Maintenance and development plan for mountain meadows Maintenance and development plan for the NSG BR 095 Mountain meadows near Sankt Andreasberg

This nature reserve is the largest mountain meadow complex in the Harz Mountains of Lower Saxony (NLWKN 2013: www). The main conservation objective is the preservation and development of a biotope-typical species composition with stable populations of characteristic, partly endangered plant species.

The nature reserve "Bergwiesen bei St. Andreasberg" (mountain meadows near St. Andreasberg) covers an area of about 216.6 ha and is located in the natural region of Oberharz, district of Goslar, in the immediate vicinity of the mountain town of St. Andreasberg. In terms of area, the nature reserve corresponds to the FFH area of the same name and thus belongs to the European protected area system Natura 2000. This nature reserve is the largest mountain meadow complex in the Lower Saxon Harz (NLWKN 2013: www). In addition to nutrient-rich and -poor mountain meadows, the area is characterized by montane bristly grasslands, spring swamps, tall herbaceous meadows and peat moss-rich small sedge meadows (ibid.).

Similarly to the dry sand heaths in the Lüneburg Heath, the mountain meadows are exclusively anthropogenic vegetation units (BEUG et al. 1999). They were only created by traditional management methods over centuries and are thus a cultural-historical testimony of this time. Without further care by humans, the mountain meadows would quickly disappear from the landscape (LPV HARZ 2013).

Essential conservation objective is the preservation and development of a biotope-typical species composition with stable populations of the characteristic, partly endangered plant species. This includes a mosaic of meadow communities typical of the Harz region in their various forms, such as bristly grassland, wet meadows, tall herbaceous meadows, small sedge meadows and fen communities, as well as the springs, watercourses, hedges, solitary trees and woods that structure and enrich this meadow area. The species-rich mountain meadows, wet meadows and fen areas are the habitat of rare, endangered plants and animals and their biocoenoses.