Title
South Pannonian-west Moesian mixed silver lime-downy oak forests (Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, Tilia tomentosa) with Inula spiraeifolia, Fritillaria orientalis
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Hungary: in the south around Pécs (partly not on the map); Yugoslavia: Vojvodina (Misina, Avala, Beograd, Deliblat)
area frequency
6 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Orno-Quercetum mecsekense (Horvát 1946) Jakucs & Fekete 1958, Cotino-Quercetum mecsekense (Horvát 1946) Soó 1964; Inulo spiraeifoliae-Quercetum pubescentis (Jakucs 1961) Soó & Borhidi in Soó 1971.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Low to moderately high (12-20 m), three-layered forests with a luxuriantly developed shrub layer and a varying herb layer with many thermophilous, but also mesophilous deciduous forest species.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, Tilia tomentosa, admixed Fraxinus ornus, Sorbus torminalis, Acer campestre, partly Quercus cerris, Quercus robur (on sand)
Shrub layer
Cornus mas, Euonymus verrucosa, Ligustrum vulgare, Ruscus aculeatus
Lianas
Lonicera caprifolium, Tamus communis
Herb layer
Inula spiraeifolia, Chaerophyllum aureum, Helleborus odorus, Orchis simia, Muscari tenuiflorum, Muscari botryoides, Galium lucidum, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Dictamnus albus, Laser trilobum, Erysimum odoratum, Brachypodium pinnatum, Bromus pannonicus, Carex flacca, Carex humilis; mesophilous species: Allium ursinum, Corydalis cava, Lamium maculatum, Mercurialis perennis, Stachys sylvatica, Convallaria majalis, Melica uniflora
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, Tilia tomentosa, Fraxinus ornus; Ruscus aculeatus; Lonicera caprifolium, Tamus communis; Inula spiraeifolia, Fritillaria orientalis, Helleborus odorus, Orchis simia, Muscari tenuiflorum, Galium lucidum
Ecological variants
loam soil variant with Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, Inula spiraeifolia; sandy soil variant with Quercus robur, Cotinus coggygria, Fritillaria orientalis.
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
No details
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Tilio argenteae-Fraxinetum orni on rock slopes, Ceraso mahaleb-Quercetum pubescentis, rock grassland with Bromus pannonicus, Carex humilis; in the Deliblat (east of Belgrade): sand steppes with Festuca vaginata.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
oak-hornbeam forests (F47, F66), species-rich beech forests (F124), thermophilous mixed pedunculate oak forests (G4), sessile oak-bitter oak forests (G16), forest steppes (L11), alluvial forests (U16, U17).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Pinus nigra forestry, Robinia plantations on sand.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Calcareous and siliceous dry grassland.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
Viniculture, orchards.
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
hilly country
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane; 200-600 m
Geology (bedrock)
limestone and calcareous sand (Triassic, Tertiary)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
base-rich brown soils, partly shallow; (eutric cambisols)
soil texture
loamy, partly sand
soil moisture, water balance
dry
soil fertility
meso-eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
VI(VII)
average annual temperature
10,5-12,5 °C
average annual precipitation
580-650 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
20-22 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
0-1 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Maximum of precipitation in spring and autumn.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
The range of the semi-natural forests was greatly diminished by clearing in the past.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection, among other things because of their rich thermophilous flora.
causes of endangerment
Low forest management, forestry cultivation.
required measures for protection and restitution
Preservation of semi-natural forests, ecological restitution of the low forest.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Hungary: Mecsek mountains near Pécs; Yugoslavia: north-western and eastern of Belgrad: Frušca gora, Deliblat.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
No details
Most important references (author, year)
Bartha, Kevey, Morschhauser & Pócs 1995; Borhidi & Kevey 1996; Horvát 1972; Jakucs 1961; Soó, Borhidi, Csapody, Kovács & Pócs et al. 1969; Stjepanović-Veseličič 1953
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by A. Borhidi
