EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

54 NOMINATION DOSSIER "ANCIENT BEECH FORESTS OF GERMANY"
Light and shadow in Grumsin
Grumsin’s beech forests
rank among the (meso-)
eutraphent forms of the
planar zone.
2.a.3 Grumsin
Area size
Component part 590.1 ha
Buff er zone 274.3 ha
Short profi le and biogeography
Grumsin is representative of the base-rich
lowland beech forest type of the “Central
European beech forests” region. Th e natural
beech forest communities lie within the
zone of the terminal moraines of the Schorfheide-Chorin
Biosphere Reserve. It is the
ideal type of a near-natural young terminal
moraine landscape with pronounced relief
and rich diversity of embedded alder carrs,
forest bogs, and lakes. Being the best example
case of that quality, Grumsin is an outstanding
part of the largest contiguous lowland
beech woodland worldwide.
Abiotic factors
Geographical position, ecological
region, altitudinal zone
Grumsin lies in the Northeast German lowlands
in Uckermark, which forms the northeastern
portion of the Land of Brandenburg.
Being a part of the Uckermark highlands,
it is to be assigned to the “North Brandenburg
young moraine land” growth zone,
characteristic of which being ground moraines,
terminal moraines, outwash plains,
and valley sand areas. Th e altitude varies
from 84 m to 139 m above sea level.
Geology and geomorphology
Major sections of the property form part of
the terminal moraine of the Pomeranian
ice marginal zone and Angermünde terminal
moraine. Other than that, they are ground
moraine sites (SCHÄFER & HORN-
SCHUCH 1998). Th e surface terrain of
Grumsiner Forst was sculpted 70,000 to
12,000 years ago during the Vistula Glaciation.
Moraine plates and the terminal
moraine have created height diff erentials at
a small scale. Deep hollows alternate with
craggy ridges of which the “Blocksberg”
with 139 metres forms the highest elevation