science

Rhön Biosphere Reserve

Rhön Biosphere Reserve is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rhön Biosphere Reserve rather than just read about it. In short: The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia. Aim In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.

Key takeaways

Rhön Biosphere Reserve belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rhön Biosphere Reserve to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rhön Biosphere Reserve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia.

Aim In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. The aim of this biosphere reserve is to take account of local agriculture, nature protection, tourism and trade, to ensure the variety and quality of habitats in the whole Rhön region. This involves creating a long-term economic environment for agriculture and trade that is in tune with the protection of nature and the local landscape. People are at the heart of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The idea is to have a so-called sustainable development, which harmonises economic and social issues as far as possible with environmental issues.

History As early as 12 September 1990, the Thuringian Rhön was declared a Rhön Biosphere Reserve by the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic as part of the GDR's National Park Programme. The "Ordinance on the Designation of Nature Conservation Areas and a Landscape Protection Area of Central Importance with the Overall Designation of Rhön Biosphere Reserve" was published on 1 October 1990 in the Gesetzblatt of the German Democratic Republic. In the winter of 1990/91, i.e. immediately after the Peaceful Revolution and German reunification, the three federal states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia then submitted separate applications for its recognition as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Environment Minister at the time, Klaus Töpfer, made a joint proposal from them. On 6 March 1991, the three-state Rhön region was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. In Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia, administrative offices have been set up that work together on the basis of an administrative agreement between the three states dated November 2002. At the same time, experts began to develop a framework concept. This framework concept, which was first handed over in April 1995, was the basis for all planning and measures. In June 2014, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön successfully underwent a review of its previous work by the International Coordinating Council, after which UNESCO status was confirmed for a further 10 years. At the same time, the Bavarian part of the UNESCO biosphere reserve was expanded by 58,000 hectares. Between 2014 and 2017 the content of the framework concept was revised. The revised framework concept was presented on 16 May 2018.

Zoning The Biosphere Reserve currently has a total area of 184,939 hectares (714.05 sq mi), of which 72,802 ha are in Bavaria, 63,564 ha in Hesse and 48,573 ha in Thuringia. From 1991-1995 a "Concept for the Protection, Care and Development" for the Rhön with objectives and measures was drawn up in conjunction with the districts, communes, authorities and societies. Following the UNESCO zoning system, 4,199 ha (2.27%) of land were designated as a core areas that are not allowed to be directly used for any purpose e.g. agriculture or forestry. A further 67,483 ha (36.49%) are designated as buffer zones where there should only be careful use of land compatible with nature. The remaining areas are the zones of cooperation in which the villages and towns of the Rhön are situated.

Gallery

See also Rhön Mountains Bavarian Rhön Nature Park List of biosphere reserves in Germany

References

External links The website of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve Board of trustees for the Naturpark and Biosphere Reserve Bayerische Rhön e.V. Archived 2009-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Thuringian Environment Ministry The orchids of the Rhön Private Rhön photo gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rhön Biosphere Reserve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rhön Biosphere Reserve claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rhön Biosphere Reserve before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rhön Biosphere Reserve ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rhön Biosphere Reserve

In research: Rhön Biosphere Reserve appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rhön Biosphere Reserve in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rhön Biosphere Reserve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biosphere reserves of Germany, International Dark Sky Reserves, Protected areas of Bavaria, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rhön Biosphere Reserve outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rhön Biosphere Reserve in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rhön Biosphere Reserve means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rhön Biosphere Reserve out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rhön Biosphere Reserve in simple terms?

The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia. Aim In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.

Why does Rhön Biosphere Reserve matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rhön Biosphere Reserve?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rhön Biosphere Reserve.