Mountain meadows near St. Andreasberg

Mountain meadows near St. Andreasberg IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
location	East of Sankt Andreasberg
surface	216.6 ha
Identifier	NSG BR 095
WDPA ID	162388
Natura 2000 ID	DE4229303
FFH area	215.29 ha
Geographical location	51 ° 43 '  N , 10 ° 32'  E Coordinates: 51 ° 42 '45 "  N , 10 ° 32' 1"  E
Sea level	from 601 m to 720 m
Setup date	18th August 1992
administration	NLWKN

The mountain meadows near St. Andreasberg are a nature reserve in the Lower Saxon town of Braunlage in the Goslar district .

description

The nature reserve with the registration number BR 095 is 216.6  hectares in size. It is almost congruent with the FFH area of the same name .

The nature reserve, which consists of three areas, is located near Sankt Andreasberg in the Harz Nature Park . The largest part of the area northeast of Sankt Andreasberg borders directly on the Harz National Park . Smaller areas on the Glockenberg and Sieberberg are located southwest of the mountain town .

The nature reserve puts a large part of the largest mountain meadow complex in the Lower Saxony part of the Harz under protection. The mountain meadows are predominantly golden oat meadows and grasslands of various types. Furthermore, montane Nardus grasslands , spring swamps and wet meadows , Hochstaudenfluren and peat moss rich small sedge Riede interspersed in the mountain meadows. In addition, bodies of water, hedges , solitary trees and forests subdivide the protected area.

Numerous rare plant species can be found on the mountain meadows, including arnica , bearwort , mountain pea , real speedwell , dyer's gorse , knapweed , common bedstraw , common quaking grass , common finial , heather carnation , nodding celibate , snakebab , pointed lobed lady's mantle , pointed plantain and wood lobster .

The mountain meadows and grass turf were created through extensive grazing with Harz red cattle and Harz goat. In addition, the meadows were used to produce hay for winter fodder. Since the Harz is the northernmost low mountain range in Germany, plant species can be found here at an altitude of 600 meters that are otherwise only found in the Alpine region at an altitude of 1500 meters. The area is managed differently today after the use was temporarily abandoned and the meadow areas, especially in the steep slopes scrubby . Unused areas are to be returned to typical resin meadows through maintenance and management measures. The same applies to coniferous forests on former grassland locations. Some of the farmers receive subsidies for these measures.

The meadow complex is largely surrounded by forest. Sometimes it borders on populated areas. Paths in the nature reserve may be entered. Furthermore, there are various cross-country trails in the nature reserve in winter , which can be used for tourism and for skiing.

The area has been a nature reserve since August 18, 1992. The responsible lower nature conservation authority is the district of Goslar.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ C. Thies, T. Tscharntke, K.-W. Becker, M. Gerken, H. Inhetveen, H. Bergmann & R. Marggraf: The Harz Mountain Meadows and the Harz Red Cattle - Management of old cultural landscapes (PDF; 823 kB) , Agriculture and Environment, issue 13, page 20. Georg-August- University of Göttingen , Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved June 14, 2012.

Web links

Commons : Mountain meadows near St. Andreasberg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Nature reserve "Bergwiesen bei St. Andreasberg" in the database of the Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN)