During fieldwork as part of the LIFE+ ForBioSensing project, we were welcomed by the first signs of nature awakening. On the forest floor, beneath last year’s leaves, a whole gallery of spring treasures has emerged:

Common hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) – a species characteristic of fertile deciduous forests, an indicator of oak-hornbeam habitats. One of the first plants to bloom after winter.
Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) – a typical spring ephemeral of the forest understory, occurring en masse in oak-hornbeam and riparian forests.
Yellow star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea) – a spring geophyte, a valuable bioindicator of moist deciduous forest habitats.
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) – an expansive understory geophyte, characteristic of moist riparian and oak-hornbeam habitats.
Mezereon (Daphne mezereum) – an understory shrub, a partially protected species, and phenologically one of the earliest flowering shrubs in the forest stand.
Scarlet elf cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) – an ascomycete fungus inhabiting dead deciduous wood, a bioindicator of high biodiversity and ecological continuity of the forest.

Our dendrometers - special devices permanently installed on trees - non-invasively monitor trunk circumference growth throughout the year. Now something we’ve been waiting for is happening: for some monitored trees, we are already recording the first changes in circumference. Spring in the Białowieża Forest is an especially intense time of observation for us - the forest is bursting with life before our eyes.

#ForBioSensing #LIFE #hepatica #anemone #gagea #mezereon #spring #dendrometers #BiałowieżaForest

Prepared by: W. Duranowska
Photos: K. Pilch