Natural forests of primary succession stages of landupheaval coast

Description (English)

This type includes different types of deciduous, coniferous and mixed natural thickets and forests developed on land upheaval coasts of the Baltic sea. Characteristic for these habitats are stages of primary succession from shore grassland vegetation to climax forests or various wetland types. Also soil stratification is underdeveloped, although podsol soils are otherwise typical for boreal forest. The youngest pioneer forests near the sea are often low or tall herb deciduous forests, thickets or swamps. Vegetation succession can also proceed from willow swamps through forest swamps to mires. Alder and birch are dominant in the tree layer and willows are often common in the shrub layer. Grasses are abundant. Further inland the influence of the sea is weakened, the soils are often poor in nutrients and coniferous forests are typical. Pine, and often also spruce, dominates the tree layer and dwarf shrubs dominate in the field layer. In the bottom layer mosses are common, but in many areas lichens are abundant.