Title
Danubian-east Balkanic mixed bitter oak forests (Quercus cerris, partly Quercus frainetto, Quercus robur, Quercus pubescens) with Pulmonaria dacica
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Romania: Crişana- and Somes-plateau in the north-west, Arges-plain near Bukarest; Bulgaria: Ludogorie-hill country, hill country in west and north-west Bulgaria
area frequency
13 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Quercetum cerris Georgescu 1941, Querceta cerris Bondev 1991.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
High-growing, closed, usually three-layered forests with well developed shrub and herb layers.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus cerris, (Quercus robur, Quercus frainetto, Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, on higher locations also Quercus polycarpa, Quercus dalechampii), Fraxinus angustifolia s. l., Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia tomentosa, Carpinus betulus, Carpinus orientalis, Acer campestre, Acer tataricum, Ulmus minor, Pyrus pyraster, Malus sylvestris, Sorbus torminalis
Shrub layer
Crataegus monogyna, Cornus mas, Cornus sanguinea, Ligustrum vulgare, Euonymus europaea, Euonymus verrucosa, Viburnum lantana
Lianas
Hedera helix, Clematis vitalba
Herb layer
Pulmonaria dacica, Pulmonaria officinalis, Silene coronaria, Lathyrus niger, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Polygonatum hirtum, Ranunculus ficaria, Anemone ranunculoides, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Dactylis polygama, Asparagus tenuifolius, Carex muricata, Geum urbanum, Euphorbia amygdaloides
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus cerris, Acer tataricum; Pulmonaria dacica
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Northern form (Rumania) with Fraxinus angustifolia linn., without Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, Carpinus betulus; and a southern form (Bulgaria) with these southern oak species (Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana).
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Quercetum frainetto-cerris (Georgescu 1945) Rudski 1949, Quercus frainetto-, Quercus pedunculiflora forests.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
acidophilous pedunculate oak forests (F22), oak-hornbeam forests (F49, F67, F68), species-rich beech- and mixed beech forests (F123, F124, F126), mixed Tatar maple-oak forests (G3), mixed pedunculate oak forests (G4), Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G9), sessile oak-bitter oak forests (G16), Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G19, G20, G22, G23), downy oak-bitter oak forests (G31), mixed downy oak-bitter oak-grey oak forests (G34), forest steppes (L13), salt vegetation (P33), alluvial forests (U16, U17, U18).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Robinia and Pinus forestry, Pruno-Crataegetum.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Cynodonto-Poetum angustifoliae, Medicagini-Festucetum valesiacae; in Bulgaria communities with Chrysopogon gryllus, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Poa bulbosa.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Arable crops.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
plains and hilly country
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
lowland, colline; 100-300 m
Geology (bedrock)
bluff formation, molasse (Tertiary)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
leached reddish (Romania), grey, dark-grey and cinnamonic forest soils (Bulgaria); (chromic luvisols; chromic cambisols; phaeozems; vertisols)
soil texture
clayey-loamy, clayey
soil moisture, water balance
moderately dry, locally periodically dry
soil reaction
acidic to neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic, meso-eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII)
average annual temperature
8-11 °C
average annual precipitation
500-650 mm (700-800 mm in north-west Romania)
average temperature of the warmest month
July 21-23 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January 0 to -2 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
dry-warm, moderately continental climate, more moist in north-west Romania.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Forest area strongly reduced, many forests have been thinned by forest grazing and low forest management, and in recent times by the dying out of the bitter oak.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
No details.
causes of endangerment
Clearing, forest grazing, and forest dying due to prolonged drought.
required measures for protection and restitution
Strict protection of the still preserved semi-natural forest stands, ecological restitution of degraded forests.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Romania: Crevedia (Giurgiu district), Lipova (Arad district); Bulgaria: Karakuz (Dobrudža/Dobruja), Kirov dol (Stara Planina).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Bondev 1991; Georgescu 1941a; Georgescu 1941b; Georgescu 1945; Pop 1967
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová and N. Doniţă based on documents by I. Bondev, V. Sanda, A. Popescu, G. Coldea
