baumzaehlen - Primeval Forests & Their Trees

Harz National Park, Germany

At lower altitudes, the forests of this park (247 km ² ) were clear-felled in the past, but above 900 metres there are no signs of logging ^{1 2} . From 1949 to German reunification in 1990, the park was located in the border zone between West and East Germany, which has protected it ¹ . Above 900 metres, forest is almost purely Picea abies (Norway spruce). In the natural state, Sorbus aucuparia (European rowan) would comprise about 10 % of the trees but it is now scarce due to red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) over-population ² . European spruce bark beetle ( Ips typographus ) has destroyed large areas of forest in recent years. The populations of this bark beetle, living on P. abies , are usually small and do not affect the structure of P. abies forest, but the populations may rapidly increase if breeding conditions improve, e.g. through climate warming ³ .

An old steam train runs from Schierke to the highest top, Brocken (1141m), where the annual precipitation is 1814 mm and the average annual temperature 2.9°C ⁴ . Persistent fogs further increase the precipitation by 160–200 mm ⁵ . Strong southwestern winds prevail; consequently, the precipitation is higher on the southwestern slope than on the other side of the mountain and the forest boggy.

References :

1 Sperber, G. & Thierfelder, S. (2005): Urwälder Deutschlands. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

2 Kison, H.-U., Nationalpark Harz. Pers. comm. (2012)

3 Fischer, A., Marshall, P. & Camp, A. (2013): Disturbances in deciduous temperate forest ecosystems of the northern hemisphere: their effects on both recent and future forest development . Biodivers Conserv 22 :1863–1893.

4 http://www.brocken.biz/

5 Köhler, L. et al. (2014): Cloud water interception and element deposition differ largely between Norway spruce stands along an elevation transect in Harz Mountains, Germany. Ecohydrology Volume 8 , Issue 6, pp. 1048-64.

Official site:

www.nationalpark-harz.de/en/

Video clip:

www.youtube.com/watch