Šumava Biosphere Reserve

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Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area
Logo of the National Park and Protected Landscape Area of ​​Šumava
Logo of the National Park and Protected Landscape Area of ​​Šumava
Šumava Biosphere Reserve (Czech Republic)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 0 ″  N , 13 ° 36 ′ 0 ″  E
Location: Czech Republic
Next city: Český Krumlov , Vimperk , Sušice
Surface: 167,688 ha, of which
68,064 ha national park
99 624 ha LSG
Length: 70 km
Founding: LSG from 1963
National Park from 1991
Visitors: 770,000 (2008)
Address: www.npsumava.cz
Správa NP a CHKO Šumava
1. máje 260, 385 01 Vimperk
phone +420 388 450 111
National Park (dark green) and LSG (light green) Šumava.  On the German side, the Bavarian Forest National Park.
National Park (dark green) and LSG (light green) Šumava. On the German side, the Bavarian Forest National Park.
Chalupská slať moor in the Šumava National Park
Chalupská slať moor in the Šumava National Park
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The Biosphere Reserve Šumava (  [ ˈʃʊmava ] ) is a large nature reserve in the south-west of the Czech Republic in the Bohemian Forest ( Czech: Šumava ). Please click to listen!Play

It includes the largest national park in the Czech Republic with 68,064  hectares (680.6 km²) , the Šumava National Park ( Národní park Šumava in Czech ), large parts of the 99,624 hectares of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area ( Chráněná krajinná oblast in Czech ) and other areas that are neither in National Park are still in the landscape protection area. Together they form one of the largest and most species-rich protected areas in Central Europe . They represent a valuable natural area as well as a popular destination for tourism .

geography

See also: Bohemian Forest

National park and protected landscape area

The reserve lies deep in the Bohemian Forest on the border with Germany and Austria . The area is spread over the regions of Pilsen and South Bohemia in the three districts of Klatovy , Český Krumlov and Prachatice . The national park extends over a length of 70 km and a width of 2–15 km. Beyond the southwestern border, the smaller Bavarian Forest National Park connects in Lower Bavaria , with which together the Šumava National Park forms the largest contiguous protected forest area in Central Europe.

The area of ​​the biosphere reserve is divided as follows:

In the national park:

  • Forest: 81% (55,600 ha)
  • Meadows and pastures: 7% 5,169 ha
  • Arable land : 1% (756 ha)
  • Body of water : 1% (583 ha)
  • Built-up area: 0.1% (66 ha)
  • Others: 10% (6,800 ha)

In the protected landscape area:

  • Forest: 58% (57,383 ha)
  • Meadows and pastures: 20% (20,000 ha)
  • Arable land: 7% (7,000 ha)
  • Built-up area: 0.4% (399 ha)
  • Other: 15% (14,900 ha)

Due to its border location and rural exodus, the Bohemian Forest is a very structurally weak, rural area. The national park and the landscape protection area are very sparsely populated: in the actual national park there are only seven communities with around 1000 inhabitants today (as of 2005). In 1991 the population was 2,500. In the area of ​​the LSG it amounts to around 21,000. The highest point of the national park is the summit of the 1,378 m high Plöckenstein (Czech. Plechý ) on the Czech-Austrian border. The Otava in Rejštejn marks the lowest point in the park at 570 meters . The LSG has its lowest point at Čachrov in Okres Klatovy (498 m), the highest point is the 1,362 m high Kubany / Boubín near Vimperk .

Landforms

The landscape is that of a typical low mountain range with primeval forest -like or spruce- dominated forests. Agricultural areas are often richly structured by hedges, groups of trees, individual trees and orchards . The most common rocks are granite , gneiss and mica slate , which come to the surface in many places, especially on the mountain peaks. In the national park there is not only the watershed between the Black Sea and the North Sea , but also the origin of the Vltava and Otava rivers , which in the Bohemian Forest still have the character of a mountain river and in whose valleys there are a number of historical places.

The Šumava is also home to the cirque lakes Černé jezero and Čertovo in LSG, Plešné Jezero , Prášilské and Laka in the national park.

The Lipno and Nýrsko reservoirs are also in the area of ​​the national park and the LSG .

There are several extensive raised bogs, especially in the border area with Bavaria . The precipitation-rich climate promotes peat formation and supplies the moors with water, which is slowly released again. The water storage capacity of the Bohemian Forest moors is very important due to their size. Large moors in the Šumava are Jezerní slať , the Maderer Filze , Chalupská slať and Mrtvý luh .

Protection zones

The Šumava National Park is divided into three protection zones with different sizes and degrees of protection.

  • Zone I (8 807 ha, 13% of the park area):
    This zone includes the most ecologically valuable and sensitive areas of the Bohemian Forest ecosystem. This includes around 7,500 hectares of forest, the rest is made up almost exclusively of raised bogs, such as the strictly protected areas of Modravské slatě or Mrtvý luh , which are inaccessible to the public. Natural self-regulation without human intervention is provided for this zone; it comprises 135 rather small-scale protected areas.
  • Zone II (56 856 ha, 82% of the park area):
    This zone makes up the largest part of the national park area. In it are predominantly man-made, cultivated or damaged areas, which, depending on their condition, fall into a further sub-category:
    • Zone II A (11 077 ha, 16% of the park area):
      near-natural zone in the transition to the natural zone. The national park plan provides for these areas to be incorporated into Zone I by 2015.
    • Zone II B (31 350 ha, 46% of the parking area):
      controlled zone in the transition to the natural zone. Here, the planning provides for a forced restoration of the natural state and the subsequent integration into Zone I by 2030.
    • Zone II C (13,529 ha, 20% of the park area):
      Natural area that is subject to permanent human influence, for example due to its proximity to settlements and therefore requires certain protection and conservation measures.
  • Zone III (3,372 ha, 5% of the park area):
    This category includes settlement areas, agricultural areas and other human-used areas. For Zone III, the regulations of the national park provide for the integration into the overall system of the park, with simultaneous consideration of the interests of the population, provided that these do not run counter to the objectives of the national park.

The national park as such or a border zone otherwise common for national parks does not exist in the biosphere reserve. The national park is a special zone within the LSG, the LSG in turn functions as a peripheral zone. The LSG has the following categories for areas:

  • Natural areas: Areas in which there was little or no human influence, for example original forests such as the Kubany primeval forest and moorland meadows. The aim is to protect against external changes.
  • Valuable cultivated areas: secondary forests, clearings or wet meadows that serve as valuable habitats for animals and plants. The aim here is to preserve the condition and character of the areas and to partially stop the forest cover.
  • Local species-rich biotopes : Small, closely delimited areas in which rare species occur and which are therefore given special attention.

The main task of the national park is to preserve and protect areas untouched by humans. The LSG, on the other hand, aims to preserve and care for cultural landscapes .

climate

The Bohemian Forest is located at the transition from the Atlantic to the continental climate . The annual rainfall is 800 mm to 1600 mm, on the border ridge up to 2000 mm. About half of the precipitation falls in the form of snow, especially in locations above 1000 m.

The snow cover in the Bohemian Forest lasts between 100 days at lower altitudes and up to 150 days at high altitudes. The coldest month of the year in the Šumava is January, with record temperatures of -40  ° C in some basins. Usually July is the warmest month, June the wettest. The average annual temperature is 6.5 ° C in the valley and 3.5 ° C in the mountains.

Average values ​​1961–1990 (Churáňov station, Stachy ):

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Yearly
Average temperature (° C) −4.1 −3.8 −1.1 2.9 7.8 11.1 12.9 12.4 9.5 5.4 0.1 −3.1 4.2
Precipitation (mm) 78.8 67.2 80.0 86.0 103.4 127.5 114.0 115.6 77.3 62.2 83.5 95.3 1090.7
The Bohemian Forest in spring

Flora and fauna

During the Cold War , the Iron Curtain ran through today's national park. The status of the inner Bohemian Forest as a restricted military area favored the undisturbed development of nature in the region.

Today there are numerous rare and threatened species that can hardly be found elsewhere in Central Europe. The different landscapes in the Bohemian Forest also contribute to a great diversity of species .

In September 2010, a wolf pack was discovered in the national park.

plants

Forest

Particularly noteworthy in the Šumava is the existence of natural forest areas. True primeval forests only exist in relict form, but large parts of the national park and LSG are in a very natural, untouched condition. Examples of this are the Boubínský prales nature reserve on Mount Boubín and extensive mountain spruce forests near Modrava. The Bohemian Forest is partly characterized by spruce monocultures, partly by acidophilic beech and mixed spruce forests . At the edges of the moors there are swamp forests , in the moors leg pines and dwarf birches . In addition to orchids such as the two-leaved forest hyacinth , many species of mushrooms and moss can be found in the forests of the Šumava ; One example is the Bohemian forest laurel , which is only found in three places in the Czech Republic outside of the Šumava.

moor

In the extensive raised bogs of the national park, there are many highly specialized plants that build on various survival strategies in the nutrient-poor environment. In addition to sundew species, some of which feed on insects , typical peat mosses , cotton grasses and peat moss communities can also be found here . In the moor areas around Černá v Pošumaví there are alder forests with rich flora. Among other things, there are cranberries , rushes and Traunsteiner's orchid . Trees are rare in the raised bogs, with the exception of bog birch and dwarf pine .

Lakes and rivers

Above all in the mountain lakes, as well as along the river floodplains of Moldau and Otava, many species live that benefit from the high water quality in the region. Lake bream , lesser pond rose , milfoil and the ostrich loosestrife thrive in the Šumava .

Bohemian gentian, a sub-endiver of the Bohemian Forest

Open landscape

Originally, almost the entire area of ​​today's biosphere reserve was forested. The meadows, pastures and fields that exist today are the result of cultivation by humans and the clearing of the former primeval forests. Nevertheless, these areas fulfill an important ecological function by enriching the biosphere reserve with many species that cannot find suitable habitats in the forest.

Species that can actually be assigned to the Alpine region are widespread in the mountain meadows . Prime examples are mountain alpine bells , fire lily and Pannonian gentian . In contrast, the Bohemian gentian occurs exclusively in the Bohemian Forest and a few adjacent areas. Large areas, especially in the summit regions, are overgrown with blueberries and arnica .

The wet meadows are also home to a wide variety of plants, including the Siberian iris , crown lettuce and monkshood buttercup .

Animals

Of the mammals, especially lynx , elk , red deer , birch mouse , dormouse and dormouse are to be mentioned; by birds grouse , Grouse , grouse , Dreizehenspecht , Corncrakes , Habichtskauz , Sperlingskauz , Raufußkauz , Karmingimpel , Braunkehlchen , Neuntöter , Schwarzstorch and Eagle ; of the insects, especially the raised bog beetle ; Among the amphibians and reptiles, especially adder , smooth snake , grass snake , mountain lizard and mountain newt .

Conflicts

As in the Bavarian Forest National Park, the nature conservation regulation, which rejects human interventions in Zone I (core zone) of the park, meant that bark beetles could spread very widely in the forest, which was largely made up of spruce , and in 2008 it infested a total of around 1000 hectares of forest . This leads to conflicts between the national park management and private forest owners, as well as the districts. These call for active control of the bark beetle to protect their forests. However, this runs counter to the objectives of the national park to implement nature conservation process protection in its first zone. The conservationists, who advocate non-intervention by humans, also receive support from the Academy of Sciences , which is also of the opinion that the greatest problem is the permanent change in management. Since the sensitive areas have currently been uncultivated for around 20 years, the natural renewal of the stock is only now beginning and should therefore not be disturbed or interrupted.

In August 2011, felling work took place on the approximately 5,000 infected spruce trees. There were massive protests by environmental activists, which were responded to with police violence. The Czech Helsinki Committee condemned the police operations as excessive.

Publications

The park publishes the scientific journal Silva Gabreta at regular intervals. It is dedicated to nature conservation, biological research, as well as the relationship of the park to tourism and population, but also historical and cultural issues related to the park.

literature

  • Drahomíra Kušová, Jan Těšitel, Michael Bartoš: The media image of the relationship between nature protection and socio-economic development in selected Protected Landscape Areas . In: Silva Gabreta , Vol. 11, No. 2-3, pp. 123-133

Web links

Commons : Šumava Biosphere Reserve  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Official homepage of the Šumava National Park , accessed on May 23, 2009
  2. Czech Republic - Sumava. (PDF) UNESCO, accessed on September 12, 2014 (English, map with protected area boundaries).
  3. a b Information from the administration of the NP and CHKO Šumava. (PDF; 930 kB) Vimperk 2005, accessed on May 23, 2009
  4. a b c Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area , accessed on May 23, 2009.
  5. Nature in Šumava , accessed on May 23, 2009.
  6. Michal Valenta: History of nature conservation in the Bohemian Forest ( Memento of the original from October 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from waldwildnis.de, accessed September 2, 2009  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.waldwildnis.de
  7. a b c d Flora in the Český Krumlov Region , accessed on May 24, 2009.
  8. Thomas Engleder: A habitat model for the lynx (Lynx lynx L.) in the 3-country region Bohemian Forest . Auberg / Haslach, 2001
  9. ^ Long-Term Climatological Normals for the Period 1961–1990 . ( Memento of August 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (Český hydrometeorologický ústav); Retrieved June 5, 2009
  10. Na Šumavě byli spatřeni vlci accessed on September 10, 2010 (Czech)
  11. ^ Academy of Sciences for the Preservation of Protected Zones in the Bohemian Forest on Radio Prague, May 27, 2010; Retrieved May 28, 2010
  12. ^ Radio Prague News of August 7, 2011, accessed on August 7, 2011