Title
Macedonian-Thracian Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto), partly with Carpinus orientalis, with Lathyrus laxiflorus
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Bulgaria: southern foreland of the Balkan mountains and foreland of the Rhodope mountains; northern Greek and Macedonia (not on the map)
area frequency
11 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Quercetum frainetto-cerris macedonicum Oberdorfer 1948 em. Horvat 1959.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Three-layered species-rich forests with a species-rich, well developed shrub layer; the closed herb layer is herb and grass-rich.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Carpinus orientalis, Tilia tomentosa, Fraxinus ornus, Quercus petraea, Sorbus domestica, Pyrus-species among others
Shrub layer
Cornus mas, Acer tataricum, Ligustrum vulgare, Rosa arvensis, Corylus avellana, Carpinus betulus, Juniperus communis
Lianas
Clematis vitalba, Tamus communis
Herb layer
Lathyrus niger, Potentilla micrantha, Viola odorata, Festuca heterophylla, Campanula persicifolia, Silene viridiflora, Silene nemoralis, Luzula forsteri, Vicia grandiflora, Lathyrus laxiflorus, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Leontodon cichoraceus, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Poa nemoralis, Aremonia agrimonoides, Primula acaulis
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto; Cyclamen hederifolium, Lathyrus laxiflorus, Luzula forsteri, Potentilla micrantha, Leontodon cichoraceus
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
In Serbia with Lathyrus pannonicus, Stachys germanica, Inula hirta, Helleborus odorus.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
No details.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F67), species-poor beech and mixed beech forests (F103), species-rich beech and mixed beech forests (F123, F124, F151, F152), Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G9), mixed Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G21), Balkan oak forests (G28), downy oak-bitter oak forests (G31), mixed downy oak-bitter oak-grey oak forests (G34), Oriental hornbeam-downy oak forests (G58, G59), alluvial forests (U18).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
oak forestry.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Dry grassland.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Vegetables, orchards, cereal fields.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
hilly country and plains
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane
Geology (bedrock)
metamorphic rocks (Precambrian, Palaeozoic)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
reddish-brown forest soils; (chromic luvisols; vertisols; dystric cambisols)
soil moisture, water balance
fresh to moderately dry
soil reaction
moderately to weakly acidic
soil fertility
mesotrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII)
average annual temperature
12-13 °C
average annual precipitation
500-600 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
22-23 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
1-2 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
long-term droughts in summer
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Only a few semi-natural remnants are preserved.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
No details
causes of endangerment
Clearing, grazing, low forest use.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of remaining semi-natural forest stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Bulgaria: east Rhodope mountains.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Bondev 1991; Gančev 1961; Horvat 1959; Horvat, Glavač & Ellenberg 1974; Oberdorfer 1948
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová based on documents by I. Bondev and literature
