Contributions towards a New Evaluation of Nature Protection of the Riparian Forests of the Upper Rhine | Beiträge für eine neue Naturschutzbewertung der Auewälder am Oberrhein
1998
Volk, Helmut
Presently accepted theories of nature protection research for riparian forests on the Upper Rhine are examined. These theories have been used as the basis for the protection of and the development goals for the riparian forest protected areas. The riparian forest areas on the Upper Rhine in the 18ᵗʰ and 19ᵗʰ century, were, of course, somewhat larger than the present forest area. These areas were not, however, wilderness. At that time, there were no more natural forest communities i.e. uninfluenced by human beings. For about the last 500 years, humans have influenced these forests, in particular, by seeding and planting oak, willow, common hornbeam, poplar, elm and alder. In addition, there was a biased protection of oak, beech, wild fruit trees and elm. On the other hand maple, ash and alder were suppressed. The previous forest areas of the Rhine islands, of the bands of forest on the river edge near the main current and of the present old river plains, will be described according to forest type, forest structure and area. The present riparian forests, near to the Rhine, developed on land reclaimed from the previous riverbed of the main current. This riverbed was separated from the new Rhine, due to the modification of the Rhine. Even before the modification of the Rhine, there were planar forest types — at a distant from the Rhine — on the Upper Rhine river plains, that were not previously known and are not accepted as typical of the river plains: Oak-beech-common hornbeam forests and beech-oak-common hornbeam forests.
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