Südteil des Nohfeldener Rhyolith-Massivs Nature Reserve: A Protected Landscape in Saarland

The reserve is best known for protecting species-rich montane mat-grass grasslands (Borstgrasrasen) on silicate soils and associated bog woodland habitats, together with a notable assemblage of rare invertebrates, freshwater fish, and bryophytes. It also stands out as a recent and locally contested extension of the older Oberthaler Bruch nature reserve in the Saarland uplands.

The Südteil des Nohfeldener Rhyolith-Massivs was formally designated on 24 October 2017 as a new Naturschutzgebiet, or nature reserve, under Saarland nature-protection law. Its creation was framed as a deliberate expansion of the existing Oberthaler Bruch reserve, enabling the connected conservation of the southern portion of the Nohfeldener rhyolite massif and its associated habitats.

The decision was not without local controversy. Although the reserve was approved under the responsible nature-protection authority, the Nohfelden municipal council voted unanimously against the proposal, with the then mayor Andreas Veit, of the CDU, citing weak public acceptance, expected losses to local forestry operations, and the threat of reduced property values for affected landholders. This political debate forms an important part of the reserve's modern history and illustrates the tensions that can accompany habitat-focused designations in areas where forestry and small-scale landownership remain active.

Beyond this recent designation, the land itself carries a longer land-use history tied to the acidic uplands of the Saarland. The combination of nutrient-poor silicate soils and historically extensive but low-intensity grazing has shaped today's montane grasslands, while wetter depressions have allowed more bog-influenced woodland to persist. The protected area therefore represents a relatively recent administrative milestone on a landscape whose ecological character has been slowly built up over centuries of traditional land use.

The reserve occupies a compact but visually distinctive section of the Nohfeldener highlands in the eastern Saarland. The terrain curves in a sickle shape between the summits of the Losenberg, at about 512.5 metres elevation, and the Leißberg, at roughly 515.8 metres, giving the protected area a clear sense of ridgeline and slope structure. The parent rock is rhyolite, a hard, silica-rich volcanic rock that breaks down into acidic, often shallow soils. This geological setting strongly influences which plant communities can establish themselves and contributes significantly to the reserve's open and rocky character.

Because the area lies above 500 metres, it qualifies as part of the Saarland's montane zone. Landforms within the reserve combine steeper rocky slopes with flatter pockets where soils and moisture can accumulate, producing a mosaic of dry, exposed sites, sheltered forest stands, and damper depressions. The southern and lower elevations typically carry more woodland, while the upper slopes and ridge approaches support open or semi-open grassland communities. This physical variability within a relatively small footprint is one of the defining landscape qualities of the site.

Ecologically, the reserve belongs to the montane and sub-montane habitat zone found on acid-rich volcanic uplands in western Germany. Its most characteristic habitat type is the species-rich montane Borstgrasrasen, the mat-grass swards of silicate uplands, which depends on shallow, acidic soils and a particular management history. These open communities sit alongside a very different habitat type: Moorwälder, or bog woodlands, which occupy the wetter slopes and depressions where water collects and soils stay consistently damp.

Together, open grasslands and bog-influenced forest form a habitat mosaic that is rare in the modern Saarland. The acidic parent material, the relatively elevated climate, and the mix of dry and wet microhabitats combine to produce conditions suitable for specialist plants and animals that struggle to survive in more intensively used lowland landscapes. The reserve also retains ecologically valuable transitions between rock outcrops, slightly acidic grasslands, and humid forest, which are themselves important for many of the species the site was set up to protect.

Although the reserve is small, its wildlife focus reflects the broader biodiversity values of the Nohfeldener rhyolite highlands rather than any single charismatic species. Among the named target species for the protected area are the Large Copper (Großer Feuerfalter), a striking butterfly associated with damp meadows and their host plants; the Groppe, a small, bottom-dwelling freshwater fish that requires clean, well-oxygenated brooks; and Dicranum viride, the so-called green broom moss, a bryophyte typically found on shaded, rough bark in old woodlands.

The Oberthaler Bruch, which forms part of the reserve complex, has also been documented as a habitat for several rare species of true bugs (Wanzen). This invertebrate interest is significant for an area of this size, because such insects are sensitive indicators of habitat quality, microclimate variation, and disturbance history. The combination of protected butterflies, freshwater fish, mosses, and rare insects highlights a wildlife profile weighted toward specialist, habitat-dependent species rather than large mammals.

The reserve was established specifically to protect a group of EU-relevant habitat types and species that were considered insufficiently represented in the surrounding landscape. The official conservation objectives, or Schutzzweck, focus on safeguarding the montane Borstgrasrasen grasslands of silicate substrates and the bog woodland stands, both of which are regarded as particularly threatened habitat types in the Saarland and across central Europe. By bringing these under formal protection, the reserve contributes to the broader Natura 2000 and habitat-type conservation frameworks applied in Germany.

Beyond habitat protection, the designation also secures the continued survival of several target species. The protection regime is built around three key organisms: the Large Copper butterfly, the Groppe, and the green broom moss, each representing a different ecological layer of the site, from open grassland to freshwater brook to old woodland. The inclusion of the reserve as an extension of the existing Oberthaler Bruch nature reserve also strengthens the conservation management of the area, allowing a coherent approach to a single landscape unit that would otherwise have been split across administrative boundaries.

The Südteil des Nohfeldener Rhyolith-Massivs sits within a landscape shaped by centuries of low-intensity land use in the eastern Saarland. The combination of nutrient-poor rhyolite soils, traditionally extensive farming, and forestry has produced a landscape that has long balanced productivity with the maintenance of open and semi-open habitats. The presence of mature woodland, old trees in damp hollows, and open grasslands reflects this long, if not always deliberate, coexistence of human use and habitat diversity.

The reserve's modern history is also marked by an active, sometimes contentious relationship between conservation authorities and local communities. The unanimous rejection of the designation by the Nohfelden municipal council, driven by concerns over forestry impact and property values, illustrates the social dimension of habitat protection in the region. The protected area therefore exists not only as a natural site but also as a focal point for ongoing discussions about how conservation goals are balanced against local economic interests in rural Saarland.

The Südteil des Nohfeldener Rhyolith-Massivs distinguishes itself through the combination of montane mat-grass grasslands and bog woodlands within a compact elevational band of the Saarland uplands. Its protected status is built around specific habitat types and species rather than around general scenic value, making it a focused, ecologically driven reserve. It is also notable for its role as the most recent formal expansion of the Oberthaler Bruch nature reserve and for the local political debate that accompanied its 2017 designation.

For visitors interested in the natural values of the reserve, late spring through early autumn is generally the most rewarding period. The montane grasslands show their highest botanical diversity in late spring and early summer, while forested sections are most pleasant to walk through during milder weather. Wet and boggy areas can be challenging after heavy rain, so drier days are preferable for exploring the higher slopes of the rhyolite massif.