![HornisgrindePlateau01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/HornisgrindePlateau01.jpg)
A ''grinde'' (plural: ''grinden'') is an almost treeless area of wet heathland found on the rounded
bunter sandstone
The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...
ridges of the
Northern Black Forest
The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region.
Geography
The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The ''grinden'' reached their greatest extent in the early 19th century when they ran from the
Kniebis
The Kniebis is a 970 -metre-high mountain ridge in the Black Forest and the name of a village to the south which is a dispersed settlement. The Kniebis mountain rises in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Transport
The Kniebis lies on the ...
mountain near
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt (Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...
in the south to the heights near
Dobel
Dobel is a municipality in the district of Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
Dobel became a possession of the Duchy of Württemberg in 1527 after purchasing rights to the town over the last two hundred years, and it was assigned to ...
in the north. Today they are restricted to the highest parts of the Northern
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
around the summits of the
Hornisgrinde
The Hornisgrinde, 1,164 m (3,820 ft), is the highest mountain in the Northern Black Forest of Germany. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis district.
Origin of the name
The name is probably derived from Latin, and essential ...
,
Schliffkopf
The Schliffkopf is a mountain in the Northern Black Forest between Baiersbronn, Ottenhöfen and Oppenau. It is . The Schliffkopf lies on the Black Forest High Road in the National Park and is the site of an eponymous four-star "wellness" hote ...
and
Kniebis
The Kniebis is a 970 -metre-high mountain ridge in the Black Forest and the name of a village to the south which is a dispersed settlement. The Kniebis mountain rises in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Transport
The Kniebis lies on the ...
(900 to ). They still cover an area of about 180 ha. Conservation measures and careful grazing by robust breeds of cattle (especially the
Hinterwald),
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s and
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
should enable the remaining ''grinden'' to be preserved for their great ecological value and as an important feature of the landscape. Most of them are under
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
orders.
Derivation and meaning of the word
The German term ''"Grinde"'' comes from
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
and is related to the
Swabian-Alemannic word ''"Grind"'', which means something like "bald head". This term was used to refer to the treeless summits of the region.
Emergence and usage
The ''grinden'' emerged mainly as a result of human influence. The growth of the population in the 14th century meant that the pastures of the Black Forest valleys were no longer sufficient for the grazing of cattle. For this reason, cattle and goats were driven to pasture on the flat highlands with their open stands of trees. The so-called ''Weidbrennen'' or pasture-burning at the end of the grazing year hindered the growth of trees, promoted the growth of grass and increased the areas for grazing. Through the use of the highlands as pasture the land nearer the villages could be used for the production of hay. However
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
of the highlands led to soil compaction and a loss of nutrients by the 16th century. The result was that the land became waterlogged and
bogs formed due to the high level of precipitation of up to 2,200 mm/year. These processes led to the formation of the ''grinden''.
Grazing on the ''grinden'' lasted for 500 years until the 19th century. in the mid-18th century ''Weidbrennen'' had led to such large scale destruction of the forest that it was banned. With the emergence of cattle sheds, the grazing came to an end. The ''grinden'', however, continued to be used for making hay, especially from matgrass (''
Nardus stricta
''Nardus'' is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species ''Nardus stricta'', known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek ' () from ...
''), which the farmers believed had healing properties for the animals. In the mid-1950s, with the decline of
cattle grazing
Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, ar ...
, even this form of farming was increasingly abandoned. With the end of the agricultural use of the ''grinden'' the forest began to gradually re-establish itself. In addition to a natural
reforestation
Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Management
A debat ...
by the natural seeding of pine trees, especially
mountain pine
''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...
, the areas were also reforested in a managed way from the 18th century. The ''grinden'' on the
Enz
The Enz is a river flowing north from the Black Forest to the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg.
It is 106 km long.
Its headstreams – the Little Enz (german: Kleine Enz) and the Great Enz or Big Enz (''Große Enz'') – rise in the Northern B ...
heights were thus reforested by the 19th century.
Flora and fauna
The ''grinden'' lie on nutrient-poor soils of the
main conglomerate of the
bunter sandstone
The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...
, which has a major effect on the characteristic ''grinde'' ecology.
Typical plants:
matgrass, German
deergrass,
moor grass,
heather,
bilberry
Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...
,
cowberry,
bog bilberry,
mountain pine
''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...
,
peat moss
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...
and
cottongrass
''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bo ...
.
Typical animals:
capercaillie ruffed grouse
The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...
.
Literature
* Wolfgang Schlund (text), Naturschutzzentrum Ruhestein (ed.): ''Der Grindenschwarzwald.'' (Medienkombination), pk-Verlag, Freiamt o.J., {{ISBN, 3-9810385-0-9
* Ludwig Schülli: ''Der Staatswald Kaltenbronn : ein Beispiel für die Entwicklung der Forstwirtschaft in den Waldungen des nördlichen Schwarzwaldes während der letzten 200 Jahre.'' Schriftenreihe der Landesforstverwaltung Baden-Württemberg Vol. 8; Maly, Karlsruhe, 1959
External links
LIFE Project "Grindenschwarzwald"Ruhestein Nature Conservation Centre
Geography of the Black Forest