EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

dry
moderately
humid
wet
very
acidic
beech had colonised about 50% and the
second half up to the present time. But
the beech’s expansive capacity is unbroken:
expansive tendencies are observed on the
British Isles, in Scandinavia, and in Poland
(CZAJKOWSKI et al. 2006). According
to POTT (1992), the beech has never been
able to take over its potential distribution
area even in the Northwest German lowlands.
While the ongoing beech expansion in the
Northwest German plain (HANSTEIN
2000), Northeast Central Europe, and
South Scandinavia should rather be considered
to be a retaking of terrain that became
lost in the course of its usage, the development
in Great Britain and Norway appears
to be the “consummation” to an incomplete
postglacial immigration process
(CZAJKOWSKI et al. 2006) (fi g. 2.17).
too dry for forests
Fagus sylvatica
to wet for forests
moderately
acidic
neutral alkaline
dominant copper
beech area
Th is means that the beech has not yet arrived
at its climatic limit (LANG 1994), which is
also expanding in the course of the present
climate change (SYKES et al. 1996, BOX
& MANTHEY 2006) and absence of
historic landuse practises eliminating beech.
Changes of the beech distribution area
within the context of climate change, however,
are anticipated not to take place but
along the edge of the present potential distribution.
Th e present beech distribution
area in its large core area will remain unaff
ected by climate change (KÖLLING et
al. 2005).
2. DESCRIPTION
Fig. 2.16: Ecogram of the beech,
which forms forests in the
Central European submontane
zone with temperate suboceanic
climates (according to ELLEN-
BERG 1996). Narrower
physiologic optimum range
(dark green), wider potential
range, physiological amplitude
(bright green) are highlighted.
Germany is the core area of
this ongoing ecological
process, which comprises
the evolutionary development
of the beech forest
ecosystems as well as the
biotic moulding of the
Central European landscape.
The nominated
component parts are expressive
of this process
as well as its development
trend.
Nationale
Naturlandschaften
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