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The Baltic mixed forests is an
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
in Europe along the southwestern coasts of the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
. The name was coined by the
European Environment Agency The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment. Definition The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides i ...
and the same geographical area is designated as "Northern Europe: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Poland" ecoregion by the WWF.


Distribution

Despite the name, Baltic mixed forests are not found in any of the
Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
. These countries are instead dominated by the Sarmatic mixed forests ecoregion, with the exception of southern
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, which is within the northern reaches of the
Central European mixed forests The Central European mixed forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0412) is a temperate hardwood forest covering much of northeastern Europe, from Germany to Russia. The area is only about one-third forested, with pressure from human agriculture leaving the r ...
. Rather, Baltic mixed forests are found along the western and southern shores of the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
, comprising northwestern Poland, northeastern Germany, eastern Denmark and the very southernmost tip of Sweden. More specifically, they are common in
lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of ...
areas on the eastern side of the Danish peninsula and submontane areas north of the
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
and
Oder River The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows t ...
s.


Flora

The ecoregion's natural habitat type is lowland to submontane
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
and mixed beech forests. For the beech, European beech (''
Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...
'') is dominant. Other tree species that mix in, covers a broad array of mostly deciduous trees, but also
conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...
to a small extent.
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...
,
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of ...
, ash, linden,
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
,
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999) ...
,
rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...
and
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
are common among the many deciduous trees mixed in with beech. File:Ramsløg 01.JPG, Early spring in a Baltic mixed forest File:Store Hareskov - Looking north-west along Borgmosevej.jpg, Autumn and leaf fall File:Misty path.JPG, Winter File:Havreballe Skov (bæk).jpg, The forest floor File:Svampe i Marselisborgskoven.jpg, Beech forests are home to a plethora of fungi species ( honey fungi) File:Nyudsprunget bøg i Riisskov.JPG, European beech is predominant for the natural state of this ecoregion


Fauna



Ecological challenges

According to a 2015 study into the effect of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
on the Baltic Sea Basin, the changes in temperature and precipitation patterns are likely to change the south-western Baltic forest's flora considerably, with a shift in the natural species composition towards more drought tolerant species, leading to a decrease in
species diversity Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...
and a decrease in
groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs ...
. Similarly, the fauna of the region will also be adversely affected, due to the Baltic region's particularly sensitive nature to changes in salinity, which can have a cascading effect on food webs and interaction between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.


References



External links

{{commonscat Ecoregions of Denmark Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Germany Ecoregions of Poland Ecoregions of Sweden . . . . Forests of Denmark Forests of Sweden Forests and woodlands of Germany Forests of Poland Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests