Semi-cultural formation

A semi-cultural formation or semi-natural vegetation is a predominance of light and partial shade plants created by humans, characterized by mostly species-rich plant communities . A mostly extensive grazing of areas for animal breeding in the form of guarding by goats or sheep led to a decline in the existing trees and bushes and led to the development of undemanding, often less competitive plant species.

Among other things, to be found on marginal land which offers poorly nutrient-poor, acidic, wet or dry conditions, semi-cultural formations are to be regarded as cultural relics today . When the land is abandoned due to human management, semi-cultural formations develop back to the forest via bush stages.

composition

These new species connections could only develop through the recurring grazing animals, but are similarly present in small areas in the natural landscape. In addition to the native species, adventives, predominantly archaeophytes, are often part of the species inventory. These include, for example, heaths ( dwarf shrub , wet and bristle grass pastures ), dry and semi-dry lawns , wet and wet meadows , coppice forests and small sedge swamps .

This also includes types of vegetation that have arisen through a more structured cultural landscape , such as forest coats and forest borders .

natural reserve

Semi-natural plant communities are in decline today or are listed as threatened communities on the Red List of Biotope Types.

literature

• Hartmut Dierschke: Plant Sociology . Basics and methods. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1994