Editing Beech (section)

=== Continental Europe ===
''Fagus sylvatica'' is one of the most common hardwood trees in north-central Europe, in France constituting alone about 15% of all nonconifers. [[Balkans|The Balkans]] are also home to the lesser-known oriental beech (''F.&nbsp;orientalis'') and Crimean beech (''F.&nbsp;taurica'').

As a naturally growing forest tree, beech marks the important border between the European deciduous forest zone and the northern pine forest zone. This border is important for wildlife and fauna.

In [[Denmark]] and Scania at the southernmost peak of the Scandinavian peninsula, southwest of the natural [[spruce]] boundary, it is the most common forest tree.  It grows naturally in Denmark and southern [[Norway]] and Sweden up to about 57–59°N. The most northern known naturally growing (not planted) beech trees are found in a small grove north of [[Bergen]] on the west coast of Norway. Near the city of [[Larvik]] is the largest naturally occurring beech forest in Norway, [[Bøkeskogen]].

Some research suggests that early agriculture patterns supported the spread of beech in continental Europe. Research has linked the establishment of beech stands in Scandinavia and Germany with cultivation and fire disturbance, i.e. early agricultural practices. Other areas which have a long history of cultivation, [[Bulgaria]] for example, do not exhibit this pattern, so how much human activity has influenced the spread of beech trees is as yet unclear.<ref name="Bradshaw-2010">{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=R.H.W. |first2=N. |last2=Kito and |first3=T. |last3=Giesecke |title=Factors influencing the Holocene history of Fagus |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=259 |issue=11 |pages=2204–12 |date=2010 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.11.035 |bibcode=2010ForEM.259.2204B |url=}}</ref>

The [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe|primeval beech forests of the Carpathians]] are also an example of a singular, complete, and comprehensive forest dominated by a single tree species - the beech tree. Forest dynamics here were allowed to proceed without interruption or interference since the last ice age. Nowadays, they are amongst the last pure beech forests in Europe to document the undisturbed postglacial repopulation of the species, which also includes the unbroken existence of typical animals and plants. These virgin beech forests and similar forests across 12 countries in continental Europe were inscribed on the [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage List]] in 2007.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1133 |title = Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 13 November 2021}}</ref>