Beech forests of Europe
Photo: Спасимир, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a world heritage site. First listed in 2007 and only including forests in Slovakia and Ukraine, it has been expanded in 2011 and 2017 and on both occasions its name was changed to reflect the extent of the site. As of 2017 it's made up of 78 forests in 12 countries around Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.
Trees can live to a hundred years old in these forests, providing an important habitat for organisms such as mushrooms, moss, lichen, insects, rare birds (e.g., capercaillie and black grouse) and mammals (e.g., bats, brown bear, wolf and lynx).
UnderstandFrom being confined to mountain ranges, the European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) has, thanks to its adaptability, spread across most of the continent since the end of the last Ice Age.
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Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Beech forests of Europe" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Спасимир, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons