Schäferheld natural forest cell
The Schäferheld natural forest cell is a forest area of 23.3 hectares that has not been managed in accordance with the principle of the North Rhine-Westphalian natural forest cells since 1971 . The natural forest cell lies within the Eifel National Park , so that the surrounding forest areas are now also subject to process protection.
This natural forest cell lies in the Rureifel and is part of the Kermeter . Located on the northwest slope of Hellberg, the terrain falls from 526 m above sea level. NHN towards Urfttalsperre up to 460 m above sea level. NHN from. The climate is subatlantic with little fluctuations in temperature and precipitation during the year. The annual mean temperature is 7.2 ° C, the annual precipitation of 750 mm is quite low for the area, which is due to the rain shadow of the High Fens . The area is part of the northern Eifel , when rocks come ge schieferte mudstone , and siltstone and sandstone ago. The soil is formed from Pleistocene , more rarely Holocene , loamy top layers. The soil is a 40 to 50 cm thick brown earth , which has a weak podsolization . The humus layer is usually as mullartiger Moder ago. The soil is influenced by previous lime fertilization . The nutrient content of the soil is usually only low.
The stock can be traced back to the year 1733, when a forest place "Schieferhelt" is recorded as a beech forest. At that time, this was the result of a use of the beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) as charcoal. Further evidence can be found in 1828, when the beeches were 100 to 120 years old. In 1877, a very young age is given for the beech population, so that between 1828 and 1877 extensive natural regeneration can be assumed. In the years that followed, a beech forest also ceased here, interrupted only on a small part of the area by planted spruce trees ( Picea abies ). In the 1950s the floor was whitewashed. In 1972 a storm threw a large number of trees, so that some lighter spots were created.
Today the forest can be classified as the lady's fern-grove-beech forest, the plant community belongs to the Luzulo-Fagetum athyrietosum . The common beech dominates the crown layer, sessile oaks ( Quercus petraea ) are only found here and there.
In the western, higher-lying and therefore better-drained part, the common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) dominates, the sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ) is only occasionally added. Due to the illumination, the herb layer is quite diverse, there are species such as red foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ), giant fescue ( Festuca gigantea ), prickly sedge ( Carex muricata ) and the raspberry ( Rubus idaeus ). When the canopy is more closed, the species composition of the herbaceous layer changes, white grove ( Luzula albida ), wood sorrel ( Oxalis acetosella ), lady fern ( Athyrium filix-femina ), pill sedge ( Carex pilulifera ) and flutter grass ( Milium effusum ) grow . The angular sedge ( Carex remota ) is found in more humid places, and burdock bedstraw ( Galium aparine ) in places with compacted soil .
The current composition of the plant species largely corresponds to that of natural vegetation. The storm damage on this natural forest cell shows how the rejuvenation of the European beech takes place in competition with the herbaceous layer and under the influence of herbivores such as red deer, roe deer and hare.
supporting documents
- State Institute for Ecology, Landscape Development and Forest Planning (Hrsg.): Natural forest cells in North Rhine-Westphalia. Part I. 1975, pp. 26-29.
- Natural forest cell No. 03, shepherd hero. Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed on February 1, 2016 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 36 ′ 29 ″ N , 6 ° 27 ′ 26 ″ E