The Sarmatic mixed forests stretch across northeastern Europe, covering the entirety of Estonia and Latvia and reaching into Lithuania, Belarus, the central part of European Russia, southern Sweden, southernmost Norway, and southwesternmost Finland. This is a transition zone between the boreal taiga to the north and the broadleaf belt to the south, where the dominant Norway spruce (Picea abies) mixes with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in drier sites and common oak (Quercus robur), along with downy birch, beech, aspen, and ash. A continental climate predominates, moderated by a maritime influence along the coastlines. The ecoregion's flagship species is the Eurasian beaver, and it shelters some of Europe's greatest mammals, including grey wolf, Eurasian lynx, brown bear, elk, and European bison, though only a small fraction of the region is currently under protection.

At a glance

About the temperate broadleaf & mixed forests biome

Four-season forests of deciduous hardwoods — oak, maple, beech — often mixed with conifers, shaped by warm summers and cold winters. Trees leaf out in spring and color in autumn; the generally fertile soils have made these forests heavily settled and farmed.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions