Temperate mountain Picea woodland

These are evergreen coniferous woodlands of the montane and sub-alpine belt in the nemoral zone of Europe, where increased winter coldness towards the more easterly Continental mountains favour Picea abies against its main competitors of more temperate ranges, Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba. Here, at altitudes usually between 1000 and 2000m in the Alps, on the borders of Czechia, Germany and Poland, through the Carpathians, and in the Balkan mountains, spruce dominates on a variety of soils, even those that are very nutrient-poor, wet and cold, or fragmentarily developed on scree or rock exposures. These woodlands can give way at lower altitudes to G3.1b Abies woodland (though the forester’s preference for spruce has often extended its lower limits) and above, where spruce thins to a more open patchy cover, to G3.2/3 Temperate subalpine Larix, Pinus cembra or P. uncinata woodland. Exceptional relict populations of Picea in the lowlands (natural occurrences) are also included. The relict Picea omorika woodland of the Dinaric mountains is also included here. Depending on the particular site conditions, other trees in the canopy include Abies alba, Larix decidua (particularly in the Alps where it is a pioneer for spruce establishment), Pinus sylvestris, P. cembra, P. peuce and rarely Fagus. There can be some Sorbus aucuparia, Lonicera nigra, L. caerulea, L. xylosteum and Rosa pendulina in a patchy understorey. On the more usual acid soils, the field layer characteristically has a rather generalised calcifuge flora with Vaccinium myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula luzulina, L. sylvatica, Calamagrostis villosa, Melampyrum sylvaticum, M. pratense, Lycopodium annotinum, Oxalis acetosella, Homogyne alpina, Moneses uniflora, Blechnum spicant, Dryopteris dilatata, D. expansa and bulky mosses such as Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Polytrichum formosum and Sphagnum girgensohnii. At higher altitudes, a tall herb contingent can be prominent with Adenostyles alliariae, Chaerophyllum hirsutum and Rumex arifolius while, on the more base-rich soils derived from limestones and dolomite, such more basiphilous plants as Adenostyles glabra, Valeriana tripteris, Calamgrostis varia, Carex alba, Polystichum lonchitis, Sesleria albicans, Cirsium erisithales are typical with some beech forest species like Mercurialis perennis, Daphne mezereum, Veronica urticifolia, Primula elatior and, in the eastern Alps and Dinarids, Helleborus niger and Cardamine enneaphyllos. Distinctive geographical floras are associated with the Picea woodlands of the Western Carpathians, the Eastern and Southern Carpathians, the central Balkan peninsula and in Bulgaria and north-east Greece where spruce reaches its southern limit in Europe. On the mountains of the Bosnia/Serbia border, Picea omorika, a rather uncompetitive tree but one able to thrive on limestone screes, in timber clearings or after fire, dominates in woodlands of this same general type with a well- developed understorey and numerous Illyrian and south-east European species including Daphne blagayana, Hieracium rotundatum, Aremonia agrimonoides, Festuca drymeja, Epimedium alpinum, Cardamine trifolia and the Balkan Doronicum columnae, Dianthus petraeus, Athamantha turbith, Sesleria rigida and Edraianthus graminifolius.

Indicators of quality:

• Natural dominance of Picea abies with modest canopy contributions from Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica and pines
• Uneven-age canopy with signs of spruce regeneration, distinctively patchy where favourable microsites extend spruce cover into the sub-alpine
• Presence of old trees and a variety of dead wood (lying and standing) and the associated flora, fauna and fungi
• Presence of natural disturbance such as windfall openings with natural regeneration
• Sufficient proportion of historically old (ancient) woodland with high species diversity
• Presence of well-developed associated flora and fauna reflecting soil conditions and regional climate
• Absence of non-native tree species and absence of invasive aliens in all layers (fauna, flora)
• No signs of eutrophication or pollution with e.g. pronounced invasion on nutrient-demanding herbs
• No fragmentation and isolation with enough stands to support species which need large undisturbed forest habitats (such as wildcat, lynx etc. )

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats