Title
Southwest Central European mixed downy oak forests (Quercus pubescens, Quercus x calvescens, Quercus petraea, Acer monspessulanum), partly with Acer opalus, Buxus sempervirens, Rubia peregrina, Aceras anthropophorum
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
France: Beauce, Côte d´Or (south of Dijon), Upper Rhine (arid region of Colmar, Vosges lime outliers), Jura, Revermont, Bugey (south of Genf), Dauphiné, upper course of the Allier, Rhone valley between Lake Geneva and St. Maurice; Switzerland: south-eastern slope of the Jura and other arid regions; Germany (not on the map): Upper Rhine valley (Baden), spurs in the region around Mainz and further to southern Lower Saxony (with increasing reduction of thermophilous species)
area frequency
30 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Quercetum pubescenti-petraeae Imchenetzky 1926 n. inv. Heinis 1933, (= Lithospermo-Quercetum petraeae Braun-Blanquet 1932 n. inv. Oberdorfer 1957):a) Arabidi turritae-Quercetum pubescentis Ellenberg & Klötzli 1972;b) Coronillo coronatae-Quercetum petraeae (Moor 1962) Ellenberg & Klötzli 1972.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Light, usually poorly-growing oak forest or bush forests (5-20 m) with well developed shrub and herb layers, rich in thermophilous forest and forest edge plants.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
predominately Quercus pubescens, admixed Quercus petraea, (Quercus robur); Sorbus torminalis, Sorbus domestica, Sorbus aria, Ulmus minor, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Acer campestre, Acer opalus, Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos, (Fagus sylvatica, Pinus sylvestris)
Shrub layer
Prunus mahaleb, Sorbus mougeotii, Cornus sanguinea, Ligustrum vulgare, Viburnum lantana, Euonymus europaea, Amelanchier ovalis, Buxus sempervirens, Rhamnus cathartica, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Berberis vulgaris, Rosa arvensis, Corylus avellana, Hippocrepis emerus, Cotoneaster tomentosus, Lonicera xylosteum, Pyrus pyraster
Herb layer
Coronilla coronata, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Helleborus foetidus, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria, Campanula persicifolia, Hepatica nobilis, Primula veris, Tanacetum corymbosum, Melittis melissophyllum, Carex humilis, Carex halleriana, Cephalanthera rubra, Trifolium medium, Trifolium alpestre, Trifolium rubens, Viola hirta, Peucedanum cervaria, Hypericum montanum, Bupleurum falcatum, Ranunculus nemorosus, Arato turrita, Primula veris subsp. columnae, Polygonatum odoratum, Melica uniflora, Lathyrus vernus, Geranium sanguineum, Anthericum ramosum, Anthericum liliago, Teucrium chamaedrys, Betonica officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Brachypodium pinnatum, Silene nutans, Mercurialis perennis, Limodorum abortivum
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus pubescens, Quercus petraea, Acer opalus; Buxus sempervirens, Amelanchier ovalis; Coronilla coronata, Rubia peregrina, Arato turrita, Carex humilis, Carex halleriana, Dictamnus albus, Melittis melissophyllum
Ecological variants
The Arabidi-Quercetum colonises the warmest and lime-richest sites, the Coronillo-Quercetum is somewhat more mesophilous.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Western form with Buxus sempervirens, Rubia peregrina; south Central European form with Arato turrita, Carex humilis, Polygonatum odoratum, Primula veris subsp. columnae. Subdivision into different regional associations or vicariants.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Teucrio-Quercetum typicum and tilietosum, Luzulo niveae-Quercetum; dry types of Luzulo-Quercetum, Lathyro-Quercetum, Carici-Fagetum, Coronillo-Fagetum; ash-pine forest (Fraxino-Pinetum) south-east of Lake Geneva; rock scrub and dry scrub, rock and dry grasslands (Xerobromion, Stipo-Koelerion), forest edge communities with Geranium sanguineum, Dictamnus albus.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
alpine grasslands (B43), larch-Pine forests (C19), Pinus uncinata-forests (C21, C22), fir forests (D29), spruce forests (D35), acidophilous oak forests (F16), mixed oak-hornbeam forests (F34, F35, F36, F50, F51, F52, F53), species-poor beech- and mixed beech forests (F82, F84, F95, F96, F101), species-rich beech- and mixed beech forests (F110, F111, F113, F129, F132, F141), downy oak forests (G41), pine forests (K1), alluvial and moist forests (U8, U9, U24, U25, U27, U33).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Usually degraded to moderately-high and low forests or scrub, and as such is now rich in forest edge plants; plantation of commercially exploitable trees: false acacia (vineyards), Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra; thermophilous scrub (Ligustro-Prunetum) as succession stages in abandoned calcareous short-grass meadows.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Grazed and cut calcareous short-grass meadows (Mesobromion); on stony, shallow soils dry grassland with Teucrium chamaedrys, Helianthemum spp., Thymus serpyllum, Pulsatilla vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, Anemone sylvestris, Aster linosyris.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Vineyards, often abandoned.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
---
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
at south exposed, sometimes rocky cliffs in limestone areas
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline to montane; 300-320 m (in the west), 400-1100 m (in central Europe)
Geology (bedrock)
different calcareous rocks (Jurassic, Triassic, Cretaceous)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
stony, lime-rich brown soils and rendzines; protorendzines; (calcic cambisols; rendzic leptosols)
soil texture
stone-rich to clayey loam
soil moisture, water balance
moderately dry to dry
soil reaction
neutral to alkaline
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI1, X, X(IV), X(VI)
average annual temperature
9-11 °C
average annual precipitation
600-720 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 21-24 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -3 to -1 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
mostly south exposed dry-warm slopes.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Usually degraded low and bush forests.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
Natural forest communities.
causes of endangerment
Low forest use, clearing, stand transformation, formerly grazing, viniculture.
required measures for protection and restitution
Preservation and strict protection of all semi-natural forest stands, tolerance of natural succession.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Switzerland: Tosna near Chur, Randen and marginal slope near Schaffhausen, southern slope at the Bielersee.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
Germany: Kaiserstuhl.
Most important references (author, year)
Braun-Blanquet 1932; Braun-Blanquet 1961; Ellenberg & Klötzli 1972; Förster 1968; Förster 1979; Frey 1995; Gauckler 1938; Hartmann & Jahn 1967; Issler 1937; Issler 1942; Kissling 1983; Mayer 1984; Oberdorfer 1957; Oberdorfer 1977; Oberdorfer (Hrsg.) 1992; Rameau 1996b; Rameau 1997; Richard 1961; Timbal 1985a; Tüxen 1937
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by A. Noirfalise, F. Klötzli; completed by U. Bohn, C. Hettwer based on documents by J.-C. Rameau among others
