Temperate and submediterranean montane Pinus sylvestris-Pinus nigra woodland

This habitat is formed by Scots and Black Pine forests (mostly xerophilous, but also some mesophilous), distributed in isolated and not very large stands on calcareous (limestone, dolomite) or ultramafic (serpentine) rocks, in the Alps, Jura, Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, Carpathian, Dinaride and Bulgarian mountains. The Black Pine forests of the Crimean Mountains which are rich in steppe and submediterranean species also belong to this habitat. These communities are mainly relic and limited to specific kinds of terrain. They occur in different vegetation belts, from the xerothermic oak belt, through the mesophilic hornbeam-beech forest belt up to the microthermic coniferous forest belt and hence fall into different climatic and geographical territorial subdivisions. The aspect of the slopes with Black Pine forest can vary but is mainly southern, sometimes eastern or western and the slopes can be very steep. The Scots Pine forests mainly occupy slopes with a northerly exposure and inhabit the low and middle part of mountains and valleys in the Alps, with altitudes between 500 and 1,400 m asl. The terrain is mostly steep or very steep slopes, with many rock outcrops. The soils are mostly shallow immature rendzic leptosols, often eroded. The humidity can vary throughout the growing season from low to moderate. These forests are mostly monodominant or, less commonly, have a mixed canopy with various other conifers, for example Picea abies and Larix decidua, and deciduous trees including Sorbus aria, depending on the neighbouring communities. The forests are open, the trees often not much taller than 10 m, with a rich shrub or herbaceous layer and the flora is characterized by a significant proportion of central and south-European (submediterranean) species; many species of the boreal/continental taiga are absent. On dry alluvial plains and fans, there are more mesophytic pine woodlands with Salix purpurea, S. elaeagnos and S. daphnoides and a grassy field layer with Calamagrostis varia and Molinia arundinacea. In the western Alps, herbs such as Ononis rotundifolia, Astragalus monspessulanus and A. vesicarius provide a floristic link with the open pine woodlands of the southern slopes of the Pyrenees where Juniperus communis subsp. hermisphaerica, Buxus sempervirens and Cytisus oromediterraneus occur in the shrub layer, accompanied on more siliceous rocks by Vaccinium myrtillus, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and Calluna vulgaris. The Scots Pine forests of the Southern Alps have a dense understorey of Erica carnea (Erico carneae-Pinion) while distinctive Scots Pine forests occur locally in the Slovakian Carpathians with endemics such as Pulsatilla slavica, Thymus carpathicus, Campanula carpatica, Festuca tatrae (Pulsatilo slavicae-Pinion). The Scots Pine forests on amphibolites and limestone in the Southern Carpathians also have a diverse understorey with some relict and submediterranean species such as Daphne blagayana, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Sesleria rigida. The forests dominated by Black Pine (Erico-Fraxinion orni, Fraxino orni-Pinion nigrae, Chamaecytiso hirsuti-Pinion pallasianae) are more diverse and have endemic subspecies in the southern part of habitat’s range – Italian and Slovenian Alps, Dinarides, Bulgarian mountains and Romanian Carpathians. The dominant species there are represented by different subspecies – subsp. nigra to the north, subsp. pallasiana to the south, subsp. dalmatica as a local endemic in the Croatian Dinarides. The shrubs and herb layers are even more diverse than in Scots Pine forests and include many species from neighbouring deciduous and coniferous forests. On serpentine rocks, there are also some typical serpentinophytes. The age of forests can be 80-100 years, even up to 200 years in some stands. Throughout the range of this habitat, Black and Scots pines are widely cultivated and numerous coniferous plantations exist often alongside the natural forests. These plantations, if occurring at sites where Black or Scots pine forest is not natural vegetation, are not included in the habitat.

Indicators of quality:

• No forest exploitations (if applicable, mainly azonal types with high nature value).
• Natural composition of canopy.
• Structural diversity/ complexity with (semi)natural age structure or completeness of layers.
• Typical flora and fauna composition of the region.
• Presence of old trees and a variety of dead wood (lying or standing) and the associated flora, fauna and fungi.
• Presence of natural disturbance such as treefall openings with natural regeneration.
• Long historical continuity (ancient woodland) with high species diversity.
• Survival of larger stands of forest without anthropogenic fragmentation and isolation (to support fauna which need large undisturbed forests).
• Absence of non-native species in all layers (flora and fauna).
• No signs of eutrophication or pollution.
• No man-induced very high population levels of ungulates.

Synthesis of Red List assessment

Confidence in the assessment

Pressures and threats