Title
Danubian Balkan oak forests (Quercus frainetto) with Genista tinctoria, Carex praecox
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Romania: foreland of the southern Carpathes (Getic plateau); Yugoslavia: north-east Serbia
area frequency
6 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Quercetum frainetto Paun 1964.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Moderately high, usually two-layered forests with a closed tree layer that has two easily distinguishable sublayers, and sometimes lacking shrub and herb layers.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus frainetto, (Quercus cerris, Quercus polycarpa), Acer tataricum, (Acer campestre), Ulmus minor, Pyrus pyraster, Malus sylvestris
Shrub layer
Crataegus monogyna, Ligustrum vulgare, Rhamnus cathartica, Rhamnus saxatilis subsp. tinctoria, Prunus spinosa, Rosa canina
Herb layer
Carex praecox, Carex caryophyllea, Genista tinctoria, Geum urbanum, Galium verum, Potentilla micrantha, Silene coronaria, Lathyrus niger, Glechoma hirsuta, Galium pseudoaristatum, Polygonatum hirtum
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus frainetto; Genista tinctoria, Carex praecox, Galium pseudoaristatum
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
No details
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Quercetum frainetto-cerris (Georgescu 1945) Rudski 1949, Quercetum cerris Georgescu 1941.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
oak-hornbeam forests (F64), mixed Quercus polycarpa-oak forests (G9, G10), Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G20, G21), alluvial forests (U16, 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)
Cynodonti-Poetum angustifoliae.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
No details
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
heavily reliefed plateaus (cut by valleys)
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline; 200-300 m
Geology (bedrock)
molasse (Tertiary sediments)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
clay soils, pseudogleys; (eutric planosols; pellic vertisols)
soil texture
clayey loam to loamy clay
soil moisture, water balance
periodically dry
soil reaction
weakly acidic
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII)
average annual temperature
9-10 °C
average annual precipitation
550-600 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 22-23 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -3 to -2 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
warm and dry summers
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Forest area greatly diminished by clearing, many forests thinned by low forest management and forest grazing, in recent times the Balkan oak has also been suffering a decline. Endangered unit.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Whole unit is endangered.
causes of endangerment
Clearing, forest grazing, low forest management, forest dying due to persistent dryness.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of the still well-preserved semi-natural forests, ecological restitution of degraded forest stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Romania: Seaca-Optaşani (Olt district), Seaca de Padure (Dolj district).
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Păun 1964; Păun 1966; Popescu, Sanda, Doltu & Nedelcu 1984
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by N. Doniţă
