Title
Pre-Carpathian mixed Balkan oak-bitter oak-sessile oak forests (Quercus polycarpa, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Quercus dalechampii) with Helleborus odorus, Lathyrus niger, Ruscus aculeatus
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Romania: at the foot of the south Carpathians; Bulgaria: outliers of the western Balkan-mountains
area frequency
12 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Quercetum frainetto-cerris (Georgescu 1945) Rudski 1949 quercetosum petraeae Coste 1975.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Moderately high, three-layered oak mixed forests with a well-developed shrub and herb layer; with thermophilous species in all layers.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus polycarpa, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Quercus dalechampii, Quercus petraea, Acer campestre, Acer tataricum, Sorbus torminalis, Pyrus pyraster
Shrub layer
Cornus mas, Crataegus monogyna, Ligustrum vulgare, Ruscus aculeatus
Herb layer
Brachypodium sylvaticum, Dactylis polygama, Galium pseudoaristatum, Helleborus odorus, Lathyrus niger, Silene coronaria, Sedum maximum, Sedum cepaea, Piptatherum virescens
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus polycarpa, Quercus dalechampii, Quercus cerris; Helleborus odorus, Lathyrus niger, Ruscus aculeatus, Sedum maximum
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
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Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Tilio tomentosae-Quercetum petraeae-cerris Soó 1957, Carpino-Fagetum Pauca 1941 banaticum Schrött 1972.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
acidophilous pedunculate oak forests (F22), oak-hornbeam forests (F60), species-rich beech- and mixed beech forests (F124, F125, F126), mixed Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G8, G9), Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G20, G22), Balkan oak forests (G25), downy oak-bitter oak forests (G31), alluvial forests (U16).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Strongly degraded, cleared forests; false acacia and Pinus forestry.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Agrostio-Festucetum valesiacae, Chrysopogonetum grylli banaticum.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
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settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
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Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
hilly country
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline; 300-400 m
Geology (bedrock)
molasse (Tertiary)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
acidic brown soils and parabrown soils; (eutric cambisols; orthic luvisols)
soil moisture, water balance
moderately dry
soil reaction
weakly acidic
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII)
average annual temperature
9-11 °C
average annual precipitation
600-850 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 21-23 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -2 to -1 °C
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)
Structure changed considerably by low forest management, but with a natural species composition; severely diminished forest areas.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
---
causes of endangerment
Clearing, forest grazing, low forest management, oak decline.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of the still well preserved forests, restitution of the degraded low forest.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Romania: Pesteana (district Gorj), Lugoj (district Timiş).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Bondev 1991; Coste 1975; Pop, Ardeleanu, Berechet, Codoreanu, Crişan, Cristea, Csűrős-Kaptalan, Csűrős, Ghişa, Hodişan, Raţiu & Szasz 1978; Schrött 1972; Zaharia 1972
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by N. Doniţă and I. Bondev
