Lichter Wald Bach's maintenance work

The Bachsertal stretches for almost eight kilometers between the main town of Bachs and the small town of Kaiserstuhl on the border with Germany. On the south-facing slopes, the well-sunlit rocky peaks and hilltops, there is an ecologically very valuable light forest. It is characterized by the low crown closure of the trees. The sunlight down to the forest floor and a forest floor with only a few nutrient inputs promotes the emergence of an ecologically valuable herb layer, which in turn is interesting for many insect species.

In April/May, the splendid flowers of the branchless grass lily ( Anthericum lillago ) can be admired on the rocky summit - Rundflue. This plant species is rare in the canton of Zurich and prefers acidic soils. Other plants found include rough elecampane ( Pentanema hirtum ), spotted pigweed ( Hypochaeris maculata L. ), black knapweed ( Centaurea nigra) , various wild rose species and hellebore. In addition to rare plant species, a few special animal species can also be seen here. For several years now, chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ) have been found around the Erdmannliloch. Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus ) can often be seen in the rocks; they may breed here. In the treetops during the summer months, the song of the Mountain Warbler ( Phylloscopus bonelli ) can be heard and in sunny locations, Wall Lizards ( Podarcis muralis) can be seen.

In order to preserve the sunny character of the forest and thus also the interesting flora and fauna, intensive use is required. Every year, the project area (owner: Pro Natura & the municipality of Bachs) is thinned out by the local forestry company on behalf of the nature conservation department and the ground vegetation is mown in the autumn. Due to the steep slopes, mowing with metal blades is very dangerous, which is why only string and sickle mowers are used here. From 2009 to 2014, grazing with booted goats was also tested on the area.

The nature network, with its community service workers, is responsible for weeding blackberries ( Rubus sp. ), dwarf elderberry ( Sambucus ebulus ), bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ), clematis ( Clematis sp. ) and neophytes (especially fleabane). Fortunately, neophytes were sparse this year. After the autumn mowing, all the cuttings on the steep slopes had to be cleared. The collected cuttings were then piled up.