Title
Thracian Oriental hornbeam-downy oak forests (Quercus pubescens, Carpinus orientalis) with Acer tataricum, partly with Juniperus oxycedrus, Pistacia terebinthus
Geographical distribution
Country/territory
Bulgaria: Thracain plain, east Rhodope mountains; Greece: west Thracia; Turkey: east Thracia (border to Greece)
area frequency
10 polygons.
Scientific names of main plant communities and their most common synonyms (with author citation)
Carpinetum orientalis thracicum Horvat prov., Quercetum pubescenstis Bondev 1991, Quercetum virgilianae Bondev 1991.
Structural feature of the main community(ies) (layers, life-forms, etc.)
Low-growing, two- to three-layered forests with frequent appearance of Mediterranean, Pontic and other eastern floral elements.
Dominant and most frequent species in different layers
Tree layer
Quercus pubescens, Quercus virgiliana, (Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto), Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus, Acer monspessulanum, Pyrus pyraster, Acer tataricum, Acer campestre, Malus sylvestris
Shrub layer
Crataegus monogyna, Cotinus coggygria, Colutea arborescens, Paliurus spina-christi, Ligustrum vulgare, Viburnum lantana, Hippocrepis emerus, Jasminum fruticans, Phillyrea latifolia, Pistacia terebinthus, Juniperus oxycedrus, Ruscus aculeatus
Lianas
Hedera helix, Clematis vitalba, Clematis flammula, Clematis viticella, Lonicera etrusca
Herb layer
Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Ranunculus illyricus, Ranunculus rumelicus, Teucrium chamaedrys, Cyclamen hederifolium, Stipa bromoides, Anemone pavonina, Euphorbia apios, Piptatherum holciforme, Piptatherum virescens, Paeonia peregrina, Stachys leucoglossa
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Hypnum cupressiforme
Diagnostically important species
Quercus pubescens, Carpinus orientalis, Acer tataricum; Pistacia terebinthus, Jasminum fruticans; Piptatherum holciforme, Piptatherum virescens, Stachys leucoglossa
Ecological variants
No details
Geographical variants (geogr. differential species)
North Thracian form without Mediterranean evergreen species; south Thracian form with Pistacia terebinthus, Phillyrea latifolia.
Natural accompanying vegetation (most important units in complex with the name giving mapping unit, scientific names)
Alluvial forests, Quercus frainetto-cerris, Quercus pubescens, Quercus frainetto, Quercus dalechampii forests.
Adjoining climax and permanent vegetation (with numbers of mapping units)
oak-hornbeam forests (F67, F69), species-rich beech and mixed beech forests (F123, F151, F152, F153), Oriental beech forests (F161), sessile oak forests (G9), Balkan oak-bitter oak forests (G22, G23, G24), Balkan oak forests (G28), mixed downy oak-bitter oak-grey oak forests (G35), hop-hornbeam forests (G56), forest steppes (L15), salt vegetation (P33), alluvial forests (U18, U36).
Land use, substitute communities
forestry (substitute communities, plantations of economic tree-species, scrub)
Strongly degraded low forest without Quercus species, various false macchias with evergreen species, Paliurus, Jasminum, Juniper scrub, Pinus nigra forestry.
grassland (meadows, pastures, herb-rich communities)
Pastures with Chrysopogon gryllus, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Poa bulbosa.
arable land (characteristic weed communities)
No details
settlements (typical ruderal vegetation)
No details
Site conditions of the mapping unit
Landscape type, geomorphology
hilly country, lower mountainous country
Altitudinal belt and/or altitudinal range
colline-submontane; 50-600 m
Geology (bedrock)
Tertiary sediments
soil type, also the depth of fine textured earth (soil), stone content; (international nomenclature)
cinnamonic forest soils; (chromic luvisols; chromic cambisols)
soil moisture, water balance
moderately dry, dry
soil reaction
weakly acidic, neutral
soil fertility
mesotrophic to eutrophic
Climate incl. local climate
climate type (following Walter & Lieth)
IV(VII), VI(VII)
average annual temperature
10-12 °C
average annual precipitation
590-600 mm
average temperature of the warmest month
July 20-22 °C
average temperature of the coldest month
January -1 to 0 °C
local climate or other climatic peculiarities
Subcontinental-sub-Mediterranean transition climate with frosts in winter.
Importance for nature protection
Present state and development trend of natural vegetation (degree of endangerment)
Usually strongly degraded low forest without Quercus-species, semi-natural stands preserved in small areas, mainly cultivated land.
endangered communities, species worthy of protection in natural vegetation
All more or less nearly-natural stands are worthy of protection because of their very valuable floral elements.
causes of endangerment
Clearing, low forest management, forest grazing, forest fire.
required measures for protection and restitution
Cessation of forest grazing and low forest management (forests have important soil and climate protection functions).
Localities of representative stands (loci typici) with state of protection
of the natural vegetation
Republic of Moldavia, Ukraine: Selischte-Leu and Tigetschskie Kodry; Romania: Slava Rusă, Baspunar, Babadag; Bulgaria: at the foot of the Strandža mountains.
of characteristic substitute communities worthy of protection
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Most important references (author, year)
Bondev 1991; Gančev 1965a; Gančev 1965b; Horvat, Glavač & Ellenberg 1974
Compiled by
N. Doniţă based on documents by N. Doniţă, Ja.P. Diduch, I. Bondev and Z. Neuhäuslová
