The region around Machtum runs along the Mosel Valley from Grevenmacher to Ahn. Geological dislocations which are parallel to the Mosel, with predominantly forested rock formations, form the landscape. The Mosel Valley is part of the luxembourgish Gutland and is mostly covered by limescale-rich sediment. The geology  of the region is marked by Muschelkalk an Keuper from the Trias.

The prominent escarpments of the valley give lots of potential and actual locations for calcareous grasslands. The lime-rich, mainly southeast-exposed slopes were formerly used as vineyards but are mainly more or less covered by scrubs today. The poor meadows and pastures, as well as calcareous half-dry grasslands, were used as orchards in the meantime and exist mostly only as fragments. The hollows are more profound and easier to labour mechanically, wherefore here mostly intensively used grassland or fields can be found. The flatter hillsides outside the Natura2000-area, which are exposed to the South are used as vineyard up to date. The viticulture is explained by the very favorable climate, which also explains the occurence of box tree at Pellembierg. The average precipitation per year is 700 mm and the average temperature per year is 9,5 °C. The more this climat is especially favorable for the development of orchid rich dry grassland and species rich half-dry grassland. In the area of Machtum different woodpeckers, grebes, bats, orchids and butterflies, as well as the red-backed shrike and the box tree feel comfortable.

The area is of great relevance for the preservation of calcareous grassland, because it is considered as a typical site. Unfortunately more and more surfaces are lost because of margin effects and the dominance of scrubs, as well as the use of too much fertilization for the flat surfaces. Although especially the old vineyard terrasses have a great potential for this habitat type. The more this region is, together with the lower Sauer Valley, one of the regions where dry grasslands are situated on Muschelkalk, not on Keuper. By the improvement of the calcareous grasslands a mosaic of different habitats in the landscape is formed, which are important step stones for diverse animal and plant species.