Hauberg


Hauberg is a type of communal forest management that is typical of the Siegerland and adjacent parts of the Lahn-Dill Uplands and the Westerwald in central Germany. Its aim is to manage the forest in order to produce tanbark and charcoal for the regionally important iron ore industry as well as firewood. In addition to forestry uses, the area also has agricultural uses, such as the growing of rye and buckwheat, typical of shifting cultivation, in the year after the timber harvest, as well as subsequent communal grazing.

Overview

The Hauberg is an oak-birch coppiced woodland, in which other trees are occasionally scattered. With a cycle of from 16 to 20 years the Hauberg undergoes clearcutting or coppicing, leaving the stumps in the ground to begin growing again. Only in the year after clearfelling is the land used for grain. In years when there is a lot mast, pigs are kept in the Hauberg.
With the decline in demand for tanbark and charcoal this form of management has lost its significance. In the second half of the 20th century large areas were turned over to high forest management. The remaining low forest stands are almost exclusively devoted to the production of firewood and industrial wood.

Literature

General sources