Po Quercus - Fraxinus - Alnus forests

Description (English)

Relict forests of the alluvial plain of the Po and its main tributaries, remnants of the greatest fluviatile system of Europe. They are formed by meso-hygrophile, mesotrophic, multi-layered, oak-ash-hornbeam-dominated communities (Carpinion betuli: Polygonato multiflorae-Quercetum roboris), with facies richer in ashes, willows and, mostly, alders, in the wettest areas (Alno-Padion). Constituent trees include Quercus robur, Quercus cerris, Fraxinus excelsior, Fraxinus ornus, Carpinus betulus, Ulmus minor, Populus alba, Populus nigra, Acer campestre, Acer pseudoplatanus, Prunus padus, Prunus avium, Alnus glutinosa, Salix alba, Corylus avellana, Sorbus torminalis, Sorbus domestica, the shrub layers are formed, in particular, by Ruscus aculeatus, Cornus mas, Cornus sanguinea, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus monogyna, Pyracantha coccinea, Rubus fruticosus, Rubus ulmifolius, Rubus caesius, Ribes uva-crispa, Sambucus nigra, Daphne mezereum, Viburnum lantana, Mespilus germanica, Lonicera xylosteum, Ligustrum vulgare, Prunus spinosa, Rosa canina, Euonymus europaeus, Rhamnus catharticus; lianas are abundant, in particular, Hedera helix, Tamus communis, Rubia peregrina, Bryonia cretica; in the herb layer occur, in particular, Equisetum hyemale, Symphytum officinale, Polygonatum multiflorum, Pulmonaria officinalis, Lathyrus vernus, Mercurialis perennis, Primula acaulis, Asarum europaeum, Euphorbia dulcis, Melittis melissophyllum, Erythronium dens-canis, Leucojum vernum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Carex pilosa. These forests are the habitat of the endangered endemic frog Rana latastei.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification