Forests of the Iberian Peninsula blackberry bushes, blackthorn, hawthorn and other more or less thorny shrubs; this role can also be filled by smaller thorny plants, "los piornales", and clumps of broom. The major forests in this area are beech, oak, birch, and fir. Beech forests ("Fagus sylvatica") are found in the mountain layer of the Iberian Eurosiberian region from 800 to 1500 metres up. The soil is cool, as often chalky as siliceous (rich in silica), and nearly always acidified by rain. The layer is characterised by the beech tree. The beech tree projects a deep shadow, and so its dense foliage usually excludes
Cepaea sylvatica Cepaea sylvatica " Cepaea sylvatica" is a medium-sized species of air-breathing dextral land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae. It is a close relative of the grove snail ("Cepaea nemoralis"). This species lives in many of the same habitats as "Cepaea nemoralis", such as woods, dunes and grassland, however "C. sylvatica" tolerates wetter and colder areas than the grove snail can tolerate. "Cepaea sylvatica" is generally similar in appearance to "C. nemoralis", although the shell is not as colorful and not as variable as that of the grove snail. Also, the diameter of the shell of