South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve

The South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve (German: Biosphärenreservat Karstlandschaft Südharz) is a biosphere reserve in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was founded on 23 March 2009 and is thus the 16th biosphere reserve in Germany. Its recognition by UNESCO is pending.

The biosphere reserve has an area of 30,034 hectares and lies in the county of Mansfeld-Südharz on the territory of the towns of Allstedt and Sangerhausen and the municipalities of Berga, Südharz and Wallhausen. It runs from the southern edge of the Harz Mountains from the state border with Lower Saxony to the southern foothills of the Mansfeld Uplands in Pölsfeld.

The gypsum karst landscape with its Zechstein deposits features caves, sink-holes, dolines, ponors and karst springs. As well as beech woods, there is a roughly 1000-year-old cultural landscape on the steep southern slopes of the South Harz with wood pastures, calcareous grassland and meadows with scattered fruit trees (Streuobstwiesen). Near Sangerhausen there is a former mining landscape with galleries and tips. Climatically the biosphere reserve lies on the transition between the sub-atlantic and sub-continental zones.

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