The forests you walk through after the Elsgrabenteichen are considered “woodruff beech forests”, a habitat type that is characteristic of Hesse. The Vogelsberg basalt is the basis for the alkaline soil, which produces a very species-rich and well-developed herb layer, especially with the eponymous woodruff. In order to improve the living conditions, especially for species worthy of protection that are tied to old and dead wood, 10% of the forest area in the state forest has been completely removed from use as so-called core areas in accordance with HessenForst's nature conservation guidelines and is left to natural development as "primeval forests of the future". In the Feldatal there is a focus on the Schotten and Romrod forestry offices, which together have around 300 hectares of beech forest.