The magic of pine forest

The forces of nature and human activity have caused the domination of pine forests in the landscape of our country, with pine as the main tree species in Poland. Things that surround us every day usually become unnoticed. A pine forest is not only a resin-smelling setting or a source of berries and mushrooms, it is also the arena where many natural spectacles take place and This tree species can grow well practically everywhere, on sandy dunes, moors or rocky summits. Scott's pine dominates in Polish lowland forests, covering almost two-thirds of forest area, being a source of wood for multiple uses. Pine forests are made up of clusters of pines. Interestingly, the distinction between bory, the Polish term for coniferous forests, and lazy, for deciduous forests, is used only by Slavs. Scott's pine, which dominates in forests, occasionally gives way to birch. Under the panicle-shaped crowns of green needles, one can find juniper and rowan. Extensive patches of berries are typical of pine forests. Cowberries grow in drier areas, while bilberries or blackberries occur in wetter habitats. Ancient club mosses are the characteristic species of pine forests, like this rare blue club moss. Some representatives of the family Monotropaceae, such as the Dutchman's pipe, a chlorophyll-lacking plant, and the heather, an eye-catching subshrub, grow in a relatively poor and acid forest floor of pine forests. A large number of moss species in the forest floor create a carpet-like effect. Let us look into this extraordinary microcosm for a moment. Pine forests are inhabited by their specific avifauna. The woodlark builds its nests and raises its brood on the lowest level, on the ground. The Eurasian hobby, or the forest falcon, nests the highest, in the trees. It readily occupies the abandoned nests of ravens. The coal tit is the largest among the tit species inhabiting pine forests, while the great spotted woodpecker is the most abundant among the woodpecker species. The jay can be encountered in any pine forest. In the spring, jays build nests and raise their chicks in a jungle of pine branches. However, not all young chicks will survive till their first flight. One will be lucky to find the nest of a nightjar, a nocturnal singer of pine forests. From a close distance, this heraldic bird of pine forests does not lose any of its mystery, and merges into the environment in a perfect camouflage. The nightjar remains unnoticed unless you almost step on it. Pine gradually changes foliage into a new one, yet never losing all its needles at once. Therefore, the seasons in pine forests are not as spectacular as in deciduous forests. Spring comes here late and is mild. The tufts of dwarf sedge or the clumps of hairy woodrush flourish. Only when we enter the coniferous forests of northern Poland do our hearts start to beat faster, at the sight of the patches of exceptionally charming and delicate eastern pasqueflower, shielded by the crowns of pine trees and protected by the EU Habitats Directive and the Polish Data Red Book of Plants. In the summer, pine forests smell of resin. It is enhanced by the fragrance of pinks. The purple foxglove paints the forest floor in the early summer, while the dwarf everlast does it in the late summer. The insects swarming in the summer swelter take part in many natural spectacles in the pine forest. Here is one of the performers, the red-banded sand wasp. This insect breaks open the entrance to the hole dug in the sand. It drags a paralyzed caterpillar to the hole. It will lay an egg in it and will seal the entrance after leaving the burrow. After hatching, the wasp larva will have plenty to eat. The insect is exceptionally apt in masking the entrance to the burrow. After carefully sealing the opening, it scuffs any marks of it. Here is another summer spectacle, the ants carrying a dead bee. Also, myriads of microscopic insects. The springtails take part in this drama. Autumn in the forest is also the time of spiders and cobwebs. Let us look at one of the cobweb spiders. Pine forests are the venue of many spectacular events taking place in the autumn. In a forest clearing, one can watch red deer in the rut. The mighty stags try to win swift does, but as it happens in life, with varying success. Winter is a dormant season in pine forests, only rarely interrupted by the noise of hammering woodpeckers or the voices of foraging tits and gold crests. In the remotest parts of pine forests, one can track down an eagle, which at the end of winter starts its mating displays. In various regions of Poland, pine forests look different. In the Nauteca primeval forest, there are still sites where one can observe the formation of inland sand dunes, reaching a relative height of 20 meters. The shifting sands are gradually overgrown by the grey hairgrass, creating a habitat protected almost throughout Europe. Such sites are inhabited by grasshoppers, such as the bow-winged grasshopper and the gorgeous blue-winged grasshopper, with a bright turquoise coloration of the wings gleaming in the sunlight in flight. Here, one can also watch the mysterious hunt for ants by antlion larvae. Our country boasts the largest area of dry pine forests, a natural habitat protected by the EU Habitats Directive. Their most beautiful fragments are scattered across the extensive Tuchola primeval forest. Beneath the crowns of low pine trees growing on sand, one can see the greyish fields of lichens of the genus Cladonia, cup lichen. Such a large number of ground lichen species cannot be found in any other coniferous forest in Poland. The fresh coniferous forest grows in wetter habitats and is not only the most common type of coniferous forest, but also of any forest in our country. In northeastern Poland, one can find a more productive continental variety of coniferous forest, while a less productive sub-Atlantic variety occurs in other regions of the country. The herb layer of the fresh coniferous forest, alongside the dominating bilberries, abounds with common cow wheat. In some places, one can see clumps of common bracken. And here is an extensive tract of pine forests of the Konyszyn primeval forest, interspersed with birch and spruce. For this species composition, the Konyszyn forest is called the Białystok tiger. It is a refuge for a large population of the black stork. The Augustów primeval forest is located on the edge of northeastern Poland. It is dominated by fresh pine forests in their continental variety. The extensive Augustów forests are the residents of the hazel grass. On sunny days, the birds happily bathe in the sand. The small Tęgmałmzał inhabits higher layers of the forest. It occupies hollows left by the black woodpecker. Moist coniferous forests look fabulous in the clumps of tall myrgrass turn yellow. Then the whole forest community is named after this grass species. The forest floor is covered by green cushions of the common haircap moss and fields of the stiff club moss. In the understory, one can find abundant buckthorn. Very wet habitats are covered by bog pine forests. The ground cover of these coniferous forests, composed of many peat moss species, bends underfoot. The characteristic bog forest vegetation are deciduous subshrubs of the heath family, marsh labrador tea, bog bilberry and cranberry. The sweet gale is a small shrub growing in the coastal zone. This type of forest is reminiscent of the vast coniferous forests in the borderland of the former Republic of Poland. The coastal forest is a special type of pine forest, with crowberry in the herb layer. The beautiful sea holly grows in the fragments of dunes closest to the sea. The crowns of pine trees in this forest, influenced by the coastal storm winds, are highly disheveled. The ground cover is dominated by the crowberry, whose fruits can be enjoyed already in the summer. The fields of polypody fern are greening up where the ground is undulating. Trees die standing or lying fallen on the ground. Their decline can be seen very clearly in the pine forest, as the decomposition of organic matter here is much slower than in deciduous forests. Today there is no need to convince anyone of the positive role of a certain amount of dead trees in the forest stand. Dying pine trees are the place of reproduction of, amongst others, the timberman beetle from the family of longhorn beetles, typically characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often longer than the beetle's body. The larval galleries of the timberman beetles are one of the living places of the ant beetle, a small yet colorful predatory beetle. Dying pine trees are for long a favorable nesting habitat for birds. For example, the forest crawler builds its nest in bark crevices of dying pine trees from small sticks. When the work is completed, it starts to prepare the lining where the female will deposit eggs. Also, the black woodpecker prefers to excavate a nest hollow in the trunk of a dying pine tree. The young will have a safe shelter until they leave the nest. The edge of the pine forest, especially its sunny side, is a favorable habitat for wild thyme. Its color and smell attract myriads of insects. Similar places overgrown with mousier hawkweed are inhabited by the large grasshopper, the worthbiter cricket. It can fall prey to the sand lizard hunting in this environment. The edge zone of the forest, or the ecotone, is inhabited by the red-backed shrike. This beautifully colored male shrike is a caring parent, just like the modestly colored female. In the case of this pair, however, the old female's plumage resembles male plumage coloration, so that she can only be distinguished by the stripes on her underparts. We can also find here two rare hollow nesting species, the wood pigeon and the common hoopoe. The edge of the pine forest is generally an excellent place for watching, for example, hunting ravens. The evening or early morning hunts on the edge of the forest are certainly a chance to encounter many interesting mammals. The enclaves of other ecosystems in the interior of pine forests are the real treasures of nature. Heather moors are most strongly associated with pine forests. In late August and early September, the moors are in full bloom, attracting myriads of insects, such as the painted lady, the peacock butterfly, polystyne wasps, the darter, the scorpionfly, the sickle-bearing bush cricket. The heather moor is an area of true magic. Allow your imagination to play for a while and forget about everyday life problems. Reading into the words of the Polish poet Edward Stachura. Bogs are other jewels of pine forests, abundant with unusual plants like the common cotton grass, white beaksedge, cross-leaved heath, or insectivorous sundews with sticky tentacles. It is not so easy to free oneself of them, even for a dragonfly. In the bog, spiderlings hatch into a tuft of sedges, while a big raft spider is waiting for its prey on the surface of the water body. The wildest fragments of the Unovskia forests and the Solska primeval forest are the scene of a fascinating display, which takes place in the spring. The mating dance of capercaillies. It is worth listening to their ancient song. Pine forests have enchanted us with their magic for centuries. However, for this to continue, its most valuable fragments need to be placed under various forms of legal protection. Pine forests are also protected by foresters, who deliberately leave some hollow and dying trees in the forest until their natural death, and exclude the most precious fragments of indigenous nature from economic use. Like, for example, the habitats of rare plant species of coniferous forests. The vast majority of pine forests in Poland are stands managed for timber production. The health of all pine forests in our country depends on the maintenance of their high biological diversity. These are susceptible habitats. Weakened and impoverished natural habitats are often the place of violent reproduction of insect pests. Their outbreaks are a serious threat to coniferous forests, leading to the disturbance of the natural balance of the ecosystem. In the species-rich coniferous forests, where many different organisms find their ecological niches, nature can somehow defend itself. Let's look at the swarm of one of the most dangerous pest insects of pine, the pine looper moth. Here is its biological enemy, the yellow hammer, with a beak full of these moths on its way to the nest. And the woodlark, which also feeds its chicks with pine looper moths. Here, we have a pine hawk moth caterpillar in search of a place for pupation. In June next year, it will fly as a large gray-colored butterfly, looking for a partner to mate. Now in June, on the river adjoining the coniferous forest, the golden aureole has just hatched chicks in a woven nest attached to the branch of an alder. The beautifully colored parents take advantage of this gift of nature, bringing these huge moths to the nest to feed the chicks. It is amazing how the chicks swallow them whole. This dependence of one species on another is at first glance hard to notice. And how many other dependencies can still be discovered in the highly biologically diversified pine forest? Especially in the environment of small invertebrates that are hard to observe. Let us give the credit of trust to pine forests and simultaneously maintain their biological diversity. Our forests will definitely then be healthier and richer with the jewels of nature, such as the hobby or the nightjar. The pine forests are the undervalued legacy of Polish nature. These are not only the wood-producing forest stands, which are the objects of care of foresters, not only the species-rich forest ecosystems. These are also the resin-scented oases of calm, a place giving solace to the soul of contemporary man, troubled by the increasing pace of present-day life.