Beech woods, lovers of the mist, are the commonest type of woods to be found in the area. They occupy large areas in the north, while to the south they are replaced by oak groves and to the east the pine forests of the stone pine take hold of the landscape.
Beech woods

There are three types of beech wood in the Navarrese Pyrenees.
  • Atlantic acid beech woods: these take hold on poor or acidy soil on steep slopes. They are found at the northwest limit.
  • Calcareous Pyrenean beech woods: these appear on calcareous or flysch soils and rise to maximum heights. They form the mainstay of the Forest of Irati.
  • Sub-Mediterranean beech woods: of clear continental influence, they meet up with gall oaks. The best examples are found in the Valleys of Salazar and Roncal.
The tree layer of a beech wood is continuous and dense, the beech tree clearly dominating the area and preventing many species of bush from prospering. Willows, holly trees, hawthorns, blueberries or box trees make use of available clearings.
Beech woods sometimes mix in with oak and pine woods, and, less frequently, with mountain elm, yew and service berries. When the timber trade or over-farming mark the end of a beech wood, areas dominated by heather and fern take hold, much to the favour of local sheep.
The main beech woods in the Pyrenees are the Forest of Irati and Quinto Real.
Beech-fir woods
The ecological demands of the beech tree and the fir tree are in theory extremely different. The beech tree enjoys the mist and well-drained soils while the fir prefers well-lit areas and moist soils.
Despite their differences, they share certain characteristics which allow them to live side by side in mixed woodland, typical on the north face of the Pyrenees. On the southern face, they mainly appear in the easternmost part of the Forest of Irati and in areas of Larra-Belagoa. In these woods, the fir trees sometimes stand 5-10 metres over the tops of the beech trees, reaching heights of up to 50 metres.
Oak woods
The Pyrenees has a great variety of oak trees, from the Atlantic oak to the sessile oak, and including marcescent oaks and various hybrids.
Oak woods mainly grow half-way up slopes and at the bottom of valleys. They create hybrids with great ease. Oak woods are normally more open than beech woods and are home to many bushes, thorn, holly and fern, and abundant, varied fauna.
An excellent example of an oak wood is the Betelu wood in Olaldea-Garralda, one of the most interesting woods of its kind in Europe.
Pine woods
Pine trees make for well-formed woods which also allow for other species, grassland and crops, at practically any location and on any kind of soil. The Spanish pine appears at altitudes of over 1500 metres and is accompanied by blueberries, thicket and grassland (in Larra). Stone pine woods spread to the south and east of the Sierra de Abodi and grow in amongst low woodland populated by gall oak, box, maple and thorn bushes.
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