The site is a 4x4 km square within an agricultural dominated landscape (about 75% arable land) in the eastern part of the lower Harz mountains. It is intended for observation and a weather station and some simple devices are installed (combined flight traps aiming at insects; temperature loggers at each trap).
The sites Friedeburg, Greifenhagen, Harsleben, Schafstädt, Siptenfelde and Wanzleben are part of the TERENO Harz / Central German Lowland Observatory in Saxony-Anhalt run by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ. These sites have a focus on biodiversity monitoring in the “normal landscape” which is characterized by agricultural use (about 60 % coverage of Saxony-Anhalt). Each site is a 4x4 km landscape of mainly arable land and semi-natural habitats like e.g. hedges and forests.
The site Greifenhagen is characterized by a distinct topography with valleys and slopes and a mean elevation of 270 m asl. The area covered by crop fields is 71 % and all semi-natural habitats sum up to 6 %.