Graefenberg nature reserve

Machine plowed area, which was later populated by heather

The nature reserve Graefenberg with a size of 7.9  ha is located southeast of Seidfeld in the urban area of Sundern (Sauerland) . The area was designated as a nature reserve (NSG) with an area of ​​0.9 ha for the first time in 1993 with the Sundern landscape plan by the district council of the Hochsauerlandkreis with the name Wacholdervorkommen Graefenberg . When the landscape planner Sundern was reorganized, the NSG was redesignated with a shortened name and enlarged by 7 hectares. The NSG is surrounded by the Sundern nature reserve .

Area description

The Graefenberg juniper is a small heather with juniper . Due to the abandonment of grazing, the heather was already overgrown with bushes and trees when it was designated protection in 1993.

Protection purpose

NSG before maintenance work Dec. 2014

NSG after maintenance work Jan. 2015

Members of the VNV at work

The NSG was established for the preservation of communities and habitats of certain wild plant and animal species, as well as for the protection of the nationally significant biotope with high development potential. As with all nature reserves in Germany, the protection designation pointed out that the area became a nature reserve “because of the rarity, special character and beauty of the area”. In particular, it was designated to protect the junipers in the area. The landscape plan also names its biogeographical and cultural-historical significance. Attention was also drawn to the need for protection under Section 20c of the BNatschG .

Bids in the NSG

In addition to the normal do's and don'ts in nature reserves, the Sundern landscape plan also includes the Grafenberg juniper reserve. One of the commandments stated that the junipers were to be preserved. Second, as part of a biotope management plan for the NSG, it should be clarified whether and how a preservation or regeneration of the juniper population could be achieved.

Protective measures

Since the 1980s, the Association for Nature and Bird Protection in the Hochsauerlandkreis (VNV) has carried out maintenance work on the heath. Trees and bushes were sawed off again and again with the brush cutter and chainsaw and then burned. Various areas were by hand and by machine abgeplaggt .

When plowing, the upper soil layer with humus and plant cover was removed to enable species such as heather in the mineral soil to germinate. This also benefits rare species such as the hairy gorse or the English gorse .

See also

• List of nature reserves in the Hochsauerlandkreis

literature

• Hochsauerlandkreis - Lower Landscape Authority (Hrsg.): Landscape plan Sundern. Meschede 1993.
• Hochsauerlandkreis: Landscape plan Sundern - reorganization . Meschede 2019.

Web links

Commons : Wildlife Conservation Area Graefenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• "Wacholdervorkommen Graefenberg" nature reserve in the specialist information system of the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hochsauerlandkreis - Lower Landscape Authority (ed.): Landschaftsplan Sundern , Meschede 1993, p. 31 ff.
2. ↑ Landscape plan Sundern - reorganization, p. 52 ff. (PDF) Retrieved on May 5, 2019 . 

Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 12.8 ″  N , 8 ° 0 ′ 13.8 ″  E