Gegensteine-Schierberg is a nature reserve in the town of Ballenstedt in the Harz district of Saxony-Anhalt.
The nature reserve with the sign NSG 0157 is around 102 hectares in size.
It is practically congruent with the FFH area "Gegensteine and Schierberge near Ballenstedt".
The area has been under protection since 1998 (date of decree: 4 March 1998). The district of Harz is the responsible lower nature conservation authority.
The nature reserve is north of Ballenstedt in the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park. The nature reserve, which extends to the western Ballenstedt district of Rieder, includes the Gegensteine and Schierberg mountain ranges as the eastern foothills of the Teufelsmauer and part of the Steinberge east of the Roseburg.
It protects near-natural forest communities, dry and semi-dry grasslands, dwarf shrub heaths, dried bushes and meadow orchards as well as small, abandoned quarries.
At the same time, it serves to protect the rock formations that are characteristic of the northern Harz region.
The southern slopes of the Steinberge and the Gegensteine are occupied by species-rich furrow fescue-femini semi-arid grassland.
Here grow u. Danish astragalus, the orchid species twisty root and the three gentian species field wreath gentian, German fringed gentian and common fringed gentian.
Meadow oat communities with meadow oats, common heather, hawkweed and dainty iris grass can also be found on acidic soils on southern slopes.
Thyme-sheep-fescue communities settle on shallow sites above the chalk sandstone of the Gegensteine and the Schierberg, and spurge-heather heather on tendrils, some of which are heavily overgrown with hair grass.
Occurrences of the cruciferous mat grass provide an indication of past grazing in the area.
Parts of the nature reserve are slowly becoming overgrown, e.g. B. with hawthorn and dog roses. Clearing measures are carried out as part of maintenance measures in the nature reserve in order to counteract the encroachment of bushes.
In the deciduous forests in the nature reserve is the largest contiguous occurrence of March beakers on the edge of the Harz Mountains.
The nature reserve is the habitat of various bird species that have adapted to the locations, including red kite, honey buzzard, all native woodpecker species, wryneck, red-backed shrike, barred warbler and stonechat.
(Source: Wikipedia)