European beech forest
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Beech forests are forest stands dominated by beech species . The only Central European beech species is the common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ). Back occurring from southeastern Europe to the east forests of Fagus orientalis ( Fagus sylvatica ssp. Orientalis ) and the intermediary between this and the typical beech Moesian beech ( Fagus sylvatica ssp. Moesiacea ) correspond ecologically and in appearance the familiar Central European beech forests.
distribution
Beech forests can be found from Central to Eastern Europe up to the montane level. In the Mediterranean area they occur in the mountain forest level of the mountains. In the Eastern European lowlands they are gradually being replaced by oak and hornbeam forests . To the north, beech forests are widespread as far as southern Sweden and southern England, and in Norway close to the sea as far as the Lofoten. The most species-rich beech forests in Europe can be found in the north of the Balkan Peninsula (Croatia). Stocks with the eastern subspecies oriental beech can still be found up to the Crimean peninsula (see under Crimean beech ) and in the Pontic Mountains .
Beech forests can form the natural tree line in the south and south-eastern Alps and grow here to a height of over 1800 meters. In Central Europe and the Northern Alps, they are replaced by conifer species, especially the spruce, at altitudes of around 800 to 1000 meters.
Central Europe
European beech forests have their worldwide distribution center in Central Europe. They are the defining form of vegetation in Central Europe. It is assumed that in many regions they almost exclusively form the potential natural vegetation , so that forest types with predominance of other tree species would only occur in special locations. The potential total natural area of the forests characterized by beech would therefore cover around 90.7 million hectares across Europe. The German share of the area is around 23 million hectares. The actual beech forest stock, however, only comprises 1.565 million hectares (= 4.5% of today's federal area or 7% of the original beech forest area in Germany!). According to relevant estimates, the original area in Europe is likely to have shrunk by more than 85%, with almost half of these remaining stocks being concentrated in only four European countries (Romania, Germany, France and Slovenia).
The classic assumption that the European beech forest represents the potential natural vegetation of most areas of Central Europe has been questioned by some scientists. An alternative hypothesis ( megaherbivore hypothesis ) states that the European beech, which is very sensitive to browsing, would be inferior to other tree species such as oak in the natural presence of large herbivores such as bison, aurochs and deer. Accordingly, the beech forest would not be the dominant vegetation of Central Europe, but open forests dominated by oaks, similar to the former hut forests . It was only when humans greatly decimated the large herbivores in the course of the Holocene that the beech tree was able to gain a foothold over a large area. The fact that the common beech only began to dominate the forests of Central Europe around 4,000 years ago supports this assumption.
Natural or semi-natural beech forests have become so rare that they are now considered an irreplaceable natural heritage and the most valuable natural treasure of the EU. According to an estimate by Panek, the proportion of primeval forest-like (undamaged) beech stands is likely to be well below 5% across Europe. By far the largest primeval beech forests and quasi primeval forests are located in Romania with a total of 141,086 hectares, especially in the Carpathian Mountains. Although many areas have a protection status, they are endangered by deforestation in the mountains and by grazing in the other areas. Other significant areas similar to virgin forests are located in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine and Slovakia, of which a total of 33,671 hectares were recognized by UNESCO in 2007.
Although Germany is rich in world cultural heritage sites, it has few natural heritage sites. Against this background, the Federal / State Working Group on Nature Conservation, Landscape Management and Recreation (LANA) applied for the most valuable relics of natural beech forests as part of the European beech forest heritage to be proposed by the Federal Government of UNESCO as a world natural heritage on the proposal of the Saarland in 2004. On June 25, 2011, the "Old Beech Forests of Germany" were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . There are currently five selected forest areas in existing protected areas with a total area of 4,391 hectares. Today, together with the aforementioned forests in the Ukrainian and Slovak Carpathians, they are part of the World Natural Heritage “ Primeval Beech Forests and Old Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe ”.
The position of the European beech forests in terms of vegetation
In terms of plant sociology, the Querco-Fagetea class includes all deciduous forests in Central Europe (with the exception of swamp forests ). The beech forests and some forest types that are similar in their combination of species and ecology form the order Fagetalia sylvaticae . Most authors summarize all stands dominated by red beech in the tree layer in the association Fagion sylvaticae (some separate the acidic beech forests and combine them with the oak forests in the order Quercetalia robori-petraeae ). The breakdown within the beech forests is based on site characteristics, altitude levels, e.g. Partly also areal-geographical features. The structure of the Central European beech forests outside of the mountainous areas is carried out almost exclusively on the basis of the site characteristics, so that the forest communities can be arranged in an ecological series. The breakdown into associations is shown below.
Tree species composition
The tree species beech is characterized by very strong shadow of the tree crown, low light requirement of seedlings and young plants, and very rapid juvenile growth, making it almost to her congenial locations all other tree species compete on set . As a result, beech forests are often poor in accompanying and mixed tree species. Pure beech forests can still be found even in regions and on locations where the common beech grows at the limit of its physiological life. Many mixed forests with beech involvement owe their existence to humans (forestry and earlier forest use practices such as forest pasture, litter use, coppice forest management) and would be naturally richer in beeches. Important natural accompanying tree species of the common beech are:
- European silver fir ( Abies alba ). It accompanies the beech regularly in the higher low mountain ranges and the montane mountain forest level of the mountains, but is absent in the western low mountain ranges. Firs occur in the beech forest on both acidic and base-rich soils. The tree species silver fir has similar ecological requirements and a similar distribution area, so that the pure fir forests of the mountains are also included in the association of beech forests, because their other species combination is very similar. In many mountains and low mountain ranges, spruce ( Picea abies ) also occur in the mountain forest level in addition to the silver fir and form mixed mountain forests.
- The oak species common oak ( Quercus robur ) and sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ) can usually only hold their own on very acidic soils next to the common beech. Mixed forests with oaks also occur on dry, shallow limestone soils, but here mostly supported by humans.
- the so-called hardwoods , especially sycamore maple ( Acer pseudoplatanus ) and common ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ) are involved in the beech forest on nutrient-rich soils.
- Occasionally evergreen tree species grow under the beech umbrella, which are even more shade-friendly than the beech. In the Atlantic climate, this is holly ( Ilex aquifolium ) on acidic soils and yew ( Taxus baccata ) on calcareous soils . These tree species that remain low can build a lower, second tree storey.
ecology
The various forms of the beech forest depend on the soil , the altitude and, last but not least, on its management. The climate and the soil properties, such as the lime and base content, determine, among other things, which species the undergrowth consists of; The water balance in particular determines how high the beech trees grow.
Despite the dominance of the common beech, a natural beech forest is by no means poor in species. Near-natural beech forests with a high proportion of old trees , standing and lying dead wood offer an ideal habitat for many animal and plant species. In such a forest there are many natural caves in which cave breeders , bats and many other living things find breeding space and shelter. Due to its importance for many species, some of which are threatened with extinction , the beech forest was chosen as Biotope of the Year 1995.
Some typical herb species found in European beech forests are woodruff ( Galium odoratum ), wood fescue ( Festuca altissima ), wood fescue ( Mercurialis perennis ), hare lettuce ( Prenanthes purpurea ) and whorled white root ( Polygonatum verticillatum ).
Structure of the European beech forests
Moder beech forests
The sub-association of the Luzulo-Fagenion grows on acidic, base-poor locations with the humus form "Moder", which is characterized by the presence of only slightly decomposed plant litter on the soil surface. Acidic beech forests are mostly poor in undergrowth species, the species occurring almost all also occur in other acidic forest types. Moderate beech forests also grow on soils whose acidity is so high that the tolerance limit of the common beech is reached. Character types are whitish grove rims ( Luzula luzuloides ), differential types are wire smear ( Deschampsia flexuosa ) and bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ).
Species poor beech forest
Species-poor beech forests thrive on very acidic soils. In the tree layer many are already oaks present and the acid pointer heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) occurs, so that this association a transition to the oak forests represents. These transitional stands were often referred to as oak-beech forests ( Fago-Quercetum ) in the past . Since they have no character types, one avoids today to speak of an association.
Grove beech forest (Luzulo-Fagenion)
The Hainsimsen-Buchenwald (Luzulo-Fagetum Meusel 1937) is considered the most common and widespread beech forest community. Its distribution extends from Switzerland in the south to southern Sweden in the north and from the Ardennes in the west to the Carpathians in the east. It occurs from the lowlands to the montane layers. It can be found on acidic soils with sand , sandstone or slate as the subsoil. The society is species-poor and consists of the tree layer, typically no shrub layer and an often sparse and patchy herb layer. The undergrowth is made up of acid-loving species, such as the whitish grove ( Luzula luzuloides ). Although a large number of stands have been converted into spruce forests, it is still one of the most widespread forest communities in Central Europe. Depending on the location and soil, the grove beech forest can be divided into local sub-associations and variants.
The Luzulo-Fagetum milietosum occurs on loess loam soils and is richer in species that require a little more base, such as shade flowers ( Maianthemum bifolium ) or forest grass ( Milium effusum ). These transitional stocks are also taken by some vegetation experts as an association ( Milio-Fagetum or Maianthemo-Fagetum ).
Luzula luzuloides is absent from the Central European lowlands , otherwise these forests are almost identical in terms of species composition, ecology and appearance. Some authors leave these forests with the Luzulo-Fagetum, others are of the opinion that this is not permitted due to the character-species principle of plant sociology. They put these soft beech forests of the lowlands in their own association, the Deschampsio-Fagetum (wire- smoked beech forest), named after the wire- smoked beech ( Deschampsia flexuosa syn. Avenella flexuosa ).
In the mountain forest level, in the Eastern Alps and the eastern low mountain ranges, the grove-beech forest is replaced by the riding grass-spruce-beech forest, Calamagrostio villosae-Fagetum .
Mull beech forests
As the acidity of the soil decreases, the mild beech forests change into forest types, which form the sub-group of the Mull beech forests (Galio odorati-Fagetum). The form of humus here is “gauze”, in which the leaf litter and the other organic residues are worked into the soil by earthworms and therefore do not lie on the surface of the soil in the summer months. The Mull-Buchenwald stands in the middle between the manifestations of the more extreme locations, so it has few differentiated and character types of its own. Today only two associations are usually recognized:
Woodruff beech forest (Galio odorati-Fagetum)
The woodruff beech forest (Galio odorati-Fagetum Sougez et Thill ) occurs on loamy, somewhat alkaline soils from the plains to the mountains. Often there are closed "indoor beech forests" which are formed by pure and tall beech stocks. Only a weak shrub layer is formed. Acid-showing and acid-tolerant species predominate in the herb layer. Woodruff beech forests do not have any herb species of their own, they are only characterized by the fact that there are no strong acid indicators (of the Luzulo Fagetum) or lime indicators (of the Hordelymo Fagetum). Typical herb species in the woodruff beech forest are z. B. Woodruff ( Galium odoratum , syn. Asperula odorata ), wood anemone ( Anemone nemorosa ), single-flowered pearl grass ( Melica uniflora ).
Forest barley beech forest (Hordelymo-Fagetum)
The forest barley beech forest (Hordelymo-Fagetum) or "fresh beechwood forest" replaces the woodruff beech forest on nutrient-rich, mostly calcareous soils. It occurs from northern Central Europe via the Teutoburg Forest and along the Baltic Sea coast to southern Scandinavia . The undergrowth is more species-rich. The differential species include base pointers such as the forest ringwort ( Mercurialis perennis ), the spring pea ( Lathyrus vernus ), the hazel root ( Asarum europaeum ), the nettle-leaved bellflower ( Campanula trachelium ) and the real daphne ( Daphne mezereum ). Character species are the forest barley ( Hordelymus europaeus ) and rarely also the St. Christopher's herb ( Actaea spicata ).
Dry-slope limestone beech forests
They occur on only shallow, calcareous soils, mostly on steep slopes. They differ from the forest barley-beech forest in that the soil is more dry. They are completely absent in the lowlands. Many species that depend on this particular type of beech forest are endangered. The dry-slope limestone beech forests are mostly grouped together in the sub-group Cephalanthero-Fagenion.
Sedge-beech forest (or orchid-beech forest) (Carici-Fagetum)
The sedge-beech forest (Carici-Fagetum Moor 1952) occurs on shallow to medium-sized, fresh to alternately dry limestone and dolomite soils . The location is often south-facing slopes. The orchid beech forest often grows on stabilized slope debris. Since the European beech cannot develop optimally in this location, it is associated with numerous light tree species. The undergrowth is largely formed by heat-loving species , with light-loving sedge species ( Carex ) being common. Rare and sometimes conspicuously blooming orchids such as the yellow lady's slipper ( Cypripedium calceolus ) or various species of forest birds ( Cephalanthera ) occur.
Blue grass beech forest (Seslerio-Fagetum)
The blue grass beech forest (Seslerio-Fagetum Moor ) occurs mainly on wind-exposed, shallow to medium-sized slopes as well as on ridges made of dolomite or limestone. It is distributed almost exclusively in the Alps, to the north of which it occurs only very rarely in the higher low mountain ranges. It also colonizes less developed, dry soils with poor water storage capacity. On such soils, the population is only patchy and the common beech usually grows shrub-like. While the shrub layer is well developed, the herb layer is usually poorly developed and is composed mainly of light and drought-loving species. Differential species include, for example, the calcareous blue grass ( Sesleria albicans ), the variegated riding grass ( Calamagrostis varia ), the forest buttercup ( Ranunculus nemorosus ), and the box finial ( Polygala chamaebuxus ).
See also
- Hainich National Park - lime beech forests
- Kellerwald-Edersee National Park - Hainsimsen beech forests
- Eifel National Park - Hainsimsen beech forests
- Elm (mountain range) - beech forests
literature
- Heinz Ellenberg : Vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps from an ecological, dynamic and historical perspective. 5th, heavily changed and improved edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8001-2696-6 .
- Peter Mertz: Plant world of Central Europe and the Alps . Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-55-4 , p. 62-75 .
- Richard Pott : The plant communities in Germany . Stuttgart: Ulmer, 1995, ISBN 3-8252-8067-5
- FWM Vera: Grazing ecology and forest history. CABI Publishing, Wallingford / New York, ISBN 0-85199-442-3
Web links
- www.natura2000.munlv.nrw.de - Technical documentation on the beech forest habitat as part of Natura 2000 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Care, conservation and management of the beech forests of the northeast German lowlands. nabu.de, archived from the original on September 30, 2007 ; accessed on May 4, 2017 . - The NABU on the consequences of the forms of management of the beech forests in the north German lowlands (PDF file; 83 kB)
- Beech forests - DFWR brochure on beech forests (PDF file; 10.2 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Norbert Panek: Germany's international responsibility: Protecting European beech forests as a group. Expert opinion on behalf of Greenpeace e. V., 2011
- ↑ Hans D. Knapp and Almut Spangenberg (Red.): European beech forest initiative. BfN-Skripten 222, Vilm 2007. Online version (PDF; 19.3 MB)
- ↑ Nature and Landscape Issue 5 2008; as well as minutes of the 87th LANA meeting on 4th / 5th March 2004.
- ↑ Beech forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site