Swiss National Park

The Swiss National Park ( Parc Naziunal Svizzer Romansh, Italian Parco Nazionale Svizzero, French Parc National Suisse) is in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland in the corner of the square Zernez -S -chanf oven pass - Scuol in Engadine. He lies on the floor of the communities Zernez, S- chanf, Scuol, Valchava and Lavin. The park was founded in 1914 and is the oldest national park in the Alps.

He is since 1979 a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and with its present area of ​​170.3 km ² also the largest nature reserve in the country. It is run by a public-law foundation with headquarters in Bern. The national park also has the status of "wilderness partner " of the PAN Parks Foundation.

The National Park covers altitudes from 1,400 to 3,174 m above sea level. M. ( Piz Pisoc ), the majority located in the Subalpinstufe. One third of the park area is covered by forest, 20 % of alpine meadows and the rest consists of vegetation-free areas: rock, gravel, snow, ice and water. Mountain and mountain pine are with 90 %, the dominant tree species, a quarter of the trees consists of dead wood - ascending trend, as rotting can last over 100 years. The park is predominantly Engadine dolomite and is therefore rather dry. The annual average temperature is 0 ° C, the annual precipitation around 1140 mm, the number of sunshine hours per year at around 1900.

• 2.1 landscape of national importance 2.1.1 Problems of the National Park

Objectives of the National Park

The first and only national park in Switzerland has three objectives: conservation, research and information. From these results, the fourth guiding students of the visitor to the practical conservation on personal example of a total reserve.

First of these is the idea of a comprehensive nature conservation. In the park the nature of their full development is left; neither is it allowed to leave the marked paths to store something to take home, to light a fire and spend the night, nor be hunted animals, trees are cut or mowed meadows. In the long term once again met those states as they have ruled everywhere around 5,000 years ago, before the arrival of man. Man should stay here only observer on predetermined paths, so that the impressive Alpine landscape can develop in their own dynamic processes. Although the Ofen Pass road leads into the Val Venosta through the park, but large areas are only accessible on foot and several of the 20 valleys for humans completely blocked. They serve as rest areas for the deer.

Nature Observation

That leaving the trails in the park, has, among other things means that the animals get used to the people and it could lead to observations on short distance. Who keeps quiet, ibex, red deer, chamois, marmots, deer, hares, lizards, snakes, insects, and many birds can be observed, perhaps even one of the bearded vulture, which are reintroduced in the park since 1991.

The ecosystem of the park comprises a total of several thousand plant and animal species, of inconspicuous micro-organisms to the Brown Bear, was spotted again in Switzerland in late July 2005, after 90 years of absence. It seems that he immigrated from South Tyrol from the National Park. As a guest migration it is considered as part of a continually evolving ecosystem and hence, can not careworn. Instead, the information boards were supplemented by behavior recommendations in the event of an encounter with the bear. An encounter with wolves and lynx, which occasionally show up in the park, is rather unlikely. It is easier to look at the lush vegetation. A large part of the park stands on calcareous soil, therefore dominates in most areas kalkholde flora. Most rocks in the park - sandstones, limestones and Verrucano - are like the dolomite sedimentary rocks. Crystalline rocks such as gneiss and amphibolite are found only in the area of ​​Macun.

Research

Thanks to scientific research, it is possible to document the changes in the National Park and explore the long term. The series ' National Park Research in Switzerland " published since 1920 research results from the National Park area. To date, 90 publications have appeared in this series. The Geographical Information System ( GIS) of the National Park was established in 1992 as an initiative of the Research Committee and the Institute of Geography of the University of Zurich. Over the decades of National Park research extensive and valuable data rows are arose. These data are supplemented with actual observations and further processed in the GIS. Long-term processes can be better documented and understood. In addition to conservation and research national parks is an increasingly important function as an educational institution. The information services of the National Park to contribute to the understanding of nature of the visitors. Among other things, this park has currently eight full-time parking attendant.

In the visitor center in Zernez obtained information about the park can visit a walk- marmot or learn about special natural phenomena in the park area. These include, for example, the dinosaur tracks at Piz dal Diavel, the flowing stream stone in Val Sassa and Solifluktionsböden in Val dal Botsch. Since May 2008, the National Park has a new visitor center in Zernez with a comprehensive permanent exhibition on the nature of the national park.

History

With the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing voices in Switzerland who wanted the progressive destruction of the last unspoilt regions of the country halt. The Federal Council appointed a commission to propose suitable areas, which should be as similar as possible to the former original state yet. Soon, the focus was on the stove mountain region in Grisons. Members of the Swiss Society of Natural Sciences, today SCNAT, beat in 1908 before the Val Cluoza, which to a large extent united the desired properties in itself. The community Zernez as the owner showed more willing than the region of low agricultural value was. After some valleys could be leased round also, 1913 Dienstbarkeitsvertrag for 99 years was signed and opened on the park each year. At that time it comprised approximately 79 sq km area in which the current core zones were already included: Val Cluozza, Ofen Pass area and Val Minger. The Federation was founded in 1909 for conservation of Switzerland (SBN ) took the first costs incurred.

The Treaty of 1913 settled the lease payments to the municipalities by the Confederation, the long-term scientific research by the Society for Natural Sciences and expenses for supervision and operation by the SBN. When he could no longer cope with the costs, the federal government took over this task, the National Park was transformed into a foundation.

In 1959 a revision of the Federal Decree of the National Park. Since then, among other things, run the contracts for an unlimited period, the rent was revised and issued a ban on outdoor power lines. In addition, in the area the use of hydropower is out of the existing forbidden, a reaction to the equalization tank built from 1957 to the Spölkraftwerke on the southern edge of the park, which has taken the Spöl a major chunk of its natural flow. 1961 was the penultimate date magnification and ' rounding off ' of the parking area instead of, 2000, the youngest recording of cirque lakes Macun, a high valley northeast of Zernez to around 2600 meters. A loss of territory had to the park in 1936 to accept, as the lease for the Val Tavrü could not be extended. 1964 full-time director was hired by Robert F. Schloeth first time.

Already in the first years after the protected status, a rapid increase in the flora and fauna was found from 1914 to 1916 appeared several times bear in the park area on. The number of visitors leveled in this first time around 250 per year. From 1920 onwards, the path connections in the park were expanded significantly. By now, 80 km -developed avenues available, including two alpine routes.

Landscape of national importance

According to article 5 of the Federal Law on Nature and Cultural Heritage Protection leads to Switzerland a Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of National Importance.

• No 1915, Name: Swiss National Park and outlying areas, year of inclusion in the inventory: 1996, Size: 29 249 ha - the region includes large parts of the Sesvennagruppe

Problems of national parks

The problems of the park are due in particular to its location and with the still relatively small size. Was the park until the end of the 1950s a tip for nature lovers, so since then the number of visitors has increased such that many animals amplified by going to night life and are more difficult to observe. As an example, the Alp Grimmels be mentioned at Ova Spin, only marmots, but no more deer and chamois can be observed on the day. In the very dry park area, the traces of human use disappear only very slowly. On many former Alps, the typical cattle inventories Flora continues to be held of the natural lean grass. The traces of mining and lime kiln are slowly covered by vegetation, as well as old clearcuts. Immediately prior to the opening of the park some of the announced lease communities had unreasonably beaten so much wood stock that negotiations would it almost failed.

A significant problem set fires dar. close to Hotel Il Fuorn you can see a fire devastation of 1951 today, because once destroyed the humus layer regenerates only extremely slowly. As part of the construction work for the equalization tank at Ova Spin in 1962 and a forest fire from, which could only be stopped with broken firebreaks and ten days drew small fires by itself. These fires have raised the still debated question of whether to the park really, keep free from any human intervention, also a preserving.

During the Gämsenbestand has remained almost unchanged, the number of deer has increased significantly since the park opened. Browsing damage occur in particular by the increased in winter bowl game debut. Even the wildlife attracted again and again to poachers who take advantage of the location of the park on the border between Switzerland and Austria - Italy, in order to escape persecution.