Title
(Southeast-)Central European Luzula luzuloides- and Dryopteris dilatata-fir-beech forests (Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba), partly with Picea abies, with Prenanthes purpurea, partly with Calamagrostis villosa
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Germany: Thuringian Forest, Frankenwald, Fichtelgebirge, Elstergebirge, Erzgebirge, Upper Palatinate forest, Bavarian forest, foreland of the Alps; Czech Republic: Tepler highland, Bohemian Forest, Erzgebirge, Sudetes, Bohemian-Moravian hights, west Carpathians; Poland: west-Beskides, Sudetes; Austria: Vorarlberg, northern margin of the Alps (flyschzone, on sandstone), Bohemian Massif, eastern slope of the central Alps (Upper and Lower Austria), Carinthia; Switzerland: northern margin of the Alps and subalpine molasse (not shown on the map); Slovenia: Pohorje; Croatia (not shown on the map); Bosnia-Herzegovina (not shown on the map)
area frequency
45 polygons .
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Luzulo-Fagetum with Abies alba Oberdorfer 1957, Vaccinio-Abietetum Oberdorfer 1957; Luzulo-Fagetum montanum Grüneberg & Schlüter 1957; Dryopteris dilatata-Fagus-community Petermann & Seibert 1979; Luzulo-Fagetum sylvaticae Meusel 1937 abietetosum Meusel Wraber ex Marin…ek & Dakskobler 1988, Luzulo-Abieti-Fagetum H. Mayer 1969; Luzulo sylvaticae-Abieti-Fagetum Frey 1995.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Two- to multi-layered mixed fir-beech forests. Conifers lead the growth with age, but beech can maintain pace in the upper layer. There is a weakly developed shrub layer, mostly consisting only of beech, and only a small to moderately covering, mostly species deficient herb layer that is dominated by acidophilous species (grasses, gramineous species, dwarf shrubs) and ferns. The moss layer is varyingly developed and often insignificant.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Fagus sylvatica predominating, with different admixture of Abies alba, Picea abies, isolated Sorbus aucuparia, at lower sites isolated Quercus petraea
Shrub layer
Young growth of the tree species, Sambucus racemosa, Frangula alnus
Herb layer
Luzula luzuloides, Luzula sylvatica, Deschampsia flexuosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, Maianthemum bifolium, Carex pilulifera, Oxalis acetosella, Calamagrostis villosa, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Festuca altissima, Prenanthes purpurea, Hieracium murorum, Dryopteris dilatata, Athyrium filix-femina, Oreopteris limbosperma, Blechnum spicant; in rich formations: Anemone nemorosa, Viola reichenbachiana, Galium rotundifolium, Dryopteris filix-mas, Polygonatum verticillatum, Senecio ovatus
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Hypnum cupressiforme, Polytrichum formosum, Dicranum scoparium, Pohlia nutans, Mnium hornum, Rhizomnium punctatum, Dicranella heteromalla, Hylocomium splendens
Diagnostically important species
Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba, Picea abies; Luzula luzuloides, Luzula sylvatica, Deschampsia flexuosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, Calamagrostis villosa, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Dryopteris dilatata, Prenanthes purpurea, Senecio ovatus, Senecio nemorensis agg.
Ecological variants
Different moisture and trophic forms.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In the Hercynian mountains there is sometimes a form with Calamagrostis villosa and Picea abies; in Bavaria and Switzerland with Luzula sylvatica; form without Luzula luzuloides in the Bavarian Forest; in the eastern part of its range (Carpathians) the proportion of fir increases.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Festuco altissimae-Fagetum, Galio odoratae-Fagetum, Dentario enneaphylli-Fagetum, higher up transforming into Homogyno-Piceetum, in the Bohemian Massif dwarf shrub and lichen-rich pine forests (Vaccinio vitis-idaeae-Pinetum), embedded tree-rich raised bogs, streamside Alnetum incanae, bedstraw-fir forest (Galio-Abietetum), woodrush-fir forest (Luzulo-Abietetum), liverwort-spruce forest (Bazzanio-Piceetum); raised bog communities of mountains.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
Alpine rose-dwarf pine shrub (C20), mixed fir forests (D26), spruce forests (D34, D35, D39), acidophilous oak and mixed oak forests (F19, F20), sessile oak-hornbeam forests (F56, F57, F65), species-poor beech forests (F85, F86, F97), species-rich beech and fir-beech forests (F110, F115, F133, F134, F142, F143, F148), pine forests (K2), alder-ash forests (U24).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Frequently spruce, rarely pine plantations; Dicranum spp., Vaccinium myrtillus and Deschampsia flexuosa spruce plantations; pioneer forests with Sorbus aucuparia, Salix caprea, Picea abies; forest clearing vegetation: primarily Senecioni sylvatici-Epilobietum angustifolii, Senecio ovatus altitudinal form; regionally also Epilobio-Digitalietum purpureae (e.g. in the Riesenmountains, where Digitalis purpurea, although of secondary origin, has become completely naturalised).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Shortgrass meadows: Agrostetum tenuis; Trifolio-Festucetum rubrae, Meo-Festucetum; dwarf shrub heaths, matgrass communities (Polygalo-Nardetum); fodder meadows (Poo-Trisetetum); pastures: Alchemillo-Cynosuretum.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Rye, oat and potato fields; Chenopodio-Oxalidetum, altitudinal form (= Galeopsio-Chenopodietum), Galeopsio-Alchemilletum.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Livestock sheds: Rumicetum alpini.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
Mountainous areas, slopes and ridges
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
montane (altimontane); Germany: (450) 500-1100 m; in the Sudetes about 500-850 m
Geology (bedrock)
granite, gneiss, porphyry, quarzit, (flysch-) sandstone and conglomerates; clay slate, grauwacke; (Tertiary, Palaeozoic)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
acidic, base-poor, partly pozolized brown soils and parabrown soils, middle to deep; oligotrophic ranker; ((stony) dystric cambisols; (stony) orthic luvisols; dystric leptosols)
soil texture
sandy-loamy, partly grouany, stony
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moderately dry, locally stagnating moist
soil reaction
strongly to moderately acidic
soil fertility
oligotrophic to mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI3c, VI4, VI9b, VI9c, VI(X)b, VI(X)e
average annual temperature
4-7 EC
average annual precipitation
650-1850 mm; Czech Republic: 700->2000 mm; Poland: 750-1000 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
12-18 EC
average temperature of the coldest month
-5 to 0 EC
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Differentiated slope climates.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Endangered; frequently converted into spruce forestry. There are well-preserved representative stands in many places particularly in the Sudetes mountains, but these have been displaced more and more by the preferential treatment of the spruce.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection as stable structures and gene reserves, often less important for protection of (plant) species.
causes of endangerment
Forestry (transformation of semi-natural forests into forestry, changes in economic use, alteration of sites); eutrophication (fertilisers) and pollution, game browsing.
required measures for protection and restitution
Semi-natural silviculture; natural forest reserves and regeneration areas; the plantation of autochthonous firs should be considered.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Germany: primeval forest reserve Hammerleite, primeval forest reserve Strickberg, Schneeberg northeast of Waidhaus, primeval forest reserve Rusler Wald (Bavaria), nature reserve "Zweibach", nature reserve "Hirschberg" (Saxony); Czech Republic: scattered in the Hercynian mountains: nature reserve ákova hora (Bohemian-Moravian hights), Berg Koráb near Kdyn (Pilsen hilly country); Poland: national park in the Riesengebirge (small, but very typical and well preserved area), nature reserves in the Eulen- and Heuscheuer-gebirge (very worthy !), small remnant stands in the west-Beskides; Switzerland: Säntis region, Wäggi-valley, Entlebuch; Austria: Styria: Gleinalpe (e. g. Revier Ligist, primeval forest cell), scattered on the Koralpe, western Wienerwald; Slovenia: Pohorje (Bacher mountains).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
partly wie oben.
Most important references (author, year)
Burger 1982; Ellenberg & Klötzli 1972; Frey 1995; Grüneberg & Schlüter 1957; Marinček & Dakskobler 1988; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1960; Matuszkiewicz & Matuszkiewicz 1973; Mayer 1969; Mayer 1974; Mayer & Hofmann 1969; Moravec, Husová, Neuhäusl & Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1982; Myczkowski 1958; Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1970; Oberdorfer 1957; Oberdorfer 1984; Schlüter 1961; Schlüter 1964a; Schlüter 1964b; Seibert 1968; Zukrigl 1973; Zukrigl 1989
Compiled by
K. Zukrigl under use of documents by F. Klötzli, H. Wagner, J. Ewald, R. Neuhäusl and Z. Neuhäuslová, M. Zupan…i…; U. Bohn; H. Schlüter; W. Matuszkiewicz, revised by U. Bohn
