Location: north of the Kühnhaide in the Ore Mountain region at an elevation of 720 m above sea level

SAC area: “Schwarzen Pockau Valley” (domestic number: E6)

Brief description:
The moor area at the Kroatenbach Stream covers approximately 13.5 ha. Of this area, about 7 ha are covered by the Kroatenwiese Meadow, an open stretch of land with transitional moor characteristics, and 6.5 ha are covered by moor woodlands with shrub-like pines and a few spruces. Slope and source moor formations were originally responsible for the creation of the moor. All peat had been harvested from the Kroatenwiese Meadow as early as 1926 and it today has peat layers 0.5 meters to 0.8 meters thick. The distinguishing species native to the marsh area are cottongrasses, peat mosses, and various sedges. The forest area possesses peat layers with a depth of approximately 1.6 m. It is drained by deep ditches and shaped by wavy hair-grass, dwarf shrubs, spruces, and pines as well as ditches overgrown with peat mosses.

Implementation of measures:
Revitalization measures in the Kroatenbach Stream moor area were performed on the basis of a hydrological survey completed in 2006 that was used to develop a detailed action plan. A total of 45 dams were constructed from 2008 to 2010, mainly in the Kroatenwiese Meadow area and the area bordering the forest. Dams were constructed as board dams and log timer corset construction. The Staatsbetrieb Sachsenforst (Statutory Public Body for Forestry in Saxony) declared its willingness to implement the measures in the forested area.