Woodlands at the edge: A European perspective on the Atlantic Oakwood Plant Communities

Summary The Atlantic Oakwoods can be seen as ‘at the edge’ in two ways. First, they lie at the extreme oceanic end of a series of Quercus robur and Q. petraea woodlands which stretches eastwards from the North Atlantic coast to the continental heartland of Europe. Second, they are at the northern limit of a range of oceanic oakwoods which extends southwards to Iberia where Q. pyrenaica is an important canopy companion. This paper outlines the main variations in trees, shrubs, herbs and cryptogams that can be seen along these two climatic gradients, so as to highlight what is truly distinctive about the Atlantic Oakwoods and how we might rightly value them.