The Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) is restricted to mid-altitude regions with dwarf-shrub communities and solitary trees as perching sites. For hunting, it needs good visibility and access to the ground and therefore depends on a low-intensity land-use (sheep or cattle grazing). It has suffered a dramatic decline in Germany and is considered “critically endagered“ in the German Red Data Book.
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) will quickly colonize abandoned grasslands. Once established it is hard to remove, since it is poisonus for most livestock species (exception pigs).
Genista sagittalis – a species of broom – is one of the dominant plants of the mountain grasslands in the Black Forest.
Only traditional livestock breeds, like the Hinterwald cattle, are adapted to the poor forage quality and the harsh conditions in the mountains. Hinterwald are the smallest cattle breed in Germany with an average height of 1,2 m.
Several species of copper butterflies (Lycaena spp.), which are endangered in Germany, rely on extensive grasslands. Important a small-scale disturbance patches, so that the larval foodplant Rumex spp. finds suitable conditions. Typical for areas with silicious substrates are L. alciphron or L. hippothoe.
Twice a year the breeding society for Hinterwald Cattle holds an auction in the small city of Schönau in the Southern Black Forest which also is the centre of the breeds distribution. Experts are judging the young bulls and only with the acceptance for breeding they are then auctioned to the waiting farmers. The Hinterwald cattle auction is a folkloristic event and an important venue to exchange informations and experiences of the breeders who meet only seldom throughout the year.