Layer surface alb
The layer surface alb is a seldom used term for the northwestern strip of the Swabian Alb . The landscape units are divided into Albtrauf, layered area alb, Kuppenalb and area alb. It takes its name from its typical graded forms and consists mainly of karstable rocks, especially Jurassic limestone and marl , and individual peaks made of reef limestone . The geological structure that is predominantly used today is based on the handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany that was created in the 1950s and in the following individual sheets 1: 200,000 by the Federal Institute for Regional Studies , which only subdivides the Swabian Alb into the natural partial landscapes of the Kuppenalb and surface alb .
The stepped roof area of the Alb eaves is mainly built up from heavily flanked limestone from the Oxfordium (lowest level of the White Jurassic). However, it is not continuous and shows a flat to flat undulating plateau , which is cut up by the deep valleys on the eaves. Unbanked limestones of the sponge facies occur occasionally to the east, but these are the main characteristic of the Kuppenalb adjacent to the southeast.
The typical vegetation of the layer surface alb is red beech forest (sub-type limestone beech forest) on terra fusca soils. There are also loess-like soils, parabrown soils and rendzina . The climate is cool with relatively high precipitation, which decreases continuously to the southwest towards the Kuppen- and surface- Alb. The annual precipitation is about 100 cm and falls near the Albtrauf v. a. as incline rain .