Peat bogs consist of layers of peat several meters thick, which are the accumulated remains of dead sphagnum mosses. These plants have no contact with any ground water and obtain their nutrients solely from ram and snow. Ancient, stunted spruce trees, often less than a metre high, mountain pine, glistening white cotton grass, bog whortleberry, cowberry and bog rosemary are other inhabitants of this very specialised community.

Rock fields have developed on formerly solid granite mountain tops where water freezing in narrow cracks in the rock has split it info great square blocks.

This is how the large rock field on the top of the Lusen was formed. lt is still not fully colonised by trees.

The rocks here are covered by lichens which need very few nutrients. Rare species of spiders live in the rock clefts.

Thanks to the high rain- and snowfall, the National Park has many springs whose crystal clear waters flow into rushing mountain streams. In early summer, the river banks are a mass of colourful flowers such as the violet-blue alpine sow thistle, the yellow austrian leopard‘s bane and the delicate goats beard spiraea.

Creatures including water insects and brown trout have adapted to life in fast-running waters. The dipper catches insects and other food by diving down to the bed of the stream.

The Rachelsee is the National Park‘s only natural lake. lt was formed by a glacier on the Rachel mountain during the last Ice Age. The other small lakes in the Park were created artificially with dams over 100 years ago. Their water was once important for transporting logs along streams. These so-called ”Klausen” will be conserved as part of the Park‘s historic heritage.

The Bavarian Forest Forest Development
The thickly wooded mountains of the Bavarian Forest along the border between Bavaria in Germany and Bohemia in the Czech Republic stretch from Furth im Wald to Passau. The Bavarian Forest National Park (24,250 ha) 5 located in the centre, around the Falkenstein, Rachel and Lusen mountains.

The granite and gneiss rocks of the Bavarian and Bohemian Forests are hundreds of millions of years old.

Today‘s mountain range was formed during the period of Alpine faulting which began about 60 million years ago.

The landscape received its finishing touches during the Ice Ages, when much of the mountains was covered by firn ice or glaciers. The last such period ended about 10 thousand years ago. Once the glaciers retreated, soil began to develop again. Then as the climate warmed, trees, shrubs and flowering plants gradually recolonised.

Over the last few decades, air pollution has continually weakened the characteristic mountain spruce forest.

On top of this, since the beginning of the 1990s, unusually warm summers have encouraged an enormous increase in the population of bark beetles. This has resulted in significant changes to Iarge areas of the forest.

Natural coniferous forest Systems such as mountain spruce forest are able to regenerate very quickly over extensive areas.

Large parts of the old mountain spruce forest are dying. But young spruce, sycamore, birch, mountain ash and willow trees are now growing, sheltered by the dead trees, to create a new forest.

The old trees may be dying but young ones are taking their place. The forest will survive as a living community.

Wildlife in the National Park
The cool, damp climate with snow from October until May means that for many species, Iife in the forest is very hard.

The thick tree canopy casts deep shade. Roe deer and red deer can find only a smali amount of food and are thus infrequent visitors. This also explains why wolf and lynx are very uncommon.

In winter, the forest is engulfed by snow. Roe deer wander south into lower lying areas with less snow. However, this is no Ionger possible for red deer, as the areas along river valleys where they used to spend the winter are too densely settled and intensively used. Winter feeding places have been set up on the edge of the National Park as a substitute.

Many bird species, such as the ring ouzel and black stork, migrate in winter and return again in spring. Frogs, snakes, salamanders, dormice and badgers cut down their activities to a minimum and sleep through the cold season.

Some birds have adapted to the conditions and can live weil all year round - for example the hazel grouse and the seven species of woodpecker found in the Park. Pygmy owls and Tengmalm‘s owls, stock doves and tits breed in holes made by woodpeckers.

Over 50 specialised forest bird species breed regularly in the Park.

The enormous number and variety of species of small creatures living in the soil far outnumber any other type of animal. The work of mites, springtails, earthworms, and insect Iarvae is never-ending. They process the many tons of needles and leaves which fall all year round and then, finally, break down the dead trees - a perfect recycling system! The originally rich diversity of species in the Bavarian Forest has not survived completely. For example, wolf, bear and lynx died out over 150 years ago.