The entire length of the forest is cut up by the federal autobahn 4. The expansion of this motorway in 2006 led to forest area losses due to the widening of the roadway, road connections and the necessary embankments, rainwater retention basins and hydraulic engineering systems. Three other public roads, the district road K 7304 (Pleißa-Siedlung Kühler Morgen-Wüstenbrand), the state road S 242 (Pleißa-Wüstenbrand) and S 244 (Kändler-Chemnitz-Rabenstein) share the forest. From the Röhrsdorf substation, large overhead power lines (up to 380 kV) run east-west and north-south through the Rabenstein Forest. They lead to recurring gaps in part of the forest area, since growing trees are not allowed to grow into the safety area of the overhead lines and are removed by mulching. Particularly on the side facing the city of Chemnitz, there is a high level of pollution from human settlement activities. For traffic safety reasons, trees have to be pruned or felled that could continue to grow unmolested elsewhere. Uncontrolled dumping is common and may include domestic or commercial waste, hazardous or non-hazardous, and green waste. Since the forest is commercial forest, every tree, with a few exceptions such as overhangs or solitaires and avenues as well as standing deadwood, is felled and removed at some point. In this respect, the forest is very different from a primeval forest. tree species: Tree species and area (in alphabetical order), the data is only available for the forest owned by the Free State of Saxony: Aspe 0.50 ha, sycamore 17.80 ha, Douglas fir 1.20 ha, lodgepole pine (Murray pine) 12.80 ha, Mountain ash 62.00 ha, European larch 54.40 ha, Spruce (other) 0.20 ha, Norway birch 125.65 ha, Norway ash 1.00 ha, Norway spruce 379.10 ha, Norway pine 44.90 ha, Gray alder 0.40 ha, hornbeam 0.80 ha, Japanese larch 1.80 ha, fir 0.30 ha, poplar 8.80 ha, common beech 48.50 ha, red oak 23.40 ha, red alder 8.90 ha , robinia 0.10 ha, black pine 0.40 ha, Serbian spruce 7.10 ha, spruce 0.70 ha, English oak 35.90 ha, sessile oak 3.10 ha, silver fir 1.80 ha, white pine 14.30 ha, Small-leaved lime 0.20 ha.
forest damage Classic forest damage: Classic forest damage dominated until the mid-1990s, particularly those based on sulfur dioxide immissions, as a result of which the spruce needles in particular were damaged. The topsoil became more and more acidic and finally had a pH value (H2O) of 3.8 and pH value (KCl) of 3.2. With the conversion of the filter technology of the power plants and the replacement of lignite as the main fuel of the small combustion plants, these gradually disappeared. An improvement in the needling of the spruces could be observed. The liming of the forest parts, which took place as part of the forest damage restoration in 1997 and 1998, also contributed to this. It supplied the humus and topsoil with the necessary minerals to buffer the acidic inputs.
Novel forest damage With the sharp increase in traffic on the A4, things got worse again. With the death of many trees, the spruce had to bear the brunt of the ozone emissions, nitrogen oxides, vehicle abrasion and the influence of de-icing salts. An improvement in the situation is currently not in sight, especially since the climate changes are likely to weaken the spruce.
Abiotic and biotic influences At an altitude of around 400 to 600 m above sea level. NN wet snowfall is common in winter. As a result of the deposits on the treetops, conifers in particular are at considerable risk of breaking. Many conifers therefore also have older, sometimes extensive and often repeated crown fractures. Whole stocks can also collapse (damage event in winter 1979 with more than 20 hectares of broken area). Due to its location on the back of a mountain range, the shallow-rooted spruce in particular is subject to considerable water stress in dry years. This can lead to needle losses, the occurrence of bark beetle mass proliferation or growth losses. The drier and the longer the drought lasts, the sooner it means the end for the spruce. This applies in particular to the Staugley soils, which then dry out completely and are difficult to refill. On the other hand, excessive precipitation leads to extreme softening with the result that the flat roots of the spruces can no longer find a footing and the trees can be thrown by wind and storms or snow loads. Wild browsing on young trees due to high deer populations is on the decline. The main tree species rejuvenate themselves via seed drop. (Wikipedia)
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