Title
Pre-Sudetian sessile oak-hornbeam forests (Carpinus betulus, Quercus petraea, Quercus robur), mostly with Fagus sylvatica, submontane type with Senecio ovatus, Prenanthes purpurea, partly Carex brizoides
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Germany: Oberlausitz (Saxony); Poland, Czech Republic: outliers of the Sudetes
area frequency
1 Polygone.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
This unit is signified in Poland as submontane altitudinal type of the Oder/Warthe-race of the Galio-Carpinetum, in the Czech Republic as Tilio-Carpinetum Traczyk 1962. It has a transitional position between the Stellario- and Galio-Carpinetum. Potentially transitional types between beech forests and beech forests play a big role.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Layered mixed forest consisting of hornbeam, pedunculate oak, small-leaved lime and beech. The tree layer is closed; the shrub layer has a 20-40 % degree of coverage (deciduous tree species); the herb layer is 70-90 % (herbs, in poorer forms rich in grasses); the moss layer is absent or weakly developed (and then only a few bryophytes).
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Carpinus betulus, Acer pseudoplatanus, Quercus petraea, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata, Fagus sylvatica
Shrub layer
Corylus avellana, young growth of dominating tree species
Herb layer
Stellaria holostea, Aegopodium podagraria, Anemone nemorosa, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Campanula trachelium, Poa nemoralis, Scrophularia nodosa, Viola reichenbachiana, Polygonatum multiflorum, Primula elatior; in dry-poor formations: Calamagrostis arundinacea and Luzula luzuloides, in fresh to moist formations: Athyrium filix-femina, Carex sylvatica, Festuca gigantea, Paris quadrifolia, Stachys sylvatica, Ajuga reptans, Geum urbanum, Circaea lutetiana, Stellaria nemorum, Carex brizoides (often facies-forming)
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Atrichum undulatum
Diagnostically important species
Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata, Quercus robur, Fagus sylvatica; Stellaria holostea, Dactylis polygama, Galium sylvaticum, Melampyrum nemorosum; Festuca heterophylla (rare!), Convallaria majalis. Differential species of the high-altitude type: Senecio ovatus, Prenanthes purpurea, Polygonatum verticillatum (rare), Sambucus racemosa, Luzula luzuloides (in the dry/mesotraphent formation); characteristic is the missing of Acer campestre, Chaerophyllum temulum and Ranunculus auricomus. Highly present order./class-ch.: Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus; Corylus avellana, Daphne mezereum; Anemone nemorosa, Asarum europaeum, Aegopodium podagraria, Carex sylvatica, Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Lamium galeobdolon, Melica uniflora, Melica nutans, Milium effusum, Poa nemoralis, Pulmonaria obscura, Viola reichenbachiana, Polygonatum multiflorum, Sanicula europaea
Ecological variants
In addition to the typical form a mesotrophic drier subassociation (with Calamagrostis arundinacea, Luzula luzuloides etc.) as well as a hygrophilous form with several humidity indicators penetrating from the Alno-Ulmion.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
The community is formed quite uniformly over its range.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Asperulo-Fagetum, Luzulo-Fagetum, Luzulo-Quercetum, Carici remotae-Fraxinetum, Stellario-Alnetum, Pruno-Fraxinetum.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
acidophilous oak forests (F6, F14), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F42a, F55), species-poor beech forests (F85, F96, F97), species-rich beech forests (F134), alluvial forests (U9).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Middle and low forests, the main usage forms being spruce and pine forestry. Hedges, scrub and forest mantle communities: Rubo fruticosi-Prunetum spinosae (very widespread), Sambuco-Salicion etc. forest clearing vegetation of the Fragarion vescae alliance and regeneration phases of the forest (Sambuco-Salicion, often Rubo-Sambucetum racemosi). Fringe communities (Trifolio-Agrimonietum, Vicietum sylvatico-dumetorum, etc.).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Multiannually mown grass meadows and intensive meadows (Arrhenatheretalia) on fresh sites; Calthion communities on wetter sites. With extensive grazing matgrass communities (Polygalo-Nardetum etc.) have arisen now and again.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
The predominant usage form for a long time: highly productive wheat-beet complexes, more rarely rye and potatoes; industry and fodder plants, vegetable and fruit cultivation. Segetal vegetation: in cereal fields mostly Vicietum tetraspermae typicum or consolidetosum (occasionally also Aphano-Matricarietum), in root crop fields mainly Lamio-Veronicetum politae, and in nitrogen overfertilised fields near villages Galinsogo-Setarietum.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Areas favoured for settlement: tightly packed villages with orchards, rich agricultural holdings, large farm estates, often with spacious parks (often deserving of cultural conservation); town settlements; ruderal communities are luxuriantly and richly developed; typical communities: Echio-Melilotetum, Leonuro-Arctietum, Tanaceto-Artemisietum, Hordeo-Brometum, Urtico-Malvetum, Centaureo-Berteroetum, Lolio-Plantaginetum, Prunello-Plantaginetum.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Shallow to hilly mountain foothills; hollows and basins in the mountains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
submontane; about 300-550 m
Geology (bedrock)
Predominately siliceous rocks: slate (Devonian); Early Palaeozoic siliceous rocks (Carboniferous); Tertiary, Triassic, Cretaceous; glacial sediments often with bluff formation cover (Pleistocene)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
eutrophic, partly mesotrophic brown soils, parabrown soils; moist formations on pseudogleys or gleys; (eutric and gleyic cambisols; luvisols; planosols)
soil texture
mostly stone-rich loamy sands to loams
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to periodically moist
soil reaction
acidic to neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI9b, VI(X)b
average annual temperature
6-7,5 EC
average annual precipitation
700-800 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
16-18 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-3 to -2,5 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
---
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Mostly forest remnants, larger forest areas are rare and mainly afforested with spruce.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
No details
causes of endangerment
Timber harvesting, forestry, agricultural land usage, settlements.
required measures for protection and restitution
All preserved semi-natural stands are deserving of protection and should be managed carefully and naturally.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Poland: some occurrences in the foreland of the Iser mountains, in the Glatz basin and in the foreland of the Troppau mountains near G»ucho»azy and Prudnik.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Kuczyńska 1972; Matuszkiewicz 1984; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1985; Neuhäuslová 2001b
Compiled by
W. Matuszkiewicz, revised by U. Bohn
