The "Wittstock-Ruppiner Heide", a protection area under EU-Habitat Directive, comprises the largest coherent heathland in Germany. In the course of biotope mapping 2013/2014 within the heaths, dry grasslands and the surrounding fore forest stages 63 bryophyte and 124 lichen taxa were found. Among them, 18 (= 29%) bryophytes and 49 (= 40%) lichens belong to highly endangered, endangered or declining species. Overall, the long list of remarkable finds from many rare species confirms the area's importance and high conservation value for bryophytes and lichens. Since the particular habitats for the bryophytes and lichens are threatened by succession and eutrophication, the preservation of their habitats requires large-scale conservation efforts.