Veränderung der Landnutzung im südlichen Harzvorland seit Beginn des 19. Jahrhundertsam Beispiel der Gemeinde Roßla

Abstract

ARNDT, 0.; DIEMANN, R.: Changes in land use in the southem Harz foreland since the early 19th century on the example ofthe community Roßla.- Hercynia N.F. 34 (2001): 187-212. The association of rural communities with approx. 2500 inhabitants and an area of 1764 hectares comprises, beside the community Roßla, also the settlement Dittichenrode. The communal area stretches from the Upper Permian beltoff the varistic Harz mountains in the north via the hilly region of Lower New Red Sandstone up to the meadow land of the Helmeaue in the south. In the 19th century, Roßla grew from a rural settlement to a central place of lower order with typically urban characteristics, yet without town charter. In Dittichenrode, however, population numbers feil notably, and the local development has stagnated ever since. The agricultural structure of Roßla, which had been the residence of the counts and later princes of Stolberg-Roßla for more than 350 years, was marked by country estates, which was unusual for the property conditions in the region. In GDR times, two agricultural collective farms (a crop and an animal farm) were operating here, which merged after reunification and yielded, beside other agricultural Operations, also agricultural cooperatives (reg.), the largest local land users. Beginning in the firsthalf of the 19th century, land use has been analysed over five stages. The material documented in form of maps allows comparisons of the single development periods. According to this, land use has passed the following stages: 1) Continuous reduction of permanent grassland including rough pasture land as a result of intensified agricultural production after the Separation. 2) Extention of tilled land and fruit growing areas as a consequence of the Separation, accompanied by the liquidation of numerous Iandscape elements. 3) Decrease of tilled land since the outgoing 19th century in favour of increasing fruit plantations and horticultural areas, residential and industrial areas. 4) Extension of residential and industrial areas in the second half of the 20th century due to industriaHzation and increasing population numbers. After 1950, gravel pits emerged in the Helmeaue. The currently built federal autobahn A 38 (Goettingen-Halle-Leipzig) is going to tangent the communal area in the north of Roßla, where it will be crossing a Iandscape of particular spatial diversity. Another landscsape inventory, compiled in maps, would be interesting when the motorway including the necessary investments is finished and corresponding compensatory and replacement measures are settled. The Separation and the ensuing changes in agricultural land use up to the middle of the 20'h century caused, at least in the hilly parts of the community, major changes in the type of land use due to the allocation of agriculturalland for industrial purposes, liquidation of Iandscape elements and land consolidation, and this much more than in the entire subsequent period when extensive land management led to rougher contours in the structure of the land. As a result of this, the network offarm roads in the communal area decreased from 4.4 to 3.8 km-km-2 . Despite the merging of fields, nurnerous farmscape elements which had developed after the Separation, survived in the hilly parts of the cornmunity. A typical example are the extensively managed meadows with scattered fruit trees. From the angle of Iandscape structure and characteristic features, nature conservationists regard the hills north of Roßla as valuable enough to recommend their integration into the planned biosphere reserve "Karst Landscape Southem Harz". The declaration of this large-scale conservation area, however, is still pending.