IBEROATLANTICA

Description

Thickets of thorny or toxic, bird-dispersed woody bushes and climbers, many evergreen, on basic soils in warm lowlands.

Protection

This habitat is not protected under the EU Habitat Directive.

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Rubus ulmifolius 92%, Crataegus monogyna 63%, Prunus spinosa 61%, Dioscorea communis 59%, Cornus sanguinea 53%, Hedera helix aggr. 50%, Rosa canina aggr. 50%, Rubia peregrina 42%, Lonicera periclymenum 41%, Clematis vitalba 41%, Pteridium aquilinum 35%, Ligustrum vulgare 35%, Corylus avellana 30%, Smilax aspera 29%, Sambucus nigra 28%, Salix atrocinerea 22%, Brachypodium pinnatum 22%, Teucrium scorodonia 21%, Euonymus europaeus 21%, Urtica dioica 17%, Viburnum lantana 17%, Geranium robertianum 16%, Rosa sempervirens 15%, Rhamnus alaternus 15%, Ulex europaeus aggr. 15%, Quercus robur 14%, Ruscus aculeatus 14%, Dactylis glomerata 14%, Fraxinus excelsior 13%, Arum italicum 13%, Rosa micrantha 12%, Galium mollugo aggr. 12%, Acer campestre 11%, Laurus nobilis 10%, Galium aparine aggr. 9%, Bryonia dioica 9%, Stellaria holostea 8%, Lamium maculatum 8%, Calystegia sepium 8%, Vitis vinifera 8%, Polystichum setiferum 7%, Silene latifolia 7%, Erica vagans 7%, Brachypodium sylvaticum 6%, Lonicera xylosteum 6%, Frangula alnus 6%, Quercus faginea 6%, Quercus pyrenaica 6%, Prunus avium 6%, Quercus ilex 6%, Arbutus unedo 6%, Origanum vulgare 6%, Hypericum androsaemum 5%, Holcus lanatus 5%, Ulmus minor 5%, Rubus caesius 5%, Rosa agrestis 5% view more...

Indicator species

Rubus ulmifolius 0.9, Prunus spinosa 0.55, Dioscorea communis 0.54, Cornus sanguinea 0.52, Crataegus monogyna 0.48, Hedera helix aggr. 0.41, Rosa canina aggr. 0.41, Clematis vitalba 0.39, Lonicera periclymenum 0.35, Rubia peregrina 0.35, Ligustrum vulgare 0.33, Sambucus nigra 0.27, Smilax aspera 0.2, Euonymus europaeus 0.2, Salix atrocinerea 0.17, Pteridium aquilinum 0.17, Urtica dioica 0.16, Viburnum lantana 0.15, Rosa sempervirens 0.14, Arum italicum 0.12, Ruscus aculeatus 0.11, Teucrium scorodonia 0.11, Geranium robertianum 0.11, Corylus avellana 0.11, Galium mollugo aggr. 0.11, Rosa micrantha 0.1, Fraxinus excelsior 0.1, Acer campestre 0.1, Quercus robur 0.09, Laurus nobilis 0.09, Dactylis glomerata 0.09, Galium aparine aggr. 0.08, Bryonia dioica 0.08, Rhamnus alaternus 0.08, Vitis vinifera 0.07, Calystegia sepium 0.07, Lamium maculatum 0.07, Silene latifolia 0.06, Lonicera xylosteum 0.06, Quercus faginea 0.05, Stellaria holostea 0.05, Ulmus minor 0.05, Rosa agrestis 0.05, Prunus avium 0.05, Origanum vulgare 0.05, Rubus caesius 0.04, Rosa arvensis 0.04, Quercus ilex 0.04, Picris hieracioides 0.04, Rosa pouzinii 0.04 view more...

Phytosociology

Asparago aphylli-Prunetum spinosae
Hedero hibernicae-Sambucetum nigrae
Smilaco asperae-Rosetum pimpinellifoliae
Tamo communis-Rubetum ulmifolii

Relations with other habitat types

Successionally associated to forests of the units T1E1 and T22x, this scrub is a thermohilous analogue of S351. It occurs in lowlands whose winters are mild enough to enable the survival of many evergreen, Mediterranean woody plants. In areas prone to summer drought for topographic or edaphic reasons (southern aspects, abrupt rocky slopes, especially on limestones), it may be replaced by tha basophilous variants of S51b.

S355

Regional distribution

By protecting the seedlings of defenseless but faster-growing trees from predation by large herbivores, these dense tangles facilitate, in the absence of new disturbances, the recovery of a tree canopy starting from S33 scrub. This property led to its cooption as hedges in traditional agrarian landscapes, increasing its abundance throughout the lowlands of the ecoregion, these days also by invading abandoned fields.

Known occurrences and potential area of occupancy of the habitat type in the study region.

S355 Southwestern sub-mediterranean deciduous thickets