Tilio-Carpinetum without its own diagnostic species, in Poland with two altitudinal forms: a lowland (without its own differential species) and a colline with Abies alba, Picea abies, (also in the tree stand), but without beech; absence of species from the lesser Polish (Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba, Euphorbia amygdaloides) and Masurian (Cardamine bulbifera, Festuca altissima) strains.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
In the region around the middle course of the Dniester and in the vicinity of Kiev, forest steppes on limestone; sedge fens.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
pine forests (D54, D55, D57), acidophilous oak forests (F12), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F40, F42a, F44, F61, F62), in the eastern part of the area lime-pedunculate oak forests (F71); in the southwestern marginal region species-poor beech forests (F80) and species-rich beech forests (F125); tree-rich raised bogs (very rare, S12), tall sedge-fens (S25), alder carrs (T1), alluvial and moist forests (U9, U11, U14, U24); thermophilous mixed oak forests in the east (G1), forest steppes (L2, L3), salt vegetation (P34),
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Only used rarely for forestry (mainly in larger wooded regions); usually pine plantations; hedges and scrub: usually Pruno-Rubion fruticosi Tx. 1952 corr. Doing 1962, occasionally also Berberidion Br.-Bl. (1947) 1950; forest clearing communities (Arctietum nemorosi) etc.; fringe communities (Trifolio-Agrimonietum, Vicietum sylvatico-dumetorum, Alliario-Chaerophylletum temuli etc.).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
With moist/rich forms: grass meadows cut several times per year, permanent and intensive pastures (Arrhenatheretum group, with moister forms: various Calthion or Alopecurion pratensis communities, with poorer, especially degraded forms: matgrass communities ( Polygalo-Nardetum etc.)).
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Industrial and fodder plants, (rye, wheat, potato, beets), vegetable and fruit cultivation. Segetal cereal communities mostly of the Aphanion alliance (Vicietum tetraspermae typicum and consolidetosum), on lime-rich sites Caucalidion lappulae (Lathyro-Melandrietum noctiflori etc.); root crop communities: Echinochloo-Setarietum (richer form), Lamio-Veronicetum politae; in intensively fertilized fields close to villages: Galinsogo-Setarietum etc.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Areas, especially settlements, that have already long been exploited: closed villages surrounded by orchards, rich agricultural holdings, large farm estates; also usually older towns as local business centres. Ruderal communities: luxuriantly and richly developed; especially typical communities include: Leonuro-Arctietum, Tanaceto-Artemisietum, Urtico-Malvetum; trampled vegetation communities (Lolio-Polygonetum arenastri, Prunello-Plantaginetum etc.).
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Periglacial lowland (ground moraine, higher floodplain terraces), in areas sometimes loess landscapes.
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland (rarely colline) altitude
Geology (bedrock)
Boulder loams, shallow fine-grained sands above loam or ribbon clay (Pleistocene); eolian, fluviatile, fluvioglacial and glacial sediments (Pleistocene above Tertiary, Cretaceous; Warthe and Drenthe stage of the Saale ice-age)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
Ripe and partly weakly podzolized brown and gray-brown podzolic soil (lessivée); pseudogley- and gley-soils; grey forest soils; browned alluvial soils; (eutric and gleyic podzoluvisols; orthic and gleyic luvisols; eutric cambisols)
soil texture
loamy sands to loams, also dusty fine sands
soil moisture, water balance
wet, moist to fresh
soil reaction
weakly acidic to neutral, rarely weakly alkaline
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI1, VI(VIII)
average annual temperature
6-8 EC
average annual precipitation
(450-) 500-600 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
18-19 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-5 to -2 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
2-5 weeks enduring dryness in summer/early autumn every couple of years.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Smaller remnants are scattered almost everywhere, larger forests are rare (mostly in large forest dominated regions); because of human intervention they are rare and as such worthy of protection.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Most forest communities are more or less endangered.
causes of endangerment
Cultivation of non-indigenous tree types, and still occasionally forest woodland pastures, transformation into arable land; general environmental pollution.
required measures for protection and restitution
Natural silvicultural management; the best preserved semi-natural and representative stands should be placed under protection.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Poland: several nature reserves, e. g. the national park "Kampinos" near Varsovia and some in the Lublin hilly country. Ukraine: some reserves especially in the west, limit of occurrence near Kiev.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1985; Traczyk 1962
Compiled by
W. Matuszkiewicz, Z. Neuhäuslová
