Tall-herb western Picea taiga

Description (English)

Forests of Picea abies or, in the east, Picea obovata, of boreal and boreonemoral regions of Fennoscandia, Russia west of the western Ural piedmont, Belarus, the Baltic States, with a species-rich understorey dominated by tall herbs and ferns and with a significant component of deciduous trees, including Betula pubescens, Alnus incana, Sorbus aucuparia; the species cortège includes an abundance of Oxalis acetosella and Sambucus nigra, Actaea spicata, Campanula latifolia, Mercurialis perennis, Aconitum septentrionale (Aconitum lycoctonum), Cicerbita alpina, Geranium sylvaticum, Angelica sylvestris, Crepis paludosa, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale, Viola epipsila, Melica nutans, Milium effusum, Paris quadrifolia, Rubus idaeus, Rubus saxatilis, Trientalis europaea, Trollius europaeus, Equisetum pratense, Equisetum sylvaticum, Dryopteris expansa, Athyrium filix-femina, Matteuccia struthiopteris. Tall-herb spruce forests occupy low-lying areas, slopes and ravines with fine sediment and good water supply, on calcareous brown forest soils. Their stations have a richer nutrient supply and a higher humidity level than those of the bilberry forests of unit G3.A1, of the fern forests of unit G3.A2 or of the small herb forests of unit G3.A3. In the boreonemoral zone, deciduous trees, in particular, Tilia cordata, Acer platanoides, Ulmus laevis, may form a second tree layer.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification