COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

curreNT sTaTe oF euroPeaN beech
(Fagus sylvatica L.) ForesT aNd GeNeTIc resources
IN sPaIN
236
DIANA BARBA 1,3 – GUILLERMO MADRIGAL 1,3 – JOSE A. REQUE 2,3 – RICARDO ALÍA 1,3
1 Dpto de Sistemas y Recursos Forestales. INIA.Carr. Coruña km .5 28040 Madrid
2 Dpto de Producción Vegetal. Universidad de Valladolid.
3 Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute UVa-INIA [SFM-RI]
absTracT
A summary of the current state of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Spain is provided, including
information on the distribution, main typologies of beech forest, plant communities, site conditions,
and forest management practices usually applied in Spain. Also include is information concerning
genetic aspects of beech: regions of provenance, national register, and status for conservation of
genetic resources.
Key words: European beech, Fagus sylvatica, haya (in Spanish), distribution, Spain, genetic
resources
dIsTrIbuTIoN oF euroPeaN beech IN sPaIN
European beech covers 330,000 ha in Spain, where it reaches the south-western limit of the species
distribution. European beech is located at medium and high altitudes in the mountains (above 1,000
meters), usually on north facing slopes. The distribution range covers the Cantabrian Mountain,
Pyrenees and Iberian range, with scattered stands in the Coastal Catalonian Range, Beceite Mountains
and Central Range (Fig. 1).
The altitudinal range of the species is variable depending on the geographical area where it is located
(Tab. 1).
characTerIsTIcs aNd ForesT maNaGemeNT
Typology of beech forests
It is possible to distinguish four main types of beech forests in Spain depending on soil and climatic
characteristics (Sainz 1992):
1) The oligotrophous beech forests are distributed in continental and dry climate, with vegetation
not very abundant and generally acidophilous. This type of forests reaches a lower density and
height in comparison to the eutrophic beech forests.