Forestry is the human activity that most dominates the landscape and which has changed the natural appearance of forests and woodlands, in some cases, significantly. It has also established a very dense network of forest tracks. In many areas (e.g. on the Friederspitz), intensive grazing of sheep has caused problems as a result of the destruction of grassy alpine mountainside by erosion. Unlike the neighbouring mountain ranges to the west and southwest, the Ammergau Alps only have a few pastures and alms. The majority of the range is covered in forest. This is due to the fact that large parts of the Ammergau Alps were a royal hunting area and also that dolomite and flysch soils create unsuitable conditions for alm and grassland cultivation. Dolomite produces thin, dry soils and flysch is too prone to landslips.