T3D6 Spanish Juniperus thurifera forests

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Description

Patchy coniferous forests in south-aspect, abrupt, calcareous slopes in certain high, strongly continentalised valleys of the southern, leeward side of the Cantabrian mountains.

Protection

The EU Habitat Directive grants them priority protection under the code 9560* ("Endemic forests with Juniperus spp.").

Floristic Composition

Frequent species

Juniperus thurifera 100%, Juniperus sabina 83%, Teucrium chamaedrys 74%, Berberis vulgaris aggr. 70%, Quercus faginea 70%, Anthyllis vulneraria 61%, Koeleria vallesiana 57%, Rosa canina aggr. 57%, Dactylis glomerata 57%, Thymus mastichina 57%, Glandora diffusa 52%, Pimpinella tragium 48%, Helianthemum oelandicum 43%, Genista scorpius 43%, Clinopodium alpinum 43%, Helleborus foetidus 43%, Arenaria grandiflora 39%, Brachypodium sylvaticum 39%, Helianthemum apenninum 39%, Erysimum duriaei aggr. 35%, Sanguisorba minor 35%, Bromus erectus aggr. 30%, Cytisus scoparius 30%, Festuca rubra 30%, Sedum forsterianum 30%, Saponaria ocymoides 30%, Helichrysum stoechas 30%, Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum 26%, Hypochaeris radicata 26%, Coronilla minima 26%, Cerastium arvense 26%, Achillea odorata 26%, Brachypodium pinnatum 26%, Origanum vulgare 22%, Clinopodium vulgare 22%, Santolina ericoides 22%, Genista hispanica 22%, Juniperus communis 22%, Erinus alpinus 22%, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria 22%, Pilosella officinarum 22%, Medicago sativa 17%, Crataegus monogyna 17%, Helictotrichon cantabricum 17%, Quercus pyrenaica 17%, Leucanthemum vulgare 17%, Rosa micrantha 17%, Potentilla tabernaemontani 17%, Helianthemum nummularium 17%, Sedum acre 17%, Galium aparine aggr. 17%, Eryngium campestre 17%, Galium mollugo aggr. 17%, Galium parisiense 17%, Viburnum lantana 17%, Stachys officinalis 17%, Geum sylvaticum 17%, Daphne laureola 17%, Crupina vulgaris 17%, Vicia orobus 13%, Petrorhagia prolifera 13%, Bombycilaena erecta 13%, Thymus mastigophorus 13%, Pteridium aquilinum 13%, Arenaria erinacea 13%, Sedum album 13%, Saxifraga canaliculata 13%, Arenaria montana 13%, Asplenium trichomanes 13%, Biscutella laevigata aggr. 13%, Trifolium campestre 13%, Rhaponticum coniferum 13%, Rhamnus alpina 13%, Ononis spinosa 13%, Carlina vulgaris 13%, Legousia scabra 13%, Euphorbia exigua 13%, Ligusticum lucidum 13%, Piptatherum paradoxum 13%, Sorbus aria 13%, Lathyrus niger 13%, Lactuca tenerrima 13%, Daucus carota 13%, Inula montana 13%, Mentha suaveolens 9%, Silene vulgaris 9%, Silene nutans 9%, Geranium sanguineum 9%, Globularia nudicaulis 9%, Ononis pusilla 9%, Crepis albida 9%, Fumana procumbens 9%, Arabis alpina 9%, Festuca hystrix 9%, Achillea millefolium 9%, Trisetum flavescens 9%, Dianthus pungens 9%, Coronilla scorpioides 9%, Helictochloa pratensis 9%, Myosotis alpestris 9%, Micropyrum tenellum 9%, Paronychia kapela 9%, Lotus corniculatus 9%, Centranthus calcitrapae 9%, Poa bulbosa 9%, Polygala vulgaris 9%, Leucanthemum pallens 9%, Prunus mahaleb 9%, Centranthus lecoqii 9%, Hornungia alpina 9%, Hippocrepis comosa 9%, Cirsium acaulon 9%, Asperula cynanchica 9%, Primula veris 9%

Phytosociology

  • Juniperetum sabino-thuriferae

Relations with other habitat types

These woodland prevails when conditions become both too dry in summer (as a consequence of rain shadow and steep, percolating limestone slopes) and occasionally too cold in winter for even T21y and T37x to survive, conditions under which Juniperus thurifera can thrive thanks to its small, waxy, scale-like leaves. Drought in summer and cold in winter greatly hamper the recruitment of new trees, each extant one extending a large root system all around to collect rain water before it’s lost downhill and through the crevices of limestone bedrock, further impeding the survival of seedlings, all of which leads to an inherently open canopy and to a patchy understorey similar to R1Hx. The less mature cases might be assigned to EUNIS unit S5136 (“Juniperus thurifera arborescent matorral"), also protected under code 5210.

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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