Juniperus heath Leiser Berge

Grasing mammals was a big part of the people in the Weinviertel.

The dry graslands was a difficult ground for farming. Management of pasture was over hundred of years the reason for this landscape. Domesticated livestock would not eat Juniperus because of his sharp tipped needles.

In the Nature Park Leiser Berge we counted 1.200 pieces it is the most number of Juniperus in Austria. In the first step we mapped the plants. This was the ground of our work. We started to cut down the bushes and started to graze with sheep on special areas. In November we planted 70 pieces of Juniperus in the Nature Park together with 2 schools and voluntary helpers.

The juniper itself can be described as an extremely remarkable and rare woody species, with it an entire habitat with many, partly highly endangered species of semi-arid grasslands would return at the same time.