Arboretum Bad Grund

The Arboretum Bad Grund, also known as Exotenwald and sometimes called the Arboretum des Forstamtes Grund or the Forstaboretum der Niedersächsischen Landesforstverwaltung, is an arboretum located along the B 242 federal highway near the Hübichenstein, northwest of Bad Grund, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is open daily without charge.The arboretum was established in 1971 by the Niedersächsischen Forstamtes Riefensbeek, with first plantings in 1975. By 1987 a total of 84,890 trees and shrubs had been planted on 65 hectares, including fir, spruce, maple, birch, and oak . Today it contains about 600 species of woody plants from Asia, Europe, North America, and Siberia, organized by geographic region, with a number of walking paths.ConceptionThe aim of the Lower Saxon Forestry Commission is to study the suitability of the local climate and growing conditions for these non-native tree species. This should enable the habitat requirements of these species to be determined for future crop trials. In laying out the arboretum, especial care was taken to ensure that no unstable monocultural stands were created, instead entire woodland communities from the individual climatic regions with the complete range of tree and shrub species were planted. To form a clear picture of the development of the trees, they are included in a long-term monitoring and measurement scheme. Their height is determined every five years. Furthermore, various types of biotic and abiotic damage are identified as well as the plant-specific processes during the course of a year. In order to test their suitability as future commercial tree species, trees are constantly removed for timber from the various woodland communities.