Plaggenhieb und Streunutzung in der Lünbeburger Heide

Plaggenhieb and Litter Extraction in the Lüneburgean Heath

1999

27 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

4354

200054100

The article deals with "Plaggenhieb" and litter extraction as the oldest methods to make use of the woods of the Lüneburgean heath. The method of making use of "Plaggen" goes back to the middle ages. The farmers needed the branches, roots and humus of heathern as litter for the cattle and as fertilizer for the fields. By making use of the "Plaggen" the farmers ruined the soil, kept the woods from developing naturally and destroyed the woods in the long run. Even strict regulations and penalties provided by law did not help to protect the woods, since "Plaggen" was essential for the farmers at that time. Only in the 19th century modern agricultural methods came into use. That meant the woods had a chance to recover and large expanses of poor, devastated soil were reafforested. Nevertheless "Plaggenhieb" and litter extraction were not completely abolished for a few more decades.