Litter meadow
The litter meadow is a historical Central European type of use of a meadow . Litter meadows were used to produce litter for the stables, not to feed livestock. The defining characteristic for the use of these meadows was that they were only mowed once a year, in autumn.
Wet meadows and pastures, mostly on fens , were preferred as litter meadows due to the low feed value of the growth. This happened in regions with little straw and damp, such as the northern foothills of the Alps . Today, litter meadows are a relic of a historical form of land use and agriculture that is maintained by state funding programs and nature conservation associations. Litter meadows belong to the semi - cultural formations that were first created under the influence of man or were significantly promoted by him, but are threatened by today's intensive land use practices .
The Steljniki of the Weißkrain had a similar use , on which bracken was cultivated as bedding. The "litter meadow" must not be confused with the orchard meadow , which is a fodder meadow with tall fruit trees.
history
Up until the early modern period, garden farming predominated in later meadow meadow landscapes , a form of field grass farming in which the farmers plowed a piece of land for a while and used it as arable land and then left it to rest for some time to restore soil fertility, during which time it was used as grassland . The non-arable parts of the district, including wet, boggy areas, were grazed by cattle as common land ; If possible, however, also mowed with a scythe once a year for fodder production. The exact structure and use of the later litter meadows can hardly be stated today, as it was not mentioned in the documents and scientific (e.g. vegetation studies) research did not yet exist. The straw from the arable land was also fed to the cattle. The cattle stayed outdoors for most of the year.
This economic system, which was common for many centuries, fell out of use around the beginning of the 19th century due to a combination of the effects of new inventions and interventions by the authorities. Thanks to improved transport options by waterways and railways, the regions could be supplied with cheap grain from outside, and arable farming on the low-yield locations became unprofitable. The farms in regions with high rainfall such as the foothills of the Alps increasingly specialized in pure grassland management. At the same time, the modern state dissolved the communally used pastures in the course of the brand divisions . As a result, the farmers kept increasing numbers of cattle permanently in the stable. They had previously obtained the litter that was absolutely necessary for this by raking in forests, which was soon also banned by the forestry laws due to the emerging modern forestry. As a result, there was a lack of litter in the farms. This was counteracted by setting up specialized litter meadows. This led to a considerable upswing in the litter meadows, which reached their maximum extent around the end of the 19th century. Their economic value could sometimes even exceed that of high-yield forage meadows. Around after the Second World War, litter meadows quickly became unprofitable due to new types of stable systems and cheaper transport options that made it possible to import straw. They were managed until about the 1960s.
Outside the foothills of the Alps in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, springy wet meadows and bog meadows with a low feed value were occasionally also used for litter extraction in the 19th and early 20th centuries until the 1950s, so litter meadows were also found in other regions (e.g. B. Saxony). But they did not achieve the same meaning here by far. Today it is sometimes common to call vegetation stands of the plant-sociological association Molinion (see below) "litter meadows" even if they were not traditionally used for litter production. Such stocks also exist, for example, in the low mountain range and in the north German lowlands, where it was never customary to use them to extract litter. Unfertilized, pipe grass-rich wet meadows were present in many regions; most of the later wet meadows may have emerged from such stands through amelioration. Many of them were also used as (extensive) forage meadows in the foothills of the Alps.
Location and management
From an ecological point of view, it is an unfertilized meadow that is mowed once a year and only in autumn on alternately moist to wet locations (soil type mostly pseudo- and moor - gley ). The groundwater is relatively high all year round, but mostly fluctuates strongly. In the straw-poor southern German Alpine foothills or in the Styrian Salzkammergut , it was used until the 1960s. In large parts of Switzerland, litter meadows, made possible by state subsidies, are still used today as a litter supplier.
The aim was to obtain the largest possible amounts of high quality, ie absorbent, litter material. Since litter meadows were never fertilized, the litter yields were dependent on the natural site conditions (natural nutrient replenishment , water balance). The yields of the most widespread litter meadow, namely the typical pipe grass meadow, are between 30 and 60 decitons of dry matter per hectare (dt DM / ha).
However, by draining , fertilizing and moving the cut forward in the summer months, litter meadows can be converted into fodder meadows relatively easily . This is also the reason why this type of meadow hardly exists today. Stocks that cannot be reclaimed profitably have been moved over large areas, and littered meadows that are no longer cultivated usually quickly become reed beds. However, in some areas residual areas are preserved through regular autumn mowing by nature conservation associations, nature conservation authorities and landscape conservation associations.
On January 1, 2010, the coordination office for the Allgäu litter recycling, a sub-project of the Allgäu Moor Alliance, was founded as an Allgäu-wide LEADER project in the four districts of Ostallgäu , Unterallgäu , Oberallgäu and Lindau . This position is supported by the landscape conservation associations of the districts of Ostallgäu, Unterallgäu, Oberallgäu and the district of Lindau. The task of the coordination office is to organize the optimal utilization and marketing of the litter product and to network all the people and institutions involved. The aim of this project is the better marketing of this product, the maintenance and restoration of the litter meadows and an improvement of the additional income for farmers. At the same time, the diversity of species and the unique nature and cultural landscape of the Allgäu should be preserved, and additional added value should be created for tourism. Hundreds of thousands of guests come to the Allgäu every year, which is why it is necessary to preserve important landscape elements such as the colorful, blooming littered meadows. High-quality litter is used as a feed additive or as litter on head areas. In contrast, litter of inferior quality is used in technical recycling (e.g. thermal power station). The quality depends heavily on the condition of the harvested areas.
Flora
In addition to the dry and semi- arid grasslands , the litter meadows are among the most species-rich habitats in Central Europe. Up to 70 species of plants are found on test areas of just 20 square meters, and over 100 species have been registered in individual meadows. Typical litter meadows have around 30–40 plant species. Only a diverse mosaic of sufficiently large litter and wet meadows with different contact biotopes and at the same time as extensive, small-scale use as possible can meet the requirements of these communities ( biocenoses ).
physiognomy
Visually, the litter meadows differ from the evergreen fodder meadows through the yellow-brown color tones. At a second glance you can recognize this grassland formation from the occurrence of such plant species whose rhythm of life is particularly well adapted to the autumn mowing . These include especially late bloomers such as the pipe grass , which gives it its name , the swallowwort gentian , the bloodroot , the devil's bite and many orchids . The main flowering phase is much later than in the marsh marigold meadows, in July and August. Because of the very low intensity of use, the litter meadows often resemble fallow stages of other grassland types from afar . However, many stands, especially those very rich in pipe grass, have only been used infrequently in the last few decades and are already half fallow. A loose upper storey of reeds is typical for such stands. The pipe grass litter meadows are one of the most interesting forms of vegetation among the 15 most important types of grassland in southern Germany . In addition to moisture indicators, there are particularly many so-called lean indicators in the pipe grass litter meadows. These are species that are adapted to poor nutrient availability and late mowing.
Efficient nutrient economy
Litter meadow plants have a special survival strategy: Due to their pronounced ability to relocate most of the nutrients and assimilates contained in the leaves and shoots back into the basal parts of the plant (stubble, roots , rhizomes ), they have an extremely efficient nutrient economy . This “internal relocation” begins as early as midsummer. When the mower comes in in autumn , there is hardly any nutrient export from the meadow. The stored nutrients are then available for the upcoming growing season again for the growth available.
The plant communities of the pipe grass litter meadows in southern Germany
The litter meadows occur in different societies depending on the climatic conditions and geographic location. These can be differentiated according to location ( basic to acidic , oligotrophic to mesotrophic , moist to wet). The pipe grass meadows form the Molinion caeruleae association in the plant-sociological system. It belongs (together with the marsh marigold meadows and the burning umbel meadows) to the order of the wet meadows (Molinietalia).
Character types of the Molinion association are: Caraway-leaved Silge ( Selinum carvifolia ), Heil-Ziest ( Betonica officinalis ), Nordic bedstraw ( Galium boreale ), Lung gentian ( Gentiana pneumonanthe ), Grove buttercup ( Ranunculus polyanthemos agg.), Siberian iris ( Iris sibirica ), carnation ( Dianthus superbus ), Hartman's sedge ( Carex hartmanii ). Also found in the Brenndoldenwiesen: common meadow silge ( Silaum silaus ), Färber's sill ( Serratula tinctoria ). The pipe grass ( Molinia caerulea agg. ) Also occurs in other societies and is only considered a species of separation.
The division of the marsh grass meadows into individual associations is handled differently by different authors. A distinction is traditionally made between a large number of associations, mostly regionally widespread. A corresponding breakdown is shown below. Today, all these societies are often united in a broad association, the Molinietum caeruleae, which would then be the only Central European association of the association.
Southern Germany is at the center of the spread of the pipe grass meadows. They occur, mostly in impoverished training, to the northwest to the Eifel, to the northeast to the Elbe Valley and eastern Schleswig-Holstein. Most of the stocks away from the foothills of the Alps have now been destroyed; the remainder can only be found in nature reserves. In the north German lowlands, however, they have always been extremely rare because they require soils rich in bases. The further distribution area includes Southeast France, Eastern Europe to Ukraine, Northern Balkans (Illyria). Pipe grass meadows occur mainly in the planar and colline height levels and end in the montane level. They are therefore missing in the Alps.
Pipe grass meadows on locations with few bases
1. The rush-pipe grass meadow (Junco-Molinietum)
It is a litter meadow for moist to wet, mesotrophic, low-lime silicate soils (e.g. Bavarian Forest , Black Forest ). There is a species-poor variant of this on disturbed, drained raised bogs in the Alpine foothills with almost pure pipe grass stands. Comparable stocks can also be found in northern Germany. Characteristic species: Pointed rush ( Juncus acutiflorus ), ball rush ( Juncus conglomeratus ), flutter rush ( Juncus effusus ), caraway-leafed rush ( Selinum carvifolia ), common devil's bite ( Succisa pratensis ), bristle grass ( Nardus stricta ).
The rush and pipe grass meadows lack the character types of the typical pipe grass meadows, the similarity is mainly physiognomic due to the predominance of Molinia. Today, corresponding meadows are placed in the Calthion as “Juncus-Succisa pratensis society”, and some stands are also viewed as wet grass grass . They are no longer considered an association because they have no character types
Pipe grass meadows on sites rich in bases in the hills and mountains
2. The typical pipe grass meadow (Molinietum caeruleae)
This is the most common pipe grass meadow. It is found on moist to alternately moist, occasionally poorly drained locations in submontane to montane locations. From a pedological point of view, they are humic or mineral, either neutral to slightly alkaline wet soils, i.e.: Gleye, Anmoore or fens . It occurs in the foothills of the Alps and in low mountain ranges (e.g. Swiss, Swabian and Franconian Jura). Characteristic types are:
- on bog soils: spatula-leaf ragwort ( Senecio helenites ). Pipe grass meadows with this species are found mainly in the eastern Black Forest and on the Baar in a montane location (around 900 m above sea level).
- on clay soils: Heil-Ziest ( Betonica officinatis ), meadow sedge ( Selinum carvifolia ), Prussian laser herb ( Laserpitium prutenicum ), lung gentian ( Gentiana pneumonanthe , characteristic of the Allio suaveolentis-Molinietum), felt sedge ( Carex tomentosa ), color sedge ( Serratula tinctoria ), Great Wiesenknopf ( Sanguisorba officinalis ).
3. The Globeflower-Pfeifengraswiese (Globeflower formation of the Molinietum, sometimes understood as an association Trollio-Molinietum)
This is the montane form (from 700 m above sea level) of the typical pipe grass meadow mentioned above. Characteristic species are: globe flower ( Trollius europaeus ), low salsify ( Scorzonera humilis ), spherical devil's claw ( Phytheuma orbiculare ), meadow knotweed ( Polygonum bistorta ).
4. The gentian pipe grass meadow (Gentiano asclepiadeae-Molinietum)
This is the pre-alpine variant of the typical pipe grass meadow. Frequent soils are alternately moist limestone and fen soils, often somewhat acidic on the surface. This type has a high proportion of such species that have the focus of their occurrence in the cool, precipitation-rich immediate Alpine foothills. The occurrence is mainly the Bavarian and Württemberg Allgäu . The characteristic species include: swallowwort gentian ( Gentiana asclepiadea ), flour primrose ( Primula farinosa ), spring gentian ( Gentiana verna ), white germer ( Veratrum album ). Compared to the Molinietum, however, the association has no independent character types. It was later synonymous with Molinietum by its first describer, Erich Oberdorfer. It can be regarded as a local expression of the Molinietum.
5. Pipe grass meadows on base-rich locations in the lowlands
Litter meadows on such locations - especially in the Upper Rhine Plain, but also in the Danube Valley, for example near Donauwörth - have become so rare nowadays that they are protected and cared for like a gem by state nature conservationists . The corresponding plant communities are:
- Knoll thistle pipes meadow grass (Cirsio tuberosi-Molinietum; Molinietum medioeuropaeum) . On relatively dry, calcareous, loamy soils in the warm summer low-lying areas of southwest Germany and the Upper Rhine Plain. Transition to the semi-arid grassland with numerous common species.
- Cnidium-moor grass meadows (Cnidio-Violetum) (provided today to Cnidion. See Stromtalwiese ).
- Edged onion pipe grass meadow (Allium angulosum stocks) . Transition to the Cnidion meadows, especially in Northeast Germany.
- Fennel pipe grass meadow (Oenantho lachenalii-Molinietum) . Rare litter meadow in the middle and northern Upper Rhine Valley in flood troughs directly on the Rhine on wet, gravelly, calcareous raw soils. Is only mowed sporadically
- Leek and pipe grass meadow (Allio suaveolentis-Molinietum) . Regional training in the Bavarian Alpine Foreland, as far as Southeast Europe.
- Irises-moor grass meadow (Iris sibirica stocks) (formerly regarded as an association: (Iridetum sibiricae) )
- Silgenwiese (Silaetum silai)
The animalworld
The occurrence and composition of animal communities depend in many ways on the location conditions, the vegetation, the use or the occurrence of other animal groups. In the following, a few examples will give an insight into the diversity of the animal world in the litter and wet meadows.
Birds
A number of bird species are closely tied to litter meadows, at least in certain phases of life. For example, use Curlew ( Numenius arquata ), Whinchat ( Saxicula rubetra ) and lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ), these meadows as breeding sites.
Great curlew
This snipe bird needs wet meadow areas with a minimum size of 3 to 5 km² in order to be able to keep a viable population of 20 to 30 breeding pairs in the long term. These areas must also be very clear and must hardly be criss-crossed by bushes and hedges, as the curlew always needs a clear view and has a large escape distance (> 130 m) from its natural predators.
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Whinchat
The whinchat likes to live in insect-rich litter meadows with a strong vertical structural diversity. Thus, the flower heads of used carbon thistle ( Cirsium oleraceum ), the wild angelica ( Angelica sylvestris ) or reeds as so-called " over container " as the singing wait and viewpoint for hunting flying insects . Sufficient structural diversity can only be found in late mowed meadows. Early mowing, on the other hand, creates uniform stocks without hoppers and also endangers the clutches and nestlings.
lapwing
This bird starts breeding very early in the spring. The choice of breeding site is largely determined by moisture and soil color. After the snow melts, brownish and black tones predominate on extensively used litter and wet meadows. By this time, fat meadows are already green. Find lapwings no scattering and wet meadows, change them often umgebrochene fen meadows about that as Maisacker be used in which their young but usually go because they do not find enough insects.
Other types
Species with a distribution focus in litter meadows are also meadow pipit , gray shrike and corncrake . In verbrachenden litter meadows regularly species are the reedbeds as grasshopper warbler , reed bunting , sedge warbler and marsh warbler ago.
Amphibians
Litter meadows are important summer habitats for some amphibian species. It is therefore not enough to simply maintain or provide spawning grounds such as ponds . For example, the common frog (Rana temporaria) and the rarer moor frog Rana arvalis can use litter and wet meadows because these meadow types are only used very extensively . It is also important that the floor is as wet as possible and that there are enough hiding spots. This mainly includes shallow meadow ditches that are not cleared too often. The use of trench milling while talking of the trenches and the use is set too low mower blades when mowing meadows for frogs and toads fatal.
Grasshoppers
Varied vegetation structures with densely or loosely existed places as well as the great diversity of species in the vegetation promotes the colonization with locusts . It is also important for them to develop as long as possible, undisturbed. Lean litter and wet meadows in particular meet these requirements. For example, the development of the warmth-needing eggs and larvae of the wart-biter ( Decticus verrucivorus ), a typical type of litter meadow, which are deposited on the ground , is very much dependent on the late season development of the meadows and their structure, which is open to sunlight. Particularly moist meadows and young fallow meadows with a high structural diversity are preferred as a habitat by the endangered marsh insect ( Stetophyma grossum ) .
Butterflies
Many butterflies use litter meadows both in the larval stage ( caterpillar ) and as adult moths ( imago ). Some species are bound to certain plants because their caterpillars only feed on these. On wet meadows, for example, the caraway-leaved silge ( Selinum carvifolia ) is preferred as a fodder plant by the swallowtail caterpillars (Papilio machaon) , and the great meadow button ( Sanguisorba officinale ) by the bog blueberries . In littered meadows, the whistle grass is the most important forage plant for the caterpillars of the blue-eyed forest porter or sedge devil ( Minois dryas ). The supply of nectar-rich flowers is vital for the full insect. In particular, the butterflies , mint , daisy and carnation plants are used by the butterflies. Other typical butterfly species of wetland meadows are valerian Fritillary ( Melitaea diamina ), small pearl-bordered fritillary ( Boloria selene ), Golden fritillary ( Euphydryas aurinia ) carcharodus flocciferus ( Carcharodus flocciferus ), meadowsweet Fritillary ( Brenthis ino ), Moor-Heath ( Coenonympha oedippus ). For the reasons mentioned, litter and hay meadows with their low intensity of use are of great importance for the development of both caterpillars and moths.
Individual evidence
- ^ The Land of Birch Trees :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. In: rtvslo.si. Retrieved October 4, 2018 .
- ^ Metlika - Slovene regions and municipalities in numbers. In: stat.si. Retrieved October 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Werner Konold, Andrea Hackel: Contribution to the history of the litter meadows and the litter meadow culture in the foothills of the Alps. In: Journal of Agricultural History and Agricultural Sociology. 38, 1990, pp. 176-191.
- ↑ R. straw water: traditional cultivation. On the creation of litter meadows. In: Bavarian State Ministry for State Development and Environmental Issues (Ed.): Landscape Maintenance Concept Bavaria II / 9. Habitat type litter meadows. 1995, ISBN 3-931175-08-1 . (download)
- ↑ Werner Hempel: The historical development of the economic grassland in Saxony. In: Reports of the Natural Research Society of Upper Lusatia. 16, 2007, pp. 3-18.
- ^ Ernst Klapp: Grassland vegetation and location. Parey-Verlag, Berlin / Hamburg 1965.
- ↑ Anna Humbel: Change in the intensity of use of the moorland in the Sörenberg area from 1800 to today. Master thesis . Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, December 2013.
- ↑ Willy Schmid, Heinz Bolzern, Christiane Guyer: Mähwiesen - ecology and cultivation. Teaching material publisher of the Canton of Lucerne, Littau 2005.
- ↑ Website of the coordination office of the Allgäu litter recycling.
- ↑ U. Kiessling, A. Zehm: Valorisation of colorful litter meadows through optimized use as a trademark - results of the LEADER project "Allgäu litter recycling" in the Allgäu holiday region. In: ANLiegen Natur. 36 (1), 2014, pp. 108–116, Laufen. PDF 0.9 MB
- ↑ Information on plant communities: Junco-Molinietum caeruleae. on: floraweb.de
- ↑ 1.8 Juncus-Succisa pratensis Society. In: M. Burkart, H. Dierschke, N. Hölzel, B. Nowak, T. Fartmann: Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (E1) - Cultivated grassland and related vegetation types. Part 2: Molinietalia - forage and litter meadows in damp and wet locations. Synopsis of the plant communities in Germany. Vol. 9, Göttingen 2004, p. 35.
- ↑ 17. Ace: Molinietum caerulae. In: Erich Oberdorfer: South German plant communities. Part III. G. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart / New York 1983, p. 386.
- ↑ The vegetation of the litter meadows. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the State Institute for the Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg.
literature
- M. Burkart, H. Dierschke, N. Hölzel, B. Nowak, T. Fartmann: Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (E1) - Cultivated grassland and related vegetation types. Part 2: Molinietalia - forage and litter meadows in damp and wet locations. Synopsis of the plant communities in Germany. Volume 9, Göttingen 2004.
- H. Dierschke, G. Briemle: Kulturgrasland. Meadows, pastures and related herbaceous vegetation. Ulmer-Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5641-2 .
- B. Quinger, B. Quinger, Bay. State Ministry for State Development and Environmental Issues (Hrsg.): Habitat type scattered meadows. Landscape conservation concept Bavaria, Bay. Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management , Munich 1995, ISBN 3-931175-08-1 .
- A. Kapfer, W. Konold, State Center for Political Education Baden-Württemberg (Ed.): Streuwiesen. Relics of past land management with high ecological value. In: natural landscape, cultural landscape. The citizen in the state. 44. Vol. 1 1994, pp. 50-54.
- Heinz Ellenberg : Vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps from an ecological point of view. 3rd, improved edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-8001-3428-4 .