3. The Bavarian Alps

3.1 Morphology and Location

The area of the Bavarian Alps has an extent of about 5 300 sqkm, which is ca. 3% of the entire region of the Alps and 7,5% of the area of the Bavarian State. Its part of the Eastern Alps and reaches from the moraine landscape in the north to the Austrian borders in the south and east and to the Lake Constance in the very west.
The Bavarian high mountain region includes divers landscape units according to altitude and morphology. The mountain region of the administrative district of the city of Miesbach well represents the morphological and forestal situation on compareable altitudes of the Alps. Therefore we decided to select the diverse area to the south of Miesbach as a representative, alpine study area.The selected region is located about 50 km to the south of Munich, between the rivers Isar and Inn.
The total area is about 1/9th of the entire region of the Alps. Two lakes are included, which are known as popular holiday resorts during the summer and in winter time; the Tegernsee and the Schliersee.
The northern low mountain range relief is characterized by altitudes between 725 meters on the Tegernsee and 1370 meter on the Luckenkopf. The southern high mountain region is composed of precipitous and steep rocks and partly smoother landscape forms with altidude differences of 1150 meters. The highest point is 1885 metres high, the peak of the Rotwand.

3.2 Climate

Unlike the climatical situation of the Central Alps, humid atlantic climate is predominant.
Meteorological processes in the study area are influenced by the barrier effect of the Alps, which work like a dam wall for oncoming clouds. Therefore a high amount of precepetation and cool temperatures are typical. According to altitude the mean yearly amount of precipitation varies between 1300 mm and 2500 mm and the mean yearly temperature between 6,3 degree Celsius at the lake Tegernsee and 2,6 degree Celsius on the peak of the Wendelstein.
The "Foehn" - a warm wind which blows down the slopes on the leeward side of a ridge of mountains - is very prevalent in the Alps, especially on the northern slopes. Owing to its warmth and dryness it melts the snow very quickly and causes considerable rises in the temperature.

3.3 Geology

The diverse geological situation can easily be classified into 6 geological zones, which extend from east to west. The zones are as following from north to south:

1. The Molassevorland, the low mountain region on the northern border of the Alps, which was createt by glacial deposits.
2. A narrow zone of the northernmost mountains between Schliersee and Tegernsee is generated by limestones of the Helvetikum formation and partly by Flysch layers.
3. The Flyschzone is composed by rather stable layers like quarzite lime- and sandstones and unstable muddy clay layers which strongly tend to mudflow.
4.The kalkalpine Randzone (calcareous alpine edge) consists of limestones, sandstones, dolomits and marl layers.
5. The Karbonatgesteinszone (carbonate stone zone) with Plattenkalk and
Hauptdolomit.
6. The Muldenzone (hollow zone) is part of the Karbonatsgesteinszone with a combination of harder and softer geological formations.

3.4 Landuse and Forestry

The composition of native forest types in the Alps primarily depends on altitude, which determines growing factors like temperature and rainfall. Moreover exposition and soil conditions are an important factor.
Densily forested are the low mountain ranges of the Molassevorland and the Flyschzone.
The native forests in the montaneous zone (up to 1400 m) are mixed mountain forests with an admixture of various percentages of beech, fir, spruce and maple, depending on site and altitude.
Partly other broadleaves like ash, elm, linden, cherry and conifers such as pine or larch can sometimes be found. Typically for mountain forests is the variety and change of tree mixture, structure and age on small sites.
On the slope bottom and in valleys of the submontaneous zone (from 500 to 800 meters) broadleves are dominant in mixed stands. On altitudes between 800 and 1100 meters there is almost a balance between the percentages of spruce, fir and beech. In the high montaneous zone (from 1100 to 1400 m) first beeches and secondary firs are decreasing with growing altitude. The subalpine forest (1400 to 1800 meters) consists of spruce, sorbus aucuparia and acer pseudoplatanus and seldom on sites being not higher than 1500 meters of beeche and fir.
61 % of the total area are covered with forests (33800 ha). Consequently the forest percentage is higher than the average forest percentage of the total area of the Bavarian Alps (54 %).
2/3 of the forests are State Forests; 1 % are Corporate Forests and the rest is private owned, primarily by local farmers. 80 % of the private owned forests are smaller than 10 ha and the mean size of all private forests is not more than 7,3 ha.
The planning of the forest functions in the administrative district of Miesbach was finished in 1974. At that time 17700 ha - that is 52 % of the forested area - were designated as protection forests aginst soil erosion, debris flow and avalanches.
Additionally the landscape and the forests south of Miesbach are a most important factor for recreation, because the regions around the towns of Tegernsee and Schliersee are most famous and popular holiday resorts for more than 500 000 people from all over the world and for about 2 million local people - primarily from Munich and other big cities nearby - who visit the region just for a day or a weekend (numbers from 1974!).

3.5 Test Sites

We are going to choose one test site close to the lake Spitzingsee and Schliersee, the Hagenberg (mountain) which has already been study area for several research projects concerning the regeneration of protection forests. We think, that this specific issue is another interesting aspect for the FORAM research project. A second test site will probably be selected in spring time after all the snow will be gone, and detailed field studies will be possible then.

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