Title
Illyrian sessile oak-hornbeam forests (Carpinus betulus, Quercus petraea agg.) with Epimedium alpinum, Erythronium dens-canis, Primula acaulis, Helleborus dumetorum, Knautia drymeia
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Austria: Carinthia, Styria; Italy: surroundings of Triest, Venetia-Giulia; Slovenia: whole country; Hungary: southwest (Zala), western Mecsek-mountains; Croatia: Croatian central mountains between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bosnia-Herzegovina: above all the northern part; Yugoslavia: Fruška Gora (west Serbia, south of Novi Sad)
area frequency
28 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Querco petraeae-Carpinetum illyricum I. Horvat in Horvat I., Glava… & Ellenberg 1974 - syn.: Querco-Carpinetum croaticum I. Horvat. 1938 p.p. Collective term (maybe association group) for several ecological or regional closer conceived communities, so in Hungary: Helleboro dumetorum-Carpinetum Borhidi & Soó 1962, Epimedio-Carpinetum (I. Horvat 1938) Borhidi 1963, Anemoni trifoliae-Carpinetum Borhidi & Kevey 1996; in Austria: Erythronio-Carpinion (Horvat 1958) Marin…ek in Mucina et al. 1993; in Croatia: Epimedio-Carpinetum betuli (Horvat) Borhidi 1963, Festuco heterophyllae-Carpinetum betuli Vukeli‰ 1991.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Three-layered, species-rich sessile oak-hornbeam forests with a well developed shrub layer and often a closed herb layer with numerous geophytes (e.g. Galanthus nivalis, Leucojum vernum, Erythronium dens-canis, Cardamine spp., Scilla bifolia). The moss layer is insignificant.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus petraea, Carpinus betulus, Quercus cerris, Fagus sylvatica, Tilia cordata, locally Tilia tomentosa, Acer platanoides, Prunus avium, Sorbus torminalis, Quercus dalechampii, Acer campestre
Shrub layer
Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus laevigata, Cornus mas, Cornus sanguinea, Euonymus verrucosa, Corylus avellana, locally Staphylea pinnata, Ligustrum vulgare, Fraxinus ornus
Lianas
Hedera helix, Lonicera caprifolium, Clematis vitalba, Tamus communis
Herb layer
Anemone nemorosa, Anemone trifolia, Aremonia agrimonoides, Carex pilosa, Epimedium alpinum, Erythronium dens-canis, Festuca drymeja, Helleborus dumetorum, Helleborus niger, Knautia drymeia subsp. drymeia, Lathyrus venetus, Melica uniflora, Primula acaulis, Ruscus aculeatus; additionally in the south: Lamium orvala, Carex umbrosa, Asarum europaeum, Cardamine bulbifera, Carex sylvatica, Festuca heterophylla, Galanthus nivalis, Hacquetia epipactis, Hepatica nobilis, Scilla bifolia
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
mostly missing
Diagnostically important species
Quercus petraea, Carpinus betulus; Fraxinus ornus, Staphylea pinnata; Tamus communis; Anemone trifolia, Aremonia agrimonoides, Lathyrus venetus, Luzula forsteri, Potentilla micrantha, Galanthus nivalis, Helleborus dumetorum, Isopyrum thalictroides, Epimedium alpinum, Erythronium dens-canis, Primula acaulis, Omphalodes verna, Crocus vernus subsp. vernus
Ecological variants
On acid soils: Erythronio-Carpinetum (illyricum); on neutral to weakly acid soils: Carici pilosae-Carpinetum (illyricum); on lime-rich soils: Staphyleo-Carpinetum (illyricum).
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In Croatia this community group is represented by the Epimedio-Carpinetum (with Epimedium alpinum, Helleborus niger subsp. macranthus, Aposeris foetida, Gentiana asclepiadea, Cardamine waldsteinii); in the hills of Zala (Western Hungary) without Tilia tomentosa and Ruscus aculeatus, but with Anemone trifolia, Cardamine waldsteinii, Cyclamen purpurascens, Lamium orvala and Tephroseris longifolia; in the hills of Zselic (Southwest Hungary) with Tilia tomentosa and Ruscus aculeatus; in the climatically dry eastern Slavonia it is represented by the Rusco-Carpinetum (illyricum). In Austria there are only species impoverished outliers of this unit.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Vicio oroboidi-Fagetum, Doronico austriaci-Fagetum, Lamio orvalae-Fagetum; Hungary: Querco-Ulmetum, Aegopodio-Alnetum, Carici brizoidis-Alnetum; Austria: Deschampsio flexuosae-Quercetum petraeae, Stellario bulbosae-Fraxinetum.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
acidophilous oak- and mixed oak forests (F20), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F47, F58, F66), species-poor beech- and mixed beech forests (F86, F87, F88, F96), species-rich beech forests (F116, F121, F124, F142, F143, F144, F150), thermophilous mixed sessile oak forests (G6, G7), sessile oak-bitter oak forests (G16, G17, G18), Oriental beech-downy oak forests (G48, G49, G51), pine forests (K2), xerophytic black pine forests (K8, K9), alder carrs (T1), alluvial forests (U9, U15, U16, U17).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Middle and low forests, pine and spruce forestry, Robinia forestry; Prunetalia scrub, Sambucus nigra scrub.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Arrhenatherion meadows (Ononidi-Arrhenatheretum); Scorzoneretalia villosae.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Cereals, corn, orchards; potatoes, wine, vegetables; no details regarding weed communities.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Various weed and ruderal communities from the classes of the Chenopodietea and Artemisietea.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Hilly country and plains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane; 150-400 m
Geology (bedrock)
bluff formation (Pleistocene); flysch (Tertiary), Tertiary sediments; carbonate rocks (Cretaceous, Jurassic Triassic)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
leached and lime-rich brown soils, parabrown soils; pseudogley; mostly low skeletal content; (eutric cambisols; eutric and gleyic luvisols; eutric planosols)
soil texture
loamy to clayey
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moderately dry, locally periodically moist to moist
soil reaction
moderately acidic to neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI1, VI3c, VI(X)
average annual temperature
8-11 EC
average annual precipitation
650-800 mm (Hungary); >1100 mm (Italy); 850-900 mm (Croatia)
average temperature of the warmest month
Juni/July 23-26 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
January 1-4 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)
In Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina: there are sometimes large, well preserved forest areas that are not particularly endangered; in Italy and Austria there are mostly only small-sized forests, greatly influenced by man in the agricultural landscape.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Species worthy of protection: Hungary: Cephalanthera longifolia, Epipactis microphylla, Epipactis purpurata, Lilium martagon, Ruscus aculeatus, Ruscus hypoglossum, Tamus communis; Croatia: Epimedium alpinum, Galanthus nivalis, Leucojum vernum.
causes of endangerment
Timber harvesting, transformation into forestry, clearings for agriculture or construction activities, marginal effects of agriculture (pesticides, fertilizers).
required measures for protection and restitution
Semi-natural silviculture, creation of representative natural forest reservations.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Austria: southeast Styrian hilly country; Italy: surroundings of Triest; Hungary: landscape reserve of Zselic, (Denna and Kardosfa puszta), nature reserves between Zákány and Ôrtilos; Croatia: Samoborsko gorje, surroundings of Zagreb, foot of the Kalnik.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Borhidi 1960; Borhidi 1963; Borhidi 1965; Borhidi 1984; Borhidi & Kevey 1996; Horvat 1938; Horvat 1962; Horvat, Glavač & Ellenberg 1974; Marinček, Poldini & Zupančič 1983; Pócs 1960; Poldini 1985; Poldini 1989; Poldini & Vidali 1995; Soó 1962; Soó 1964a; Sturm 1978; Török, Podani & Borhidi 1989; Vukelić 1991
Compiled by
A. Borhidi; F. Pedrotti and Z. Neuhäuslová; I. Trinajstiƒ; H. Wagner, completed by K. Zukrigl, W. Matuszkiewicz
