Deciduous forests

Woody plant communities usually found at 500–1,600 m a.s.l., although they may appear at lower altitudes when they are not subject to Mediterranean water stress. Deciduous trees are characterised by high cuticular transpiration and important water requirements. The most typical forests are dominated by oak species, although beech, sweet chestnut, aspen and birch or even hybrid plane plantations are also common. Sometimes, deciduous trees grow in mixed forests with stone pines.

Deciduous forests are relatively poor in butterfly species, with few true specialists. Some of the more common species in this habitat type are Apatura iris, Melitaea nevadensis and Anthocharis cardamines.

Species that have been found in the habitat within the CBMS network are shown in descending order of preference. The Highlights tab indicates those species with ≥ 5% of their total abundance (standardized to 100 m) concentrated in that habitat. The Species List tab displays a table with the percent density of each species in the habitat (compared to the rest of the CBMS habitat types). Transects shows in descending order the percentage cover of this habitat type for each itinerary in the CBMS network, with the number of botanical characterizations available in the Years column. The Communities tab lists the CORINE codes and names of the plant communities that have been included in this habitat type. This table also gives the area (in m²) occupied by each plant community in the network as a whole.

• Highlights (67)
• Species (145)
• Transects (113)
• CORINE communities (23)

Illustrations by Richard Lewington from Tolman & Lewington (1997) Butterflies of Britain and Europe, translated and published in Spanish by Lynx Edicions.

References

• Bueno, D., Ballesteros, E., Masalles, R.M., Martí, E., 2013. Atles dels Ecosistemes dels Països Catalans. Història Natural dels Països Catalans v.13. Enciclopèdia Catalana