T22y Iberoatlantic lauroid forests in humid ravines with Prunus lusitanica

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Description

Mostly evergreen forests restricted to sheltered ravines carved by permanent streams, where topography prevents both high direct solar radiation during the day and radiative heat loss at night, thus providing a thermally buffered microclimate (even in relatively inland areas) and the humid atmosphere needed by broadleaved lauroid evergreens to prevail.

Protection

This habitat is not protected under the EU Habitat Directive.

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Ilex aquifolium 89%, Prunus lusitanica 70%, Hedera helix aggr. 65%, Blechnum spicant 52%, Vaccinium myrtillus 52%, Erica arborea 50%, Lonicera periclymenum 50%, Frangula alnus 43%, Quercus robur 43%, Dryopteris affinis 41%, Pteridium aquilinum 39%, Viola riviniana aggr. 39%, Arbutus unedo 39%, Saxifraga spathularis 37%, Teucrium scorodonia 35%, Dryopteris dilatata 33%, Brachypodium pinnatum 33%, Anemone trifolia 33%, Ruscus aculeatus 33%, Athyrium filix-femina 33%, Luzula sylvatica 33%, Polystichum setiferum 28%, Galium rotundifolium 28%, Hypericum androsaemum 28%, Crepis lampsanoides 26%, Acer pseudoplatanus 24%, Oxalis acetosella 24%, Sanicula europaea 24%, Salix atrocinerea 24%, Corylus avellana 24%, Viola palustris 24%, Anemone nemorosa 24%, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum aggr. 22%, Sorbus aucuparia 20%, Anthoxanthum odoratum 20%, Rubus ulmifolius 20%, Polypodium vulgare 20%, Betula celtiberica 17%, Primula acaulis 17%, Dryopteris filix-mas 17%, Lilium martagon 17%, Taxus baccata 17%, Osmunda regalis 17%, Pyrus communis 15%, Melittis melissophyllum 15%, Brachypodium sylvaticum 15%, Umbilicus rupestris 15%, Omphalodes nitida 15%, Euphorbia dulcis 15%, Daphne laureola 15%, Fagus sylvatica 15%, Rubia peregrina 15%, Veronica montana 13%, Polygonatum odoratum 13%, Stellaria nemorum 13%, Sorbus aria 13%, Digitalis purpurea 11%, Euphorbia hyberna 11%, Genista florida 11%, Geranium robertianum 11%, Paris quadrifolia 11%, Aquilegia vulgaris aggr. 11%, Sambucus nigra 11%, Thelypteris limbosperma 11%, Dryopteris borreri 11%, Scrophularia scorodonia 9%, Avenella flexuosa 9%, Silene dioica 9%, Fragaria vesca 9%, Cytisus scoparius 9%, Fraxinus excelsior 9%, Cephalanthera longifolia 9%, Cytisus striatus 9%, Lamium galeobdolon 9%, Polypodium interjectum 9%, Physospermum cornubiense 9%, Angelica sylvestris 9%, Stellaria holostea 7%, Alnus glutinosa aggr. 7%, Urtica dioica 7%, Castanea sativa 7%, Carex sylvatica 7%, Arenaria montana 7%, Carex binervis 7%, Dioscorea communis 7%, Pyrus cordata 7%, Ranunculus tuberosus aggr. 7%, Melica uniflora 7%, Lamium maculatum 7%, Holcus mollis 7%, Helleborus viridis 7%, Saxifraga hirsuta 7%, Helictotrichon thorei 7%, Quercus petraea 7%, Rubus lainzii 7%

Phytosociology

  • Luzulo henriquesii-Prunetum lusitanicae
  • Pruno lusitanicae-Arbutetum unedonis

Relations with other habitat types

Going by the nature of some of the dominant woody species, in particular Prunus lusitanica, the assimilation of these formations with the ill-named and poorly defined EUNIS unit S523 (“Iberian pseudomaquis") might be considered if it weren’t physiognomically untenable, so a new regional Level IV unit is created. To some degree, these formations are to be interpreted as an inland, topography-dependent analogue of T22x.

Regional distribution

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

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Citation: IBEROATLANTICA – Flora and Habitats of the Cantabrian Mixed Forests ecoregion.
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