DOI article:
Willerding, Ulrich: On the utilisation of the plant resources of the Upper Harz Mountains by the mining and smelting industries during medieval times
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.56859#0125
93
Summary and outlook
The results that have been presented here demonstrate how the depletion of
the natural resource wood caused a dynamic process which led to a complete
change of the vegetation (Fig. 9-11}. A second determining factor for this was the
presence of another natural resource in the Upper Harz Mountains, namely the
ore. The energy requirements of the smelters were met through the production
and utilisation of charcoal. Of course timber was also required for the mining
operations themselves. Tools as well as pit props for the tunnels were made from
wood. And finally we should not forget the individual requirements of the miners
and smelters who needed wood for the construction of houses and for heating and
cooking. In addition, the cattle further added to the demand for food. The
mountain people put the cattle to pasture in the woodland. The animals however,
needed a very high amount of food. During the winter, pasture in the wood was
impossible because of the snow. During summer the people therefore collected
leaves for feed in winter. In this way the taken biomass outstripped the rate of
natural regrowth. The preference of man and cattle for deciduous woods
promoted the spruce and initiated a dynamic process which changed the
environment. Later on there existed pasture land for the summer and meadows.
There grass and other plants for feeding hay during the winter would have been
grown. These are the causes for the genesis of anthropo-zoogenious openland in
the oreal altitude (Fig. 9-11).
The nutritional requirements of the mining and smelting population was met
by imports from the Harz Mountains’ foreland as far as cereals and cultivated
fruits were concerned. The export of these resources and the resulting mass flow
led to an impoverishment of these areas which had to be balanced by fertilization.
In the mountains on the other hand this led to localized eutrophication.
The redistribution of resources from the mountains to the lowlands and vice
versa facilitated the development of trade centres in the borderland. During the
Middle Ages this was an important condition for the wealth of cities such as
Goslar, whose livelihood these days depends to quite an extent on tourism
attracted by the architectural artefacts and not at least by the mountain landscape
with its characteristic change of spruce woods, raised bogs, pastures and
meadows (Fig. 12}.
Short summary
Today the Upper Harz Mountains are mainly covered by spruce forests which
have their origin in recent times. The utilization of the ore in these mountains
Summary and outlook
The results that have been presented here demonstrate how the depletion of
the natural resource wood caused a dynamic process which led to a complete
change of the vegetation (Fig. 9-11}. A second determining factor for this was the
presence of another natural resource in the Upper Harz Mountains, namely the
ore. The energy requirements of the smelters were met through the production
and utilisation of charcoal. Of course timber was also required for the mining
operations themselves. Tools as well as pit props for the tunnels were made from
wood. And finally we should not forget the individual requirements of the miners
and smelters who needed wood for the construction of houses and for heating and
cooking. In addition, the cattle further added to the demand for food. The
mountain people put the cattle to pasture in the woodland. The animals however,
needed a very high amount of food. During the winter, pasture in the wood was
impossible because of the snow. During summer the people therefore collected
leaves for feed in winter. In this way the taken biomass outstripped the rate of
natural regrowth. The preference of man and cattle for deciduous woods
promoted the spruce and initiated a dynamic process which changed the
environment. Later on there existed pasture land for the summer and meadows.
There grass and other plants for feeding hay during the winter would have been
grown. These are the causes for the genesis of anthropo-zoogenious openland in
the oreal altitude (Fig. 9-11).
The nutritional requirements of the mining and smelting population was met
by imports from the Harz Mountains’ foreland as far as cereals and cultivated
fruits were concerned. The export of these resources and the resulting mass flow
led to an impoverishment of these areas which had to be balanced by fertilization.
In the mountains on the other hand this led to localized eutrophication.
The redistribution of resources from the mountains to the lowlands and vice
versa facilitated the development of trade centres in the borderland. During the
Middle Ages this was an important condition for the wealth of cities such as
Goslar, whose livelihood these days depends to quite an extent on tourism
attracted by the architectural artefacts and not at least by the mountain landscape
with its characteristic change of spruce woods, raised bogs, pastures and
meadows (Fig. 12}.
Short summary
Today the Upper Harz Mountains are mainly covered by spruce forests which
have their origin in recent times. The utilization of the ore in these mountains