Steinkopf (Rhön)

Stone head from west

The stone head at Wüstensachsen is 888 m above sea level. NHN high volcanic mountain in the Rhön. The area around the stone head is an ecologically valuable area, so strictly protected natural. On the mountain there are moist and lean mountain meadows, which are used as high pasture.

• 4.1 Biosphere Reserve 's core zone
• 4.2 Grassland Project at Steinkopf

Geography

Geographical location

The top of the head stone is located in Hesse, in the district of Fulda, 2.7 km southeast of Wüstensachsen, the chief town of Ehrenberg. About 500 m east of the border is the district of Rhön- grave field in Bavaria. Along this border encounter the Natural Park and the Bavarian Rhön Rhön together. The stone head is a core zone of the Biosphere Reserve Rhön. In the west of the mountain lying valley is located within a conservation area close to the source of the headwaters area of ​​Ulster. At its southeastern flank the Hochrhönstraße runs. Neighboring mountains are the Stirnberg in the northeast and the Heidelstein in the south.

Natural space

The stone head is part of the natural environment Lange Rhön ( outline number 354.11 ), which is part of the main unit Hohe Rhön (No. 354) in the main unit group Osthessisches Bergland (No. 35).

Watershed

About the stone head of the Rhine -Weser watershed runs. The water of the brief streams, run the from the mountain to the west, northwest and north, flows over the Ulster in the eastern Weser- source river Werra. That of springing on its eastern flank Oberelsbach trench runs over Bahra, litter, Franconian Saale and the Main into the Rhine. The south-east on the nearby Heidelstein springing Els ( Elsbach ), which is among others also a few coming from the stone head streams, flows into the litter, which he also belongs to the Rhine basin.

Geology

The stone head is a herausgewitterter, former volcanic vent - similar to the nearby Schafstein. It originated in the Miocene, the youngest age of the Neogene in front of about 25 to 11 million years ( early Tertiary ). The solid basalt was worked out by weathering, on its east side formed a scree slope. The forested western slope falls steeply into Ulster.

Flora and Fauna

Due to its exposed location, its large untouched and its tight integration of diverse, rhythmic typical forest communities and the stacks of the stone head is an important site for rare animal and plant species with some of national importance. The investigation is not yet complete, it will be presumed relics of glacial colonization.

The scree slope near the summit region is predominantly covered with leaved lime - sycamore - slope or scree forest, other areas with Toothwort beech forest; the rest of the hilltop area is predominantly unforested and serves as Hutefläche. Of particular note are rare mosses and lichens.

The stone head is a habitat for woodcock, cuckoo and sparrow. A rare butterfly species imperial mantle, milk stain and brown eye are mentioned. As snails club-shaped and gray door snail are detected. Columns and hollows of old trees are ideal habitat for small animals such as woodpeckers, bats and wild bees.

On rare plants, for example, find the rock - bird cherry, the yellow-flowered wolf Eisenhut, the Alpine Milchlattich, the broad-leaved Bellflower and the daffodils. On the rocks and boulders, for example, grows a moss that is found only in the Alps and in the Southern otherwise.

Care plan

Biosphere Reserve 's core zone

All along the stone head core zone of the Biosphere Reserve Rhön is a so-called " stepping stone " between the adjacent core zones Stirnberg (north), boiler Rain ( on Heidelstein; south) and Schafstein (northwest ), the Schafstein with 4.3 km (airline ) most is removed from the stone head.

The care plan for this core zone provides a buffer strip in front around the reserve to the hat back to prevent the entry of fertilizer and other materials. It tries to use the hard to reach, but significant nonetheless for nature and landscape protection area and make permanent.

Grassland project at Steinkopf

The project "Grassland conservation and landscape development through large-scale grazing ", in short grassland project of the Rhön biosphere reserve should, in addition to the landscaping increase the efficiency of structured small farms. Promoter is the Association Rhön with counties, it is also supported by the German Federal Environmental Foundation and the Frankfurt Zoological Society ( FZS ).

Various farmers form since the spring of 2006 a pasture community and want the Steinkopf farming about 110 acres along with about 90 cows and 80 calves. Add to that the grazing of Rhön sheep and goats. The aim is that the animals remain the grazing period over on the surface. This could be the progressive encroachment of conservation-related area belong to the stone head of the past.