National Park Hunsrück-Hochwald - Germany

The national park Hunsrück-Hochwald is situated in the north-east of the nature park Saar-Hunsrück. 90 percent of the national parks area belong to Rhineland-Palatinate and 10 percent to the Saarland. Founded in March 2015, it is Germanys youngest national park. The basis of its foundation has been a treaty between Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland, which was passed through in January 2015. The special quality of the foundation is shown in the successful public participation. The national park contains the biggest occurance of wildcats in Europe. The visitor can see a great woodrush beech forest with moors, rocks and meadows of arnica. Because of the fact, that the forest is left to his own ressources, it offers safe and natural habitats to rare animal and plant species which can be observed. Furthermore, data about the condition of the forest, the air quality and analyses of bodies of water are collected, too.

Last modified

2021-07-16 02:07:28

General Characteristics and Status

Site Status

Operational

Year Established

1981

Observed properties

atmospheric parameter

air humidity

air specific humidity

air temperature

air water vapour pressure

atmospheric pressure

carbon dioxide concentration

incoming radiation intensity

methane concentration

ozone concentration

precipitation intensity

radiation below canopy intensity

sunshine duration

wind direction

wind direction (mean and gust)

wind speed

wind speed (mean and gust)

biological parameter

canopy aerodynamic resistance

change in population size over time

plant development stage

dissolved organic carbon in water

percent carbon

percent organic carbon

redox potential of water

benthic invertebrates abundance

benthic invertebrates presence

birds abundance

birds presence

bryophytes presence

community composition

deadwood decaying rate

normalized vegetation index

plant species composition

tree diameter at breast height

tree distribution

vegetation layer composition

vegetation layer structure

vegetation layer type

abiotic heterogeneity

Geographic

Size

10.08ha

Elevation (average)

600.00msl

Elevation (min)

414.00msl

Elevation (max)

802.00msl

Affiliation and Network Specific Information

Affiliation

Projects

Natura 2000

LIFEPLAN

Zero Emission Nature Protection Areas (Zenapa)

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Site information [.json]

Centroid coordinates [.shp] [.kml]

Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]

Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]

Site Details

Ecosystem and Environmental Characteristics

GEO-BON Biome

Fresh water rivers

Terrestrial

Biome

Mixed Forest

Ecosystem Type

Forest

Mixed Forest

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Biogeographical Region

Continental Bio-geographical Region

EUNIS habitat

Inland surface waters (C)

Inland surface waters (C) » Surface running waters (C2)

Inland surface waters (C) » Surface running waters (C2) » Permanent non-tidal, fast, turbulent watercourses (C2.2)

Inland surface waters (C) » Surface standing waters (C1)

Inland surface waters (C) » Surface standing waters (C1) » Permanent oligotrophic lakes, ponds and pools (C1.1)

Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H)

Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Screes (H2)

Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Screes (H2) » Temperate-montane acid siliceous screes (H2.3)

Mires, bogs and fens (D)

Mires, bogs and fens (D) » Valley mires, poor fens and transition mires (D2)

Mires, bogs and fens (D) » Valley mires, poor fens and transition mires (D2) » Poor fens and soft-water spring mires (D2.2)

Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G)

Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland (G4)

Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland (G4) » Mixed fir - spruce - beech woodland (G4.6)

Air Temperature: Average Annual

8.00°C

Air Temperature Range (Monthly Minimum)

-3.00°C

Air Temperature Range (Monthly Maximum)

17.00°C

Precipitation Annual

760.00mm

Precipitation Maximum Monthly

110.00mm

Precipitation Minimum Monthly

7.00mm

Geology

The prevalent bedrock in the national park Hunsrück-Hochwald is quartzite. At some locations the colour of the quartzite is white and grey. But at certain locations the colour turns into red because of iron in the soil. The quartzite can be seen at several places above the ground as great rocks. These rocks offer specific habitats for reptiles.

Vegetation

The national park is a mixed forest containing mainly beeches and spruces. Occasionally, douglas firs can be seen, too. Mosses and lichens are part of the vegetation as well as meadows of arnica.

Soils

The prevalent type of soil in the national park is gley. At some locations the ground can be very marshy, e.g. in the moors.

Hydrology

The national park comprises several wet locations like moors. A special kind of moor, the hanging bog, can be found there, too. There is a special programme ongoing, which intends to remove the spruces out of the moors to restore them to their natural state and to activate their ability to store water and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, there are many springs and brooks in the national park.

Protection Level and Land Use

Protection Level (IUCN category)

Category II – National Park

Type, Design and Scale

Site Type

Platform

Design of Experimentation

partly experimentation

Scale of Experimentation

plot scale

Design of Observation

mainly observation

Scale of Observation

beyond catchment

Equipment

Permanent Power Supply

Yes

Operation

Accessible All Year

Yes

All parts of Site Accessible

Yes

Access Type

dirt road (4WD)

Permanent Operation

Yes

Site Visit Interval

Maintenance Interval

Data Management

General Data Policy

Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset

Network related information

LTER Site Classification

Master

Related Resources

Additional data

There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:

Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Precipitation Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave Radiation	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind Speed	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.