Regional division

The regional forest structure of Baden-Württemberg takes place in three levels: — Growth areas (WG), — Individual growth districts (EWB); Growth District Groups (WBGR); Subdivisions (TB) and — Growth districts (WB, only within WBGR). Seven growth areas are designated as the top level. These are large landscapes with similar features in landscape form and rock character, but uneven regional climate. The growth areas essentially correspond to the geographical and plant-geographical structure. The breakdown of growth areas into regional units (EWB, WBGR, TB) depends on the growth and competitive behaviour of tree species depending on the climate; within a regional unit, the climatic conditions should be similar. Regional units with large elevation differences are therefore additionally divided vertically-zonal according to height levels. In the second division are individual growth districts, growth districts and subdivisions. Individual growth districts presuppose a sufficiently large area with a largely uniform climate and uniform landscape shape as well as characteristic natural composition of the tree species and thus similar forest conditions. Within growth district groups similar climatic conditions prevail, but they differ in terms of their landscape or forest history and are therefore further subdivided into growth districts with similar forest-building conditions. Due to the small area size, subdivisions have scenic connections to individual growth districts or growth district groups. However, they are regionally independent, the EWB and WBGR ranking elements.