Forests with legal protection status
FFH areas
The Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive is a nature conservation directive of the European Union. Together with the Birds Directive, it essentially serves to implement the Bern Convention (international treaty of 1979 on the protection of European wild fauna and flora)
The Brander Wald and Paulinenwäldchen forests are managed by the municipal forestry office.
Nature conservation areas (NSG)
These are extensive protected areas whose main aim is to preserve, develop and restore the existing biotopes. Scientific or natural history reasons, as well as the rarity or particular beauty of an area, can also lead to the designation of a protected area.
The Orsbacher Wald, Brander Wald, Klauser Wäldchen / Frankenwäldchen, NSG Freizeitgelände Walheim, the upper reaches of the Inde & the Fobisbach valley and small areas of Bildchen nature reserves are under the care of the municipal forestry office.
Protected landscape features (LB)
These are mostly smaller areas in nature and the landscape where the purpose of protection is to
- Ensuring the efficiency of the ecosystem
- the revitalization, structuring or maintenance of the townscape and landscape or
- the defense against harmful effects
There are numerous protected landscape features in the forest areas.
Biotopes according to § 62 Landscape Act
This category includes rare, generally small-scale and high-quality biotopes such as near-natural, unobstructed bodies of water, moors, spring areas, dry grasslands or swamp forests. There are numerous biotopes in accordance with Section 62 LG in the forest areas.
Forests without legal protection status with a protective function
Regardless of the legal designation of protected areas, protection forests of local importance were recorded as part of a forest function mapping (1975).
Water protection forest
Water protection forests serve to keep groundwater as well as standing and flowing surface waters clean. Forests therefore make a valuable contribution to supplying the population with clean drinking water. Water is purified biologically and mechanically in the forest soil. At the same time, the increased infiltration in the forest enables a largely constant supply of water throughout the year. During heavy and prolonged rainfall or when the snow melts, surface and near-surface runoff can be delayed and flood peaks attenuated.
Climate protection forest
In particular, the Aachen forest close to the city acts as the city's "air conditioning" and makes the summer heat bearable. The trees evaporate around a third of the precipitation through their foliage, creating a pleasant forest climate. Our city forest produces around 30 percent of the city of Aachen's cold air volume. Due to the gradient, the cold air flows into the populated areas and cools them down. The resulting mixing of polluted city air and high-quality forest air also contributes to air hygiene (see also pollution control forest).
Immission and noise protection forest
Forests are our "green lungs". Trees clean the air through increased sedimentation of dust, filtering and adsorption of dust and gaseous air pollutants and combing out the finest polluted water droplets. With their countless leaves and needles, they have the effect of filters. For example, one hectare of spruce forest can filter out around 30 tons of dust per year, and one hectare of beech forest can filter out around 70 tons of dust from the air. Our forests also significantly reduce noise pollution from busy roads. For example, a 250 meter wide strip of forest reduces traffic noise from 80 decibels to a tolerable level of 35 to 40 decibels.
Soil conservation forest
The forest prevents or reduces the surface runoff of rainwater, weakens its erosive force and thus prevents soil erosion. Landslides can be prevented or at least reduced by the intensive and deep root system of the trees. At the same time, the forest contributes to the drainage of landslide-prone slopes through its water consumption. Essentially, the forest areas at risk of erosion on sandy soils in the Aachen Forest were recorded.
Screen forest
The aim of screen forests is to improve the landscape by concealing disruptive buildings, extraction sites and so on.