Balkan mixed forests
Soufli Forest Game Refuge, Greece Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther
Published: April 19, 2007, 9:44 pm
Updated: June 28, 2012, 2:25 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Mark McGinley
The Balkan mixed forests ecoregion covers much of Bulgaria and bordering countries, excluding the Rodope Mountains. The vegetation of this ecoregion, especially that of the forests and grasslands, is Central European in character.
The diversity of flora and fauna is relatively high compared to the rest of Europe and there are a high number of endemic plant species. Mixed oak forests are characteristic, with Quercus frainetto as the dominant tree species. Oak forests are interspersed with pine, silver fir (Abies alba) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests, woodland-pastures, shiblyak and grasslands. High valleys and sheltered slopes feature forests dominated by beech (Fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis and C. betulus). The region’s herpetofauna is among the most diverse in Europe.
The ecoregion has a good network of protected areas; however, the changing political climate threatens them with fragmentation.
Justification of Ecoregion Delineation
Soufli Forest Game Refuge, Greece. (Photograph by WWF / Michel Gunther)
This ecoregion is almost equivalent to the DMEER (DMEER 2000) unit of the same name. The ecoregion predominantly corresponds with Bohn et al.’s (2000) sub-Mediterranean-subcontinental thermophilous bitter oak forests and sub-Mediterranean and meso-supra-Mediterranean downy oak forests. The ecoregion does not include the upland vegetation of the Rhodope Mountains (Rhodope montane mixed forests ecoregion) or the sub-Mediterranean and meso-supra-Mediterranean downy oak forests and meso- to thermo-Mediterranean pine forests to the south of the Rhodopes (part of the Aegean & West Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forest ecoregion).
Additional Information on this Ecoregion
Further Reading
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Bohn, Udo, Gisela Gollub, and Christoph Hettwer. 2000. Reduced general map of the natural vegetation of Europe. 1:10 million. Bonn-Bad Godesberg 2000.
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Davis, S.D., V.H. Heywood and A.C. Hamilton, editors. 1994. Centres of Plant Diversity. A Guide and Strategy for their Conservation. Volume 1. Europe, Africa, South West Asia and the Middle East. IUCN Publications Unit, Cambridge, U.K. 354 pp.
-
Digital Map of European Ecological Regions (DMEER), Version 2000/2005
-
Heath, M.F., and M.I. Evans, editors. 2000. Important bird areas in Europe: Priority sites for conservation. 2 vols. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 0946888361
-
IUCN 2000: The Global Redlist of Species, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
-
Ozenda, P. 1994. Végétation du Continent Européen. ISBN: 2603009540
-
Wheatley, N. 2000. Where to watch birds in Europe and Russia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN: 9780691057293
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Disclaimer: This article contains information that was originally published by the World Wildlife Fund. Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth have edited its content and added new information. The use of information from the World Wildlife Fund should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content.
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Citation
World Wildlife Fund (Lead Author);Mark McGinley (Topic Editor) "Balkan mixed forests". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth April 19, 2007; Last revised Date June 28, 2012; Retrieved May 26, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Balkan_mixed_forests>
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Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. With nearly 1.2 million members in the U.S. and another 4 million worldwide, WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization. WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: 1) saving endangered ... (Full Bio)
The Balkan mixed forests ecoregion covers much of Bulgaria and bordering countries, excluding the Rodope Mountains. The vegetation of this ecoregion, especially that of the forests and grasslands, is Central European in character.
The diversity of flora and fauna is relatively high compared to the rest of Europe and there are a high number of endemic plant species. Mixed oak forests are characteristic, with Quercus frainetto as the dominant tree species. Oak forests are interspersed with pine, silver fir (Abies alba) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests, woodland-pastures, shiblyak and grasslands. High valleys and sheltered slopes feature forests dominated by beech (Fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis and C. betulus). The region’s herpetofauna is among the most diverse in Europe.
The ecoregion has a good network of protected areas; however, the changing political climate threatens them with fragmentation.
Justification of Ecoregion Delineation
Soufli Forest Game Refuge, Greece. (Photograph by WWF / Michel Gunther)
This ecoregion is almost equivalent to the DMEER (DMEER 2000) unit of the same name. The ecoregion predominantly corresponds with Bohn et al.’s (2000) sub-Mediterranean-subcontinental thermophilous bitter oak forests and sub-Mediterranean and meso-supra-Mediterranean downy oak forests. The ecoregion does not include the upland vegetation of the Rhodope Mountains (Rhodope montane mixed forests ecoregion) or the sub-Mediterranean and meso-supra-Mediterranean downy oak forests and meso- to thermo-Mediterranean pine forests to the south of the Rhodopes (part of the Aegean & West Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forest ecoregion).
Additional Information on this Ecoregion
Further Reading
-
Bohn, Udo, Gisela Gollub, and Christoph Hettwer. 2000. Reduced general map of the natural vegetation of Europe. 1:10 million. Bonn-Bad Godesberg 2000.
-
Davis, S.D., V.H. Heywood and A.C. Hamilton, editors. 1994. Centres of Plant Diversity. A Guide and Strategy for their Conservation. Volume 1. Europe, Africa, South West Asia and the Middle East. IUCN Publications Unit, Cambridge, U.K. 354 pp.
-
Digital Map of European Ecological Regions (DMEER), Version 2000/2005
-
Heath, M.F., and M.I. Evans, editors. 2000. Important bird areas in Europe: Priority sites for conservation. 2 vols. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 0946888361
-
IUCN 2000: The Global Redlist of Species, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
-
Ozenda, P. 1994. Végétation du Continent Européen. ISBN: 2603009540
-
Wheatley, N. 2000. Where to watch birds in Europe and Russia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN: 9780691057293
|
Disclaimer: This article contains information that was originally published by the World Wildlife Fund. Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth have edited its content and added new information. The use of information from the World Wildlife Fund should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content.
|
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