Editing Beech (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Grib skov.jpg|thumb|European beech (''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'')]]
[[File:Beeches, Ehrenbach.jpg|thumb|Beeches in [[Ehrenbach]], Germany]]
[[File:Beech with Branches.jpg|thumb|upright|[[North American beech]], seen in autumn]]
[[File:Fagus engleriana - Morris Arboretum - DSC00475.JPG|thumb|Chinese beech (''[[Fagus engleriana]]'')]]

=== Britain and Ireland ===
''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'' was a late entrant to Great Britain after the last glaciation, and may have been restricted to basic soils in the south of England. Some suggest that it was introduced by Neolithic tribes who planted the trees for their edible nuts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/faga/fagus/fagusylv.jpg |title= Map|website=linnaeus.nrm.se |format=JPG|access-date=2019-08-07}}</ref> The beech is classified as a native in the south of England and as a non-native in the north where it is often removed from 'native' woods.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/1A301105A92950FE80257012002508A0 |title=International Foresters Study Lake District's greener, friendlier forests |publisher=Forestry Commission |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-date=28 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128215333/http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/1A301105A92950FE80257012002508A0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Large areas of the [[Chilterns]] are covered with beech woods, which are habitat to the [[common bluebell]] and other flora. The [[Cwm Clydach National Nature Reserve]] in southeast Wales was designated for its beech woodlands, which are believed to be on the western edge of their natural range in this steep limestone gorge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/cwm-clydach.aspx |title=Cwm Clydach |publisher=Countryside Council for Wales Landscape & wildlife |access-date=4 August 2010 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925090500/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/cwm-clydach.aspx |archive-date=25 September 2010 }}</ref>

Beech is not native to Ireland; however, it was widely planted in the 18th century and can become a problem shading out the native woodland understory.

Beech is widely planted for hedging and in deciduous woodlands, and mature, regenerating stands occur throughout mainland Britain at elevations below about {{convert|650|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |first1=C.D. |last1=Preston |first2=D. |last2=Pearman |first3=T.D. |last3=Dines |title=New Atlas of the British Flora |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-19-851067-3 |pages= |url=}}</ref> The tallest and longest hedge in the world (according to ''[[Guinness World Records]]'') is the [[Meikleour Beech Hedges|Meikleour Beech Hedge]] in [[Meikleour]], [[Perth and Kinross]], Scotland.

=== 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>

=== North America ===
The American beech (''Fagus grandifolia'') occurs across much of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, with a disjunct sister species in Mexico (''F. mexicana''). It is the only extant (surviving) ''Fagus'' species in the Western Hemisphere. Before the [[Pleistocene]] Ice Age, it is believed to have spanned the entire width of the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific but now is confined to the east of the Great Plains. ''F. grandifolia'' tolerates hotter climates than European species but is not planted much as an ornamental due to slower growth and less resistance to urban pollution. It most commonly occurs as an overstory component in the northern part of its range with sugar maple, transitioning to other forest types further south such as beech-magnolia. American beech is rarely encountered in developed areas except as a remnant of a forest that was cut down for land development.

The dead brown leaves of the American beech remain on the branches until well into the following spring, when the new buds finally push them off.

=== Asia ===
East Asia is home to eight species of ''Fagus'', only one of which (''F.&nbsp;crenata'') is occasionally planted in Western countries. Smaller than ''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' and ''F.&nbsp;grandifolia'', this beech is one of the most common hardwoods in its native range.