EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

Comparative analysis within comparable biogeographical provinces
Beside the above discussed countries and the serial nomination “Beech Primeval Forests
of the Carpathians” itself, there are a few remains of close-to-nature beech forests in
comparable biogeofraphical provinces in Europe:
• Atlantic (2.9.05), Central European Highlands (2.32.12)
Fragments of previously disturbed, now close-to-nature beech forests in France:
Fontainebleau (136 ha, La Tillaie reserve; Grassy oak forest in 8 th century, and last cut over in
1372. Described in 1664 as high forest with mature beech, oak, and some hornbeam and lime.
Protected since 1853; longest untreated reserve in NW Europe.), Sainte Baume (isolated,
species-rich beech forest of the Sainte-Baume range of Provence, characterized by the strong
representation of evergreen undergrowth), la Massane in the East Pyréneés (in the past
intensively used for grazing, charcoal production etc.).
A 250-year-old beech forest in Val Cervara (Abruzzo NP) with an area of 100 ha, with
some 500 year old specimen (Piovesan et al. 2005). The old-growth stand is however not
embedded into a larger complex of natural beech forest.
There are numerous primeval forest preserves in Austria (159 ha in total). They are
located mainly in impenetrable terrain of the carbonate Alps. The Rothwald reserve is located
in the Lower Austrian Calcareous Alps on the eastern side of the Dürrenstein (1878 m), near
the border to Styria. With 412 ha and is thus the largest and most important natural forest area
in Austria. The pine-fir-beech primeval forest community is characterized by dense stands of
several hundred year old trees. However, in 1994 reserves in beech forests and oak-hornbeam
mixed forests were missing and there is no contiguous complex of beech primeval forests left
in that country.
It follows from the above data that there are no comparable beech primeval forests left in
countries falling in the biogeographic provinces Atlantic (2.9.05) and Central European
Highlands (2.32.12).
• Balkan Highlands (2.33.12)
According to literature sources (Leibundgut 1993, Dajoz 2000), primeval forests remains,
significant in terms of quantity, structure, texture and overall representativness (except for
complexes of boreal forests in the West Eurasian Taiga biogeographical province, 2.3.3.) have
been preserved in the countries of the Central Europe, in the former Yougoslavia and some
other countries in the Balkans. This fact has already been reflected in the inscription of
Plitvice Lakes NP, Durmitor NP (Republic of Montenegro) and Pirin NP (Bulgaria) on the
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