Wooded meadow

Forest meadows ( wooded meadows, according to the area of their main deposit referred to as Baltic forest meadows ) caused by varied and intensive use and promotion of resources of forests in the settlement near space. Under the sparse shade of old trees is a second tree loose layer and a shrub layer also widely permanent. In contrast to the situation in real forests, the herbaceous layer is dense and lacks a litter layer.

Dissemination

Forest meadows are spread over southern Sweden, the Åland Islands and Southern Finland and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their northern boundary is marked approximately by the northern border area of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior).

Species

The ground vegetation is found:

Quaking Grass ( Briza media )
Genuine sheep fescue ( Festuca ovina )
Yellow Lady's Slipper ( Cypripedium calceolus )
Fuchs orchid ( Dactylorhiza fuchsii )
Elderberry orchid ( Dactylorhiza sambucina )
Handsome Orchid (Orchis mascula )
Twayblabe ( Listeria ovata )
Bloody Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum )
Rockrose ( Helianthemum nummularium )
Marsh finial ( Polygala amarella )
Cowslip (Primula veris )

Mehlprimel (Primula farinosa )
Small yellow rattle ( Rhinanthus minor)
Big rattle (R. serotinus )
Teufelsabbiss ( Succisa pratensis)
Dyer Charte ( Serratula tinctoria )
Blue Grass ( Sesleria coerulea )
Small meadowsweet ( Filipendula hexapetala )
Red fescue ( Festuca rubra)
Blue-green sedge ( Carex flacca )
Knapweed (Centaurea jacea )
Stemless thistle ( Cirsium acaule ).

The tree layers are formed from:

Common Ash ( Fraxinus excelsior)
Birch (Betula pendula)
English oak (Quercus robur)
Leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
Wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
Swedish rowan (Sorbus intermedia)

In the shrub layer dominated Common Hazel (Corylus avellana ) in addition to the seedlings of these tree species.

The vegetation of the forest meadows is naturally characterized by positive use regime by the site conditions. Calcareous forms differ significantly from more acidic.

Forms of use

To obtain the values of these old meadow form, it is very important to use the characteristics and structures in the traditional way.

Rake

In spring ( late April until well into May ) is to give air to the fresh sprouting grass, abgeharkt the meadow. A decaying leaf litter as mulch, would leave the Heuer income fall dramatically. At the same time Abharken causes Aushagerung. Competition Weak types can establish themselves. In the spring and still under water parts of the lawn are raked by the dry traps. Old leaves, twigs and branches are burned in small piles on less productive areas of the lawn. Traditionally, these clusters are packed even on old tree stumps and burned there or near thickets, where the grass cover is sparse. If a lot of foliage is payable, this fireplaces have only a few meters apart. There are usually no large fire kindled. On Gotland rakes were used, the stem consisted of pine and supporting the teeth part of ash. He was fixed with two or three sheets of Mountain Ash or Kornelkirschholz lollies. The prongs were made of Kornel, ash or lilac wood. To distinguish each family painted their rakes with certain color combinations. In the growth phase after mowing the lawn rakes to no longer enter, and grazed under any circumstances. It is extremely important to avoid at this time step effects on the marsh vegetation.

Reaping

The best time for the hay harvest is on mineral soil sites in the second half of July, when the biomass is greatest. An old farmer Gotland rule says that the best time has approached for mowing, when the seeds of the rattle rattle pot (one on grasses parasitic species of the family of Rachenblütler ( Scrophulariaceae ) ). After mowing the grass dries for a few days and will turn it over daily. Later, it is raked into small piles to dry permanently. Hay from shady areas is carried in more open areas of lawn. It must not remain on the surface no Heureste. They would also rot and suffocate the grass vegetation. By the late Mahdtermin plant species are encouraged that bloom late and are dependent on reproduction by seed. These fall out during drying and Heuwendens and thus contribute significantly to the reproduction of vegetation at. Originally scythes were used. Today tractors come with cutter bars for use. With the Sense inaccessible areas will be cut only for tractors. Messermähwerke cut evenly and smoothly. Niedrigwüchsige species remain up to the flowering stems mostly spared and drive again after a short time. Fast moving centrifugal and Schlegelmähwerke tear the plant parts from more than that they intersect. Niedrigwüchsige little capable of regeneration species are more affected by these devices than mowing with cutter bar.

Schneiteln

As Schneiteln harvesting Laubheu is called. In historical times, the trees were pruned at intervals of three to six years and dried the leafy branches as winter feed. Long time not pruned trees threatening to fall apart. From landscape nursing point of view today rich intervals of four to nine years. Longer sections should not be, because otherwise the branches are too large and heal the correspondingly large cuts bad. In addition, the shading is too large and the ground vegetation dissolves.

Nachweide

In the fall, a few weeks after the hay harvest, domestic animals can graze on the second nursery for a short period. This Nachweide furthers the marsh vegetation, because the animals which failed at the hay harvest seeds enter the soil and so many more seeds enter the seed bed and so their Keimungswahrscheinlichkeit is increased. With the onset of autumn rainfall, the animals are taken from the pasture to avoid trampling on the soggy ground. In order to rule out any rank patches, dung heaps were traditionally scattered in the spring with a cane on the meadow.

Wood utilization

Timber has been harvested in the fall, winter or early spring. There were valuable lumber for residential or farm buildings, fence posts, tool handles, hoops, spokes, rims and more. Clear up is a prerequisite for lush growth of herbaceous vegetation and a rich hay. Without wood removal would consist of a deciduous grassland in a few years a closed forest occur. With the beginning of the 20th century, most forest meadows were always shady. The productivity of grasslands that have their optimum at a certain shading degree, which must not be exceeded, sank. As a guideline for care use can apply with trees 35 % stocking level. Special emphasis was previously placed on the section of the hazel bushes. You should keep a strictly upright form to throw as little shade. According dead, old and droopy branches were removed regularly.

History

Schneitelmesser or leaves sickles for obtaining Laubheu are so well known since the late pre-Roman Iron Age since about 2000 years ago and since then have hardly changed in its form. As Gertel called machetes are used in forestry culture care or are in countries where Laubheu is harvested today to find in hardware stores. Forest meadows in its current species composition can also only have arisen with the spread of Sense as harvesting equipment in the Baltic region. These were similar to the Schneitelmesser in the late pre-Roman Iron Age ( LEUBE 1990). Kukk and KULL (1997) suggest that foliage had similar systems predates the introduction of the scythe. Multifunctional shapes the use of wood, leaves feed and pasture on the same area began certainly long before, the opinion of these authors already years before 4000. However, only the mowing with a scythe may have caused the still to be observed species combinations. A hundred years ago, a few leaves meadows were widely used as highly intense and sophisticated use system in the Southern Baltic. Population growth in the 19th century, intensification of agriculture and the resulting higher separation of grassland and forest caused the most extensive disappearance of forest meadows. In Estonia existed in the late 19th century still 850,000 ha forest meadows. Today there are only about 1,000 ha

Conservation

The high biodiversity not only on the number of species, but also their rarity and endangerment led to the admission of the Baltic forest meadows in Annex I to Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and plants ( the Habitats Directive) as so-called priority habitat under the name " 6530 * Fennoscandian wooded meadow ". In Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States, many areas have been designated for the protection of this habitat type. Featured forest meadows good expression include on Öland Lilla Horn Löväng, on Gotland Allekvie Löväng, on the Åland Islands Tullarns Äng east of Mariehamn and in Estonia Allika ( Läänemaa ) Laelatu ( Läänemaa ) Nedrema ( Pärnu ) and Vahenurme ( Pärnu ). Notes on forest meadows south of Berlin in Schöb bush villages are found in FISCHER, W. et al. In 1982.

Related ecosystems

Related ecosystems are much more widespread forest pastures and wood-pastures. As habitat type " 9070 - Fennoscandian wooded pastures " in Annex 1 of the Habitats Directive they are protected in the EU Member States of the Boreal biogeographic zone. The principle of the use of wood here is similar to the more extensive in the forest meadows, but partly also clear example as pure Knüppelholz use of the masts. The herbaceous vegetation is only grazed, so that here the typical differences between meadow and pasture become clear.