Small-herb western Picea taiga

Description (English)

Forests of Picea abies or, in the east, Picea obovata, sometimes accompanied by Pinus sylvestris and/or Populus tremula, of southern boreal and boreonemoral regions of Fennoscandia, Russia west of the western Ural piedmont, Belarus, the Baltic States, extending locally in the middle and northern boreal zones, with an understorey dominated by dwarf-shrubs and a low-growing herb layer, characteristic of calcareous substrates and warm stations, developed on acid brown forest soils with mull, or on weakly podsolised soils, with a preference for low-lying areas with fine sediments and a good water supply, sometimes with a tendency to waterlogging. They occupy stations with a richer nutrient supply than those of the bilberry forests of unit G3.A1 and of the fern forests of unit G3.A2, and with a lower humidity level than the fern forests and the tall herb forests of unit G3.A4. Accompanying tree and shrub species include a predominance of Sorbus aucuparia, Vaccinium myrtillus, with Alnus spp., Betula spp., Juniperus communis, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, a field layer dominated by Oxalis acetosella, Melampyrum sylvaticum, Maianthemum bifolium, Trientalis europaea, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Thelypteris phegopteris accompanied by Linnaea borealis, Geranium sylvaticum, Melampyrum pratense, Solidago virgaurea, Rubus saxatilis, Viola riviniana, Hieracium silvaticum grp., Pyrola spp., Paris quadrifolia, Melica nutans, Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula pilosa, Lycopodium annotinum, Equisetum sylvaticum, and mosses. In the boreonemoral zone, deciduous trees, in particular, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata, Acer platanoides, Ulmus laevis, may form a second tree layer.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification