EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

50 NOMINATION DOSSIER "ANCIENT BEECH FORESTS OF GERMANY"
Old beech forest in Serrahn
Serrahn’s beech forests rank
among the oligotraphent
to mesotraphent forms of
the planar zone.
2.a.2 Serrahn
Area size
Component part 268.1 ha
Buff er zone 2,568 ha
Short profi le and biogeography
Serrahn is home to the base-defi cient variant
of the lowland (planar) beech forest on
glacial sands. In the wake of temporary forest
degradation in Slavic and early German
times (round 800 years ago), a beech forest
has evolved that has not been managed for
over 50 years in places (old Strict Forest
Reserve) and is an impressive illustration of
regeneration power and the development
cycle of beech forests. Sea and fi sh eagles as
well as hole-nesting bird species are found
in outstanding densities due to the close
contact of the beech forests with extensive
natural lakes.
Abiotic factors
Geographical position, ecological region,
altitudinal zone
Serrahn lies in the undulating young
moraine region of the Northeast German
lowlands some 80 km from the Baltic Sea,
and is characterised by elevations and
valleys of the terminal moraine alternating
on a small scale, as well as by outwash
plains. Serrahn lies within the larges coherent
woodland of all Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, about 10 km east of the city
of Neustrelitz and 4 km south of the small
town of Zinow. It is characterised by the
strongly truncated terrain, with the two
highest elevations being 124 m above sea level
in the western and 113.7 m above sea level
in the southeastern periphery. Th e lowest
areas lie at 80 to 90 m above sea level and
are mostly swampy or wet to some extent.
Th e settlement of Serrahn, which lies in
the forest and contains only a few houses,
abuts on the nominated component part.
It is located in the tran sition zone from
Düsterförder Sandhochfl äche to the Feldberger
Seenlandschaft.