Title
South Apennine-Sicilian-east Adriatic mixed downy oak forests (Quercus virgiliana, Quercus pubescens, partly Quercus congesta) with Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus, with Anemone apennina, Cyclamen hederifolium
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Italy: south Apennine (from Molise to Calabria), Sizilia; Croatia; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Yugoslavia: Montenegro: Adriatic coastal hinterland
area frequency
20 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Carpino-Quercetum virgilianae Trinajstić 1988; Mespilo-Quercetum virgilianae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Erico-Quercetum virgilianae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Oleo-Quercetum virgilianae Brullo 1984, Celtido aetnensis-Quercetum virgilianae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Arabido-Quercetum congestae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Festuco heterophyllae-Quercetum congestae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Vicio elegantis-Quercetum congestae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Centaureo-Quercetum pubescentis Zanotti et al. 1993.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Low to moderately high, three-layered forests with a well developed shrub layer featuring evergreen species and a species-rich herb layer with some Quercetalia ilicis species.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus virgiliana, Quercus pubescens, Quercus congesta, Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus, Ostrya carpinifolia, Acer obtusatum
Shrub layer
Pyrus spinosa, Cytisus villosus, Mespilus germanica, Prunus spinosa, Pistacia lentiscus, Rhamnus alaternus, Arbutus unedo, Celtis tournefortii, Calicotome infesta
Lianas
Rubus ulmifolius, Lonicera etrusca, Rosa sempervirens, Clematis vitalba, Clematis flammula, Tamus communis, Asparagus acutifolius, Hedera helix
Herb layer
Anemone apennina, Cyclamen hederifolium, Sesleria autumnalis, Centaurea centaurium, Tanacetum corymbosum, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Silene italica, Carex distachya, Teucrium siculum, Poa bulbosa, Festuca drymeja, Festuca heterophylla, Geocaryum capillifolium, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Arato turrita, Viola alba subsp. dehnhardtii, Vicia tenuifolia subsp. elegans, Hieracium stepposum, Potentilla detommasii
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
No details
Diagnostically important species
Quercus virgiliana, in Sicily and south Calabria also Quercus congesta, Celtis tournefortii; Anemone apennina, Cyclamen hederifolium, Centaurea centaurium, Geocaryum capillifolium, Potentilla detommasii, Vicia tenuifolia subsp. elegans, Acanthus balcanicus (Balkan)
Ecological variants
---
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
Balkan-Adriatic variant with Quercus virgiliana, Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus, Acanthus balcanicus and many lianas; Apennine variant with Centaureo-Quercetum pubescentis; Calabrian-Sicilian variant with Quercus congesta forests, Celtis tournefortii.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Quercetum leptobalanae Brullo 1984, Aceri obtusati-Ostryetum carpinifoliae Brullo & Marcenò 1985, Quercetum gussonei Brullo & Marcenò 1985.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
species-rich beech forests (F146, F148, F150), submontane sessile oak forests (G9), sessile oak-bitter oak forests (G14, G15), Balkan oak forests (G27), flowering ash-downy oak forests (G44, G45), hop-hornbeam-downy oak forests (G51, G52, G54), Oriental hornbeam-downy oak forests (G61), Quercus trojana-forests (G63), holm oak forests (J19, J20, J21), black pine forests (K15), alluvial forests (U17, U20).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Degraded oak mixed forests, Castanea sativa stands, garrigues with Cistus, Erica and Calicotome species, Rhamno-Paliuretum, Spartium junceum scrub, Rubus fruticosus scrub.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Thero-Brachypodietea-communities, Cirsietalia vallis-demonis Brullo & Grillo 1978, Poetea bulbosae communities; in Yugoslavia, Croatia: Stipo-Salvietum, Koelerio-Festucetum illyricae, Pteridium aquilinum stands.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
No details
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
Chenopodion muralis, Carduo-Sylibetum mariani, Sambucus ebulus forest edge communities.
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
heavily reliefed mountainous and hilly country
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline to montane or meso- to supra-Mediterranean (Sizilia)
Geology (bedrock)
limestone, flysch, basalt (Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous, Tertiary, Quaternary)
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
typical and leached brown soils, regosol; (chromic and vertic cambisols; calcaric regosols; chromic luvisols; lithic leptosols; pellic vertisols)
soil texture
loamy, partly stony, locally sandy
soil moisture, water balance
moderately dry to dry
soil reaction
weakly acidic, neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
X
average annual temperature
10-15 °C
average annual precipitation
800-1500 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 21-23 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January 2-4 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Long-term dry seasons in summer.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Stands greatly degraded by man, semi-natural forests are very rare, particularly in Calabria and Sicily.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All nearly-natural mixed oak forests are worthy of protection.
causes of endangerment
Forest grazing, fires, low forest management with short rotation times, agriculture.
required measures for protection and restitution
Cessation of forest grazing and low forest management, and regeneration of selected, somewhat near-naturally preserved stands, protection from fires.
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Italy: Sizilia (Etna, Bosco della Ficuzza, Monti Nebrodi), national park in Calabria (Aspromonte); Croatia: inner parts of Biokovo mountains; Yugoslavia (Montenegro): Budva region.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
Italy: Garrigues in the Etna and Monti Nebrodi nature park.
Most important references (author, year)
Brullo 1984; Brullo & Marcenò 1985; Raimondo 1980; Trinajstić 1988; Zanotti Censoni, Corbetta & Aita 1980
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by F. Pedrotti and Z. Neuhäuslová, I. Trinajstić
