Mottazug Avalanche

At the edge of the May field, the Mottazug Avalance took many of the buildings with it and caused a lot of damage in the protection forest on the side of the valley as well as in the Motta settlement on the valley floor.  The air pressure was so strong that many of the transformers at the Vermunt power plant which is on the other side of the valley were damaged.  The Ill Power Plant’s reaction to this natural disaster was to erect two protection dams in the valley, re-forest the affected protection forest areas and to erect avalanche constructions in the breaking off point area of the avalanches. 

If you take a closer look, the trail of the Mottazug avalanche can be seen as an impressive natural space entity.  A number of characteristic features of natural space come to light here.  Looking at it from a landscape point of view, even natural catastrophes create important habitats in the Alpine Space.  Characterised by spatial and seasonal dynamics, ideal conditions are offered here for a diversity of fauna and flora. 

The intermediate period between the first greening by pioneer plants and the re-forestation as the end stadium of the succession of stages is especially characterised by various specialist plants worth taking note of.
 
The Motta avalanche trail is in this stadium now.  Sun loving pioneer plants like the Red Elderberry, Raspberry, Woundwort and Willow herb grow in dry to slightly damp soil.  In very wet areas, Cotton Grass, Purple Moor Grass and the Common Rush are common species.

Around the source of the springs over the layers of phyllite there are real treasures to see from the local plant world.  At first glance it appears neglected and unattractive but a closer look reveals plants that are specialized in wet, nutrient deficient locations.  Meat eating plants like the Alpine Butterwort and the Round Leaf Sundew tap new sources of living nitrogen with their secretion covered leaves.