The Balkan mixed forests are a terrestrial

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 ...

of southeastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

and the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

Geography

The Balkan mixed forests cover much of the valleys, plains and mountain slopes of the eastern

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, mainly

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, on different altitude, except higher parts of the Rila- Rhodope and Balkan, Mountains, where they are substituted by the Rodope montane mixed forests. It extends from approximately the Drina valley to the coasts of the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, Marmara and

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

s and occupy 224,400 km² (86,600 sq. mi) in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. The ecoregion is surrounded by the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests (in Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria), Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (in Greece), Pindus Mountains mixed forests (in Greece, North Macedonia and Albania), Dinaric Mountains mixed forests (in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

and Bosnia and Herzegovina), Pannonian mixed forests (in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania),

Carpathian montane conifer forests The Carpathian montane conifer forests, also known as Carpathian montane forests, is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Romania. Geography The ecoregion co ...

, Central European mixed forests (both in Romania), as well as the East European forest steppe and Pontic steppe (both situated in Romania and Bulgaria).

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is mostly of Köppen's humid subtropical (Cfa) to humid warm summer continental (Dfb) type, with wet winters. Some areas of relatively high rainfall have been considered a temperate rainforest relict.

Flora

Several species of deciduous oaks (most prominently '' Quercus frainetto'' Ten., as well as '' Q. cerris'' L., '' Q. pubescens'' Willd. and others) dominate most of the ecoregion's forests, interspersed higher up mountainsides (above 800–1200 m) mostly with European beech and such conifers as Scots pine,

Bosnian pine ''Pinus heldreichii'' (synonym ''P. leucodermis''; family Pinaceae), the Bosnian pine or Heldreich’s pine, is a species of pine native to mountainous areas of the Balkans and southern Italy. Description It is an evergreen tree up to in heigh ...

, Macedonian pine, silver fir and Norway spruce. The highest peaks support alpine tundra vegetation.

Phytogeographically Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

, the ecoregion is shared between parts of the Central European, Illyrian and Euxinian provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Holarctic Kingdom (according to Armen Takhtajan's delineation).

References

External links

* {{Paleartic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Ecoregions of Albania Ecoregions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ecoregions of Bulgaria Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Greece Ecoregions of Montenegro Ecoregions of North Macedonia Ecoregions of Romania Ecoregions of Serbia Ecoregions of Turkey Environment of the Balkans * * * Flora of North Macedonia * * * * Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Geography

Climate

Flora

See also

References

External links