Title
Pannonian mixed flowering ash-downy oak forests (Quercus pubescens, Quercus polycarpa, Quercus petraea, Quercus dalechampii) with Fraxinus ornus, Cotinus coggygria, Vicia sparsiflora, Lathyrus pannonicus subsp. collinus
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Hungary: western part; Slovakia: south-western part; Yugoslavia: northern Serbia; Austria: eastern part; (only mapped in Hungary and Slovakia, because otherwise too small-scaled)
area frequency
12 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Ceraso mahaleb-Quercetum pubescentis Jakucs & Fekete 1957, Cotino-Quercetum pubescentis Soó (1931) 1932, Orno-Quercetum (Soó 1928) Horansky, Jakucs & Fekete 1958, Corno-Quercetum Jakucs & Zólyomi 1957.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Shrub forests to low growing (10-18 m), three-layered, often light forests with a well developed shrub layer and a varyingly developed herb layer featuring many thermophilous species.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus pubescens, Quercus polycarpa, Quercus petraea, Quercus dalechampii, Quercus virgiliana, Quercus cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Prunus mahaleb, Sorbus torminalis, Sorbus domestica, Acer campestre, Pyrus pyraster, Ulmus minor
Shrub layer
Cornus mas, Cotinus coggygria, Viburnum lantana, Crataegus monogyna, Colutea arborescens, Berberis vulgaris
Herb layer
Vicia sparsiflora, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Carex michelii, Coronilla coronata (dolomite), Lathyrus pannonicus subsp. collinus, Limodorum abortivum, Orchis purpurea, Tanacetum corymbosum, Piptatherum virescens, Dictamnus albus, Carex halleriana, Carex humilis, Asperula tinctoria, Poa versicolor, Silene nemoralis, Carduus collinus, Teucrium chamaedrys, Allium flavum, Stachys recta (Slovakia), Melica uniflora, Galium schultesii, Melampyrum cristatum, Geranium sanguineum, Brachypodium pinnatum, Festuca rupicola
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Mannia fragrans, Riccia ciliata
Diagnostically important species
Quercus pubescens, Prunus mahaleb, Fraxinus ornus; Cotinus coggygria, Hippocrepis emerus; Coronilla coronata, Vicia sparsiflora, Lathyrus pannonicus subsp. collinus, Carex halleriana, Piptatherum virescens, Mercurialis ovata
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Variants in middle, south-west and west Pannonia as well as in south-west Slovakia without Fraxinus ornus; Variant in southern Hungary and northern Yugoslavia with Fraxinus ornus, Tilia tomentosa, Ruscus aculeatus, Tamus communis.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Shrub communities (Cotoneastro tomentosi-Amelanchieretum).
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
oak-hornbeam forests (F46, F58), species-rich beech forests (F120), mixed pedunculate oak forests (G4, G5), sessile oak-bitter oak forests (G16), freshwater tall reed swamps (R1), alluvial forests (U16).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Pinus nigra forestry, shrub communities (Berberidion), thermophilous forest edge communities (Dictamno-Geranietum sanguinei).
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Calcareous dry grassland.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Vineyards and fruit farming.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
hilly country with steep sun-exposed slopes
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane; 200-550 m
Geology (bedrock)
limestone, dolomite, andesite, basalt, rhyolite (Triassic, Tertiary)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
shallow humus carbonate soils, ranker, brown soils, parabrown soils, black earths; (rendzic leptosols; eutric cambisols; chromic luvisols; calcaric chernozems; calcaric phaeozems)
soil texture
loamy, skeletal to stony
soil moisture, water balance
dry
soil reaction
neutral to weakly alkaline
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI9b, VI(VII)2
average annual temperature
10-12,5 °C
average annual precipitation
500-700 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 19,5-20,5 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -4 to -1 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
warm, dry local climate on south-exposed steep slopes, on which the mapping unit is mostly distributed, with long-term dry seasons in summer.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Semi-natural stands have diminished substantially, potentially endangered
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection; biotopes with rare, partly protected species: Quercus virgiliana, Sorbus domestica, Limodorum abortivum, Orchis purpurea, Coronilla coronata, Prunus mahaleb, Fraxinus ornus, Cotinus coggygria, Poa versicolor, Melittis melissophyllum.
causes of endangerment
Clearing, grazing, timber use.
required measures for protection and restitution
Protection of semi-natural stands.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Slowakia: Malé Karpaty (Low Carpathians), Považský Inovec, Strážovská hornatina, Slovenský kras (Slovakian Karst), Burda; Hungary: Budapest, Hármashatázhegy, Nagyszenas, Csákvar, Galya-Surdok, Kesthelyi, Vadálló-kovec, Mátofüred, Várhegy, Csákpilis-lápa; Austria: Mödling, Weinviertel, Leitha mountains.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
Czech Republic: Bohemian Karst, Bohemian hill country (rock steppes).
Most important references (author, year)
Jakucs 1961; Klika 1938; Klika 1957
Compiled by
Z. Neuhäuslová and N. Doniţă based on documents by A. Borhidi, J. Michalko, R. Neuhäusl, completed by Š. Maglocký
