Western European broadleaf forests

Please note: These biome and ecoregion pages (and associated data) are no longer being updated and may now be out of date. These pages and data exist for historical reference only. For updated bioregion data, please visit One Earth.

  • Scientific Code
    (PA0445)
  • Ecoregion Category
    Palearctic
  • Size
    190,100 square miles
  • Status
    Critical/Endangered
  • Habitats

Description


 Location and General Description

Biodiversity Features

Current Status

Types and Severity of Threats

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation
This ecoregion is equivalent to the DMEER (2000) unit of the same name and reflects the influence of climatic data during the DMEER delineation process. It predominantly includes lowland to altimontane beech and mixed beech forests of Western Europe (with the exception of the beech and mixed beech forests of the Alps) in the Central Massive, Jura, Central German Uplands, Bavarian Plateau, and Bohemian Massive. It also includes small areas of sub-Mediterranean and meso-supra-Mediterranean downy oak forests and mixed oak hornbeam forests (Bohn et al. 2000).

References
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. 1994. Centres of plant diversity. Vol. 1: Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia and Middle East. WWF and IUCN, Washington DC.

Digital Map of European Ecological Regions (DMEER), Version 2000/05

(http://dataservice.eea.eu.int/dataservice/metadetails.asp?table=DMEER&i=1)

Gasc J.P., A. Cabela, J. Crnobrnja-Isailovic, D. Dolmen, K. Grossenbacher, P, Haffner, J. Lescure, H. Martens, J.P. Martinez Rica, H. Maurin, M.E. Oliveira, T.S. Sofianidou, M. Veith and A. Zuiderwijk, editors. 1997. Atlas of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. Societas Europaea Herpetologica & Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (IEGB/SPN), Paris.

Heath, M.F., and M.I. Evans, editors. 2000. Important bird areas in Europe: Priority sites for conservation. 2 vols. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.

IUCN 2000: The Global Redlist of Species, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. URL: <http://www.redlist.org>

Ozenda, P. 1994. Végétation du Continent Européen. Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Stanners, D., and P. Bourdeau, editors. 1995. Europe's environment: The Dobris assessment. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.

Wheatley, N. 2000. Where to watch birds in Europe and Russia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

Prepared by:
Reviewed by: