U24
West and Central European alder-ash forests (Fraxinus excelsior, Alnus glutinosa) or ash-elm forests (Ulmus minor, Fraxinus excelsior), partly in combination with moist pedunculate oak-hornbeam forests (Carpinus betulus, Quercus robur) and alder carrs (Alnus glutinosa)
Description
For this mapping unit the dominance of Alnus glutinosa or Fraxinus excelsior or both species is characteristic for the tree layer. They are relatively light forests, sometimes with Quercus robur, Acer pseudoplatanus and Ulmus glabra (tree height up to 25-30 m), and with a species-richer shrub and an opulent, species-rich herb layer in which moisture and wetness indicators dominate with distribution strongholds in alder carrs and wet meadows. The dominance of individual species as well as the species assemblage depend on the soil moisture, water balance and nutrient content. In lowland areas Humulus lupulus often occurs. In the spring aspect Ranunculus ficaria and Anemone nemorosa as well as Paris quadrifolia or Adoxa moschatellina make a striking presentation. The moss layer is species-rich and often achieves a high degree of coverage (Plagiomnium undulatum).
U24a (shoreline):
Biome:
Trees: Common Alder or Common Ash dominate, accompanied by Common Oak, Field Maple and Elm; occasional Crack Willow on water’s edge. Generally not a very dense canopy.
Shrubs: Wild Plum, Hazel, Elder, Bramble with Berries, Goat Willow, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Linden Bush, Spindle, Alder Buckthorn
Ground cover (in clumps): fern_1, bracken, fern, sweet_woodruff, bottle_sedge, lush_grass, wild_parsley, woodland_sedge, greater_wood_rush, alpine_bearberry, wild_overgrown_nettles; scattered: horse_chestnut_tree_sapling, dandelion, cotton_grass, buttercups, marsh_ragwort, purple_wolfsbane, melancholy_thistle, orpine, wild_shrub, blackberry_bush, nettles
U24b (foothills):
Biome:
Trees: largely the same as U24a, but Crack Willow is absent. Silver Fir appears occasionally in upland areas
Shrubs: same as U24a
Ground cover: same as U24a
Tree Layer
U24a: Alnus glutinosa (Common Alder), Fraxinus excelsior (Common Ash), partly Quercus robur (Common Oak), Acer pseudoplatanus (Field Maple), Ulmus glabra (Elm), occasionally Acer platanoides (Field Maple), Salix fragilis (Crack Willow)
U24b: Alnus glutinosa (Common Alder), Fraxinus excelsior (Common Ash), partly Quercus robur (Common Oak), Acer pseudoplatanus (Field Maple), Ulmus glabra (Elm), occasionally Acer platanoides (Field Maple), Albies alba (Silver Fir)
Shrub Layer
Prunus padus (Wild Plum), Corylus avellana (Hazel), Sambucus nigra (Elder), Rubus idaeus (Bramble with Berries), Salix caprea (Goat Willow), Prunus spinosa (Blackthorn), Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn), Ribes rubrum (wild_shrub), Viburnum opulus (Linden Bush), Euonymus europaea (Spindle), Ribes spicatum (blackberry_bush), Frangula alnus (Alder Buckthorn)
Lianas
Humulus lupulus, rarely Solanum dulcamara (nettles)
Herb Layer
Aegopodium podagraria (horse_chestnut_tree_sapling), Athyrium filix-femina (fern_1, bracken, fern), Caltha palustris (sweet_woodruff), Carex remota (bottle_sedge), Carex brizoides (lush_grass), Deschampsia cespitosa (bottle_sedge), Chaerophyllum hirsutum (wild_parsley), Crepis paludosa (dandelion), Cirsium oleraceum (sweet_woodruff), Festuca gigantea (woodland_sedge), Filipendula ulmaria (cotton_grass), Galium aparine (greater_wood_rush), Impatiens noli-tangere (buttercups), Iris pseudacorus (lush_grass), Lysimachia vulgaris (sweet_woodruff), Oxalis acetosella (alpine_bearberry), Rumex sanguineus (greater_wood_rush), Senecio ovatus (marsh_ragwort), Stachys sylvatica (purple_wolfsbane), Stellaria nemorum (sweet_woodruff), Urtica dioica (wild_overgrown_nettles), Chrysosplenium alternifolium (wild_parsley), Circaea lutetiana (sweet_woodruff), Geum urbanum (wild_parsley), Galium palustre (sweet_woodruff), Geranium robertianum (melancholy_thistle), Lamium maculatum (orpine)
Moss layer (incl. lichens)
Plagiomnium undulatum, Brachythecium rutabulum
North-eastern Eriador, as well as the middle Anduin from the Undeeps to the Argonath
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