Ukraine

The beech forests in the Ukraine are mostly confined to the Carpathians Mountains.

Further to the east, the climate is increasingly continental and only small islands of beech forest have formed in this beech forest region. The inaccessibility of some sections of the Carpathians and their great distance from industrial sites with a high demand for timber have resulted in the preservation of some of the largest primeval beech forest areas.

The five properties in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve were the first of the World Heritage sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007. They harbour the largest European primeval beech forest and the property Stuzhytsia-Uzhok near the Slovak and Polish borders. In 2017, another five World Heritage properties were added: Gorgany is located within the boundaries of the present Gorgany Nature Reserve. This area has the lowest average temperature (0.6-1.4 °C) of them all. Roztochya has been protected since the 19th century, there are individual trees older than 200 years. Stanivska Dacha represents the boundary of the Central European floristic region, beyond which Fagus sylvatica occurs only in sparse numbers. Synevyr is located in the core zone of Synevir National Nature Park, where the beech forests were never subjected to any form of forestry and are therefore exemplary for naturalness and integrity. The Zacharovanyi area is partly located in the Zacharovanyi National Nature Park and, unlike all other Carpathian components, is based on volcanic rock.