Editing Harz (section)

== Nature ==
[[File:Bodetal.jpg|thumb|Bode Gorge]]

=== Flora ===
The vegetation of the Harz mountains is divided into six [[Altitudinal zonation|altitudinal zones]]:
* [[Subalpine zone]]: Brocken summit, over {{Höhe|1000|DE-NN}}
* Altimontane zone: highest areas (except the Brocken summit) between 850 and {{Höhe|1000|DE-NN}}
* Mean montane zone: higher areas between 750 and {{Höhe|850|DE-NN}}
* [[Montane zone]]: medium height areas between 525 and {{Höhe|750|DE-NN}}
* Submontane zone: lower areas between 300 and {{Höhe|525|DE-NN}}
* Colin zone: areas around the edge of the Harz between 250 and {{Höhe|300|DE-NN}}

==== Types of woods ====
[[File:SunShiningThroughDustInWood.jpg|thumb|Spruce woods in the Harz]]

===== Beech woods =====
From the edge of the Harz to 700 m above [[Normalnull|sea level]] beech woods dominate, especially the [[wood-rush]] beech woods on locations poorly supplied with nutrients where the [[common beech]] (''Fagus sylvatica'') is often the only tree species.  In lower, drier locations the [[English oak]] (''Quercus robur'') and [[sessile oak]] (''Quercus petraea'') occur as well. [[Sycamore|Sycamore trees]] (''Acer pseudoplatanus'') may be found growing in wetter places. During times of decay and rejuvenation when there is plenty of light, light-dependent pioneers such as [[European rowan|rowan]] (''Sorbus aucuparia''), [[silver birch]] (''Betula pendula'') and [[pussy willow]] (''Salix caprea'') play a role. [[Melica|Melic grass]] beech woods are found in the few places where there is an abundance of nutrients and [[base-rich|bases]], e. g. over [[dolerite]] and [[gneiss]] formations, and they have a vegetation layer rich in variety and luxuriant growth. Here, too, the common beech dominates, mixed, for example, with sycamore, [[Common ash|ash]] (''Fraxinus excelsior''), [[Common hornbeam|hornbeam]] (''Carpinus betulus'') and [[Scots elm]] (''Ulmus glabra''). As a result of the increasingly continental climate on the eastern edge of the Harz, the common beech gives way to mixed forests of sessile oak.

===== Mixed woods =====
At intermediate heights of between 700 and 800 m above sea level, mixed woods of [[spruce]] (''Picea abies'') and common beech  would predominantly be found under natural conditions. However, apart from a few remnants, these were supplanted a long time ago by spruce stands as a result of deliberate [[forest management]]. Sycamore trees are also found in these woods.

===== Spruce woods =====
Spruce woods thrive in the highest locations from about 800 m to the tree line at around 1,000 m above sea level. These woods are also home to some deciduous trees such as rowan, [[Betula pendula|silver]] and [[downy birch]]es (''Betula pendula'' and ''Betula pubescens'') and [[willow]]s (''Salix spec.''). Conditions of high humidity foster an environment rich in [[moss]]es and [[lichen]]s. In spite of the near-natural habitat there are only a few, indigenous, genetically adapted ([[autochthon (nature)|autochthonous]]) spruce trees. Wood-reed spruce woods dominate. A well developed ground vegetation thrives on their moderately rocky and fresh, but certainly not wet, soils, characterised in appearance especially by grasses such as [[Calamagrostis|shaggy wood-reed]] (''Calamagrostis villosa'') and [[Deschampsia flexuosa|wavy hair-grass]] (''Avenella flexuosa''). The soils in the higher regions are, as in most of the Harz, comparatively poor in nutrients and bases, so that only a few herbaceous plants occur here, such as heath bedstraw (''Galium saxatile''). For that reason it is more the ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi that, in addition to spruce trees, characterise these woods. Boulders and [[stone runs]] occur in the areas of weather-resistant rock in the high (alti-)montane and montane zones – these are extreme habitats for vegetation. Due to the lack of soil material, only weak, straggly, very open spruce woods thrive here. They have an especially high variety of trees and allow more room of light-loving species such as silver birch, rowan, sycamore, willow and dwarf bushes such as the [[blueberry]] (''Vaccinium myrtillus''). Mosses and ferns are also common here. One unusual species is the Carpathian [[birch]] (''Betula pubescens subsp. carpatica''). Bog-spruce woods are found around the raised bogs on marshy and boggy soils. In these sorts of places spruce woods can, in exceptional cases, also form the natural woodland in lower down the mountains.  These wet, moorland woods have a high proportion of [[peat moss]]es (''Sphagnum spec.''). The ground vegetation may also have a rich proliferation of low bushes such as [[cowberry]] (''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''). Clumps of [[Molinia caerulea|purple moor grass]] (''Molinia caerulea'') are also typical of this type of woodland habitat. The characteristic species of fungi in natural spruce woods are ''[[Phellinus|Phellinus viticola]]'' and [[Tricholomopsis|prunes and custard]] (''Tricholomopsis decora'').
Ravine (''Schluchtwald''), [[riparian forest|riparian]] (''Auwald'') and river source (''Quellwald'') woods only occur in small areas. In these places the common beech gives way to hardier deciduous species such as sycamore, [[large-leaved lime]] (''Tilia platyphyllos''), Scots elm or ash. The [[herbaceous layer]] is similar to that of the better-nourished beech woods. Notable species amongst the plant communities here include the [[Cicerbita alpina|Alpine blue-sow-thistle]] (''Cicerbita alpina''), [[perennial honesty]] (''Lunaria rediviva''), [[Polystichum aculeatum|hard shield fern]] (''Polystichum aculeatum'') and [[Phegopteris connectilis|long beech fern]] (''Phegopteris connectilis'').

==== Raised bogs ====
[[File:Hochmoor-Torfhaus-Harz-Panorama.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Torfhaus Moor]]
The [[raised bog]]s in the Harz are some of the best preserved in central Europe. They were formed at the end of the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]] about 10,000 years ago. A significant proportion of the vegetation on these raised bogs is made up of [[peat moss]]es (''Sphagnum spec.''). The [[flark]]s (''Schlenken'') and the [[bog hummock|hummocks]] (''Bulten'') are home to different species of flora. In the flarks, for example, ''Sphagnum cuspidatum'' is found, whereas the hummocks are preferred by ''Sphagnum magellanicum''. The blanket of peat moss is penetrated by dwarf bushes such as [[cowberry]] and [[blueberry]]. [[Bog-rosemary]] (''Andromeda polifolia'') is a relict of the ice age. Other such ice age plants include the [[dwarf birch]] (''Betula nana'') and [[few-flowered sedge]] (''Carex pauciflora''). Cranberries (''Vaccinium oxicoccus'') bloom from May to June. The [[black crowberry]] (''Empetrum nigrum'') may also be seen amongst those bearing black fruit. [[Common heather]] (Calluna vulgaris) grows on the drier hummocks and occasionally the [[cross-leaved heath]] (''Erica tetralix'') may be found. Typical grasses are the [[sheathed cottongrass]] (''Eriophorum vaginatum''), known for its bright, white clusters of fruit and [[Scirpus|deergrass]] (''Scirpus cespitosus''), which is rust-red in the autumn. One fascinating moorland plant is the [[round-leaved sundew]] (''Drosera rotundifolia''). Bog or [[northern bilberry]] (Vaccinium uliginosum) grows on the drier margins of the bog.

=== Fauna ===
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Lynx lynx.jpg|thumb|The [[Eurasian lynx]] – once again found living wild in the Harz]]
A multitude of wild animals live in the beech forests of the Harz Mountains. Over 5,000 species, most of them insects, have their home in these woods. They include many species that help to decompose leaves and work them into the soil and ground cover, including [[springtail]]s, oribatid [[mites]], [[woodlice]], [[roundworm]]s, [[millipede]]s, [[earthworm]]s and [[snail]]s. Characteristic breeding birds in the beech woods, with their abundance of dead wood, are the [[black woodpecker]] (''Dryocopus martius'') and [[stock dove]] (''Columba oenas''). An indication of the natural state of the beech woods in the Harz is the return of the [[black stork]] (''Ciconia nigra''). This shy and susceptible resident of richly diverse deciduous and mixed forest has become very rare in central Europe due to increasing disturbance of its habitat (caused by a lack of old trees and natural brooks). Through improvements to its habitat, including the renaturalisation of waterways and the creation of relatively undisturbed peaceful areas, the black stork population has now recovered. A typical mammal of such deciduous woods is the [[European wildcat]] (''Felis silvestris''), that has established a stable population in the Harz. It prefers the diverse wooded areas, which offer a rich variety of food.
The animal kingdom of the mixed beech and spruce woods is also diverse. Species that thrive in mixed forest are especially at home. For example, the mixed mountain forest is the natural habitat of the [[capercaillie]] (''Tetrao urogallus''). The [[Tengmalm's owl]] (''Aegolius funereus'') may also be found here. It breeds almost exclusively in [[black woodpecker]] holes in old beeches, and needs, unlike the spruce woods, more open beech forest with its higher population of small mammals in its search for food. For cover, however, it prefers the darker, denser spruce trees.

A large number of the animals that live in natural spruce forest are suited to the special conditions of life in the higher parts of the Harz. Typical residents amongst the bird population include the [[crested tit]] (''Parus cristatus''), [[goldcrest]] and [[common firecrest|firecrest]] (''Regulus regulus'' and ''Regulus ignicapillus''), [[Eurasian siskin|siskin]] (''Carduelis spinus''), 
[[Eurasian treecreeper|treecreeper]] (''Certhia familiaris''), [[coal tit]] (''Parus ater'') and [[common crossbill|crossbill]] (''Loxia curvirostra''). Special mention should be made here of the [[Eurasian pygmy owl|pygmy owl]] (''Glaucidium passerinum'') which is threatened with extinction and which lives in the submontane to subalpine zones within mixed and pine forests interspersed with open areas. They prefer spruce woods for breeding, but feed in more open stands of trees or on open moorland. Like the [[black stork]], the pygmy owl had long since disappeared from the Harz, but returned in the 1980s of its own volition, as its ancestral homeland once again became more natural, so that there was sufficient food to support it (insects, small mammals and small birds) as well as standing dead wood (spruce trees with woodpecker holes).

In addition to the many species of birds, there is a range of large butterflies in the various spruce woods that, outside of the Harz, are seriously endangered or simply non-existent. Two species will be mentioned here as examples. ''Gnophos sordarius'' occurs in old, open wood-reed spruce forest, sometimes in connection with stone runs or bog spruce forests; ''Enthephria caesiata'' is a native of the bilberry-rich bog spruce woods.

Only a few animals are able to survive the extreme conditions of the [[raised bog]]s. Examples of these are the [[List of Odonata species of Great Britain|Alpine emerald]] dragonfly (''Somatochlora alpestris''), which only occurs in Lower Saxony in the Harz, and is endangered in Germany, and the [[Aeshna|Subarctic darner]] (''Aeshna subarctica''), a [[damselfly]] which is threatened with extinction.

Rocks and [[stone run]]s are important habitat components for the [[peregrine falcon]] (''Falco peregrinus'') and [[ring ouzel]] (''Turdus torquatus''). The peregrine, which is threatened with extinction here, needs steep rock outcrops with little vegetation. After its population had died out in the Harz, a breeding pair was re-established in the region. A crucial contribution has been made by extensive efforts to promote quiet areas in the ancestral breeding grounds of this shy species. Since 1980, a breeding pair has settled in the eastern Harz as the result of a wildlife reintroduction project. The ring ouzel prefers semi-open stone runs and lightly wooded transition zones between treeless [[raised bog]]s and [[forest]]s. The Harz is home to one of its few, isolated breeding areas in central Europe. Its main distribution area extends across northwest Europe, including large parts of England and Scotland, as well as the high mountains of southern and eastern Europe.

The waterways, with their distinct mountain stream character, play an important role right across the Harz. In comparison with the other natural regions of Lower Saxony, they are still very natural and varied, and the water is very clean. As a result of the high water velocity of the Harz streams, flowers rarely gain a foothold in the water. Even the animals in these streams need to be well suited to high velocities. Only a few species, such as fish, swim actively against the stream. The most common species are [[brown trout]] (''Salmon trutta forma fario'') and [[European bullhead|bullhead]] (''Cottus gobio''). Much richer in variety, by contrast, is the range of species in the system of crevices under the streambed. In addition to the insects and fish hatchlings that thrive here, may be found [[protozoon]]s, flatworms (''[[Turbellaria]]'') and water mites (''Hygrobatoidea''). Other species of animals cling fast to the stones, e.&nbsp;g. [[caddis fly]] larvae (''Trichoptera'') and [[snails]], or can only live in the reduced water velocities on the bed of the stream or on stones by having flat body shapes, e.&nbsp;g. [[stonefly]] larvae. In the calmer parts of the stream, behind stones or in blankets of moss, there are also [[water beetle]]s (''[[Hydrophilidae]]'') and small shrimp-like [[amphipod]]s.

Occasionally the golden-ringed dragonfly (''Cordulegaster boltoni'') and [[beautiful demoiselle]] (''Calopteryx virgo''), a type of [[damselfly]], can be seen by streams in the Harz.

The [[dipper]] (''Cinclus cinclus''), which is found everywhere on Harz streams, occurs almost exclusively in the highlands. Its habitat is very fast-flowing, clear mountain streams with wooded banks. It can dive and run under water along the stream bed. It turns stones over in its search for food. The [[grey wagtail]] (''Motacilla cinerea'') also uses the rich food supplies of the mountain brooks.

In 2000, the [[Eurasian lynx|lynx]] was successfully reintroduced by the [[Harz National Park]], and it has since fitted well into the ecology of the region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Das Luchsprojekt Harz|url=http://www.luchsprojekt-harz.de/ |access-date=22 March 2009}}</ref> Through specific conservation measures in past years, the retreat of the bat population in the Harz has been halted. Amongst the mammals that may be hunted are the [[red deer]], [[roe deer]], [[wild boar]] and [[mouflon]].