For the third year in a row, the NABU Ecological Station Aller/Oker is carrying out pruning work on the Schäferstuhl. The pruning serves to preserve the valuable calcareous grassland with its special flora and fauna.

Calcareous grasslands are the result of centuries of traditional pasture use and today offer a refuge for many rare animal and plant species, such as orchids, numerous butterflies and the red-backed shrike. They are among the most species-rich habitats in Central Europe and are now endangered due to lack of use or over-intensive use. The rough grassland at Schäferstuhl is located in the "Salzgitterscher Höhenzug (southern part)" fauna-flora habitat area and is therefore part of the unique Europe-wide Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

At the Schäferstuhl, a herd of Galloway cattle acts as four-legged landscape conservationists every year. They keep the grass low and help to create space for the light-loving and less competitive flowering plants. However, grazing alone is often not enough to keep calcareous grasslands in optimum condition.

This winter half-year, woody plants are therefore once again being removed from areas where they are now spreading over large areas and threatening to overgrow the valuable vegetation. ÖNSA had already had smaller wooded islands removed mechanically in the two previous years. These thinned-out areas are now also being maintained with the aim of allowing rough grassland to re-establish itself with the help of grazing.

The maintenance work is carried out by a local specialist company, which removes the trees and shrubs and then completely clears and removes the cuttings. The maintenance measures are carried out as part of the ÖNSA conservation area management program funded by the state of Lower Saxony and in cooperation with the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the city of Salzgitter.