Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest (, ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park () covering 1,771 km and its highest elevation is the Kalmit (673 m).
Palatinate Forest
By contrast, spruce, Douglas fir, larch, and Weymouth pine are not native to the forested mountain range. Spruce prefer cool, shady locations and are therefore often found in valleys, hollows and on the lower slopes of hills, while the Douglas fir is found in widely differing locations due to its high adaptability. The sweet chestnut was not originally an indigenous tree species, but was naturalized by the Romans in the area of the present-day Palatinate. Since it prefers a mild climate (see temperature) like the grape vine it is found on the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, the Haardt, in pure or nearly monocultures and represents about 4 percent of the forest area there.