Title
Northeast Central European (sessile oak-)beech forests (Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea), partly with Calamagrostis arundinacea
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Germany: sandy ground moraines and sand areas east of the Elbe in Mecklenburg-Hitherpomerania and Brandenburg; Poland: main distribution in the northwest between Oder, Weichsel and lower Warthe, isolated in central and southern Poland
area frequency
54 polygons .
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Poland: a) Fago-Quercetum petraeae Tüxen 1955 (= Violo-Quercetum Tüxen 1955; b) Luzulo pilosae-Fagetum Matuszkiewicz 1973 (= Trientali-Fagetum Tüxen 1960, auct. polon.; Deschampsio-Fagetum Passarge 1956); east Germany: partly Centro-Maianthemo-Fagetum, Melica nutans-Rasse Passarge & Hofmann 1968.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Closed, one-staged tree layer, a hardly developed shrub layer, a herb layer with a moderate coverage (hemicryptophytes, geophytes, particularly in richer forms), and an insignificant and only patchy moss layer. With a) the tree layer is somewhat more open, while the shrub layer is better developed. In the herb layer dwarf shrubs, ferns and moderately-tall to tall grasses predominate in a), while in b) shorter herbs and grass-like plants dominate. The moss layer is distinctly represented in both communities, but contains various moss species.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Fagus sylvatica dominating, Quercus petraea in fluctuating proportions. In a) both species can counter-balance;
in b) Fagus sylvatica distinctively is the stand-forming species
Shrub layer
Young growth of trees, in a) Frangula alnus, Sorbus aucuparia
Herb layer
a) Vaccinium myrtillus, Melampyrum pratense, Pteridium aquilinum; in moist formations Molinia caerulea;
b) Deschampsia flexuosa, Maianthemum bifolium, Oxalis acetosella, Luzula pilosa, Carex pilulifera; in rich formations: Anemone nemorosa, Convallaria majalis, Milium effusum, Poa nemoralis, Calamagrostis arundinacea
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
a) Hylocomium splendens, Hypnum cupressiforme;
b) sparsely Dicranum scoparium, Polytrichum formosum
Diagnostically important species
Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea; a) Calamagrostis arundinacea, Carex pilulifera, Holcus mollis, Hieracium sabaudum, Hieracium laevigatum, Lathyrus linifolius, Melampyrum pratense, Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus (always with a high coverage), Vaccinium vitis-idaea; Hypnum cupressiforme; b) Carex pilulifera, Luzula pilosa, Maianthemum bifolium, Oxalis acetosella, Veronica chamaedrys, Veronica officinalis, Convallaria majalis, Melica nutans; Dicranella heteromalla, Mnium hornum
Ecological variants
Moist forms with Molinia caerulea as well as Deschampsia cespitosa; richer forms with Anemone nemorosa, Milium effusum, Melica nutans
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
The unit is a vicariant of F77; its differentiating characteristics are (positively) Calamagrostis arundinacea and the ample natural incidence of pines in neighbouring units, and (negatively) the absence of a number of western species, e.g. Ilex aquifolium, Lonicera periclymenum. In the moderately subcontinental northeast Brandenburg with Melica nutans, Carex digitata, Pyrolaceae.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Vaccinio-Pinetum, Violo-Quercetum, Asperulo-Fagetum.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
pine forests (D54), soil-acidic mixed oak forests (F9, F11, F12), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F38, F41, F55), species-poor beech forests (F83), species-rich beech forests (F107), oak and pine-oak forests (G1), dune vegetation (P4), alder carrs (T1), alder-ash forests (U24).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Oak forests, Oxalis acetosella-Vaccinium myrtillus and Rubus idaeus pine plantations, spruce forestry; forest clearing vegetation of the Epilobion angustifolii.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Sporadic pastures and mown grass meadows (Lolio-Cynosuretum, Arrhenatheretum, Armerio-Festucetum).
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Mainly rye and potato fields; in cereal fields Aphano-Matricarietum (poorer forms), Papaveretum argemones; in root crop fields mostly Spergulo-Chrysanthemetum segetum, locally also Lycopsietum arvensis. In overfertilised fields near to villages Galinsogo-Setarietum.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Trampled vegetation communities (Juncetum macri).
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
a) east Central European lowlands, mainly in the hilly young and old moraine landscape;
b) also in hilly landscapes of western central and southern Poland
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland; up to 120 m
Geology (bedrock)
Pleistocene sediments (sands, loams, ground and end moraines)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
a) podzole soils of different development stages, more rarely strongly podzolized brown soils, in moist formations sometimes stagnogley podzoles; typical humus form is acidic coarse mull-like mor or even raw humus; b) podzolized or crypto-podzolized brown soils and parabrown soils, partly with pseudogleyation; humus form: typical mull-like mor; (orthic and leptic podzols; dystric cambisols; dystric luvisols; gleyic podzoluvisols)
soil texture
a) lightly loamed, coarse sands; b) loamy sands to fine sandy loams
soil moisture, water balance
mostly fresh, partly periodically moist, in a) also moist soils
soil reaction
strongly to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligo-mesotrophic, partly mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI7a, VI7c, VI(VII)3, VI(VIII), VI9a
average annual temperature
7,5-8,4 EC
average annual precipitation
550-650 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
17-18 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-3 to -0,4 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)
Poland: In Pomerania there are still well preserved stands of both forest communities; but they are increasingly endangered by anthropogenic influences; Germany: only a few semi-natural remnants (barely 10 %).
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Natural forest communities.
causes of endangerment
Poland: increasing environmental, particularly air pollution; Germany: almost continuously and completely converted for pine forestry.
required measures for protection and restitution
Establishment of completely protected nature reserves in semi-natural stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Germany: nature reserve "Plötzendiebel" (district Eberswalde), nature reserve "Buchheide Zechlin" (district Neuruppin), biosphere reserve "Schorfheide" (Brandenburg); Poland: The landscape and nature reserve "Kaschubische Switzerland" in east Pomerania belongs to the most important with several nearly-natural stands of acidophilous beech and beech-sessile oak forests, even original in appearance. Some sites of the unit b) are protected in nature reserves (e. g. in the district ºód and near Czenstochau).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Matuszkiewicz 1988; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1973; Passarge 1956a; Passarge & Hofmann 1968; Scamoni 1954; Scamoni (Hrsg.) 1964
Compiled by
U. Bohn based on documents by W. Matuszkiewicz, H. Schlüter
