European forest vascular plant species list

Motivated by the "Waldartenlisten der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen, Moose und Flechten Deutschlands" (https://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/service/skript299.pdf) an expert gremium around the FLEUR network developed a list of forest vascular plant species for several European regions. FLEUR is a European network of researchers interested in the dynamics of forest plant species in a changing environment (http://www.fleur.ugent.be/).

For 24 geographical regions of 13 countries in Western, Central and Northern Europe comprehensive lists of vascular plant species occurring in forests are presented. Lists and assignments to four different species groups with different degrees of association with forests (forest specialists versus forest generalists) are based on vegetation databases, information in floras and other publications, and expert knowledge. The methodology will be presented in an upcoming publication, and an extension to other regions is intended.

The forest plant species list serves as a tool for evaluating plant species richness of forests and can be used for various ecological analysis, e.g. temporal changes in forest communities.