Old Fulda near Asbach

Old Fulda near Asbach IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
The "Alte Fulda" is one of the few larger near-natural still waters in the Middle Fulda valley.
location	South-east of Asbach , a district of the city of Bad Hersfeld in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district of Hesse .
surface	12 hectares
Identifier	1632007
WDPA ID	162087
Geographical location	50 ° 50 ′  N , 9 ° 40 ′  E Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 42 "  N , 9 ° 40 ′ 19"  E
Sea level	202  m
Setup date	January 1984.
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve and part of a flora-fauna habitat area . European bird sanctuary and protected landscape .

The Alte Fulda near Asbach is an old arm of the Fulda with parts that have already silted up in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district of Hesse . The still open water areas are populated by floating leaf plant communities . Willows and alders line the banks . The surrounding grassland in the meadow landscape of the Middle Fulda Valley consists of wet meadows , in which endangered plants occur in Hesse. The entire area has habitats and species that are considered worthy of protection due to their special nature. In order to ensure their preservation and to keep disturbances away, the area was designated as a nature reserve in 1984 .

location

The "Alte Fulda" is on the left side of the Fulda, in the lowland between Asbach in the north-west and Kohlhausen in the north-east. Administratively, the area belongs to the district of Asbach in the city of Bad Hersfeld in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district . The Fulda forms the eastern border of the area, with which the oxbow lake is connected by a flood basin during high water.

In terms of natural space , the area is included in the sub-unit “ Kämmerzell-Asbacher Fuldatal ” in the “ Fulda-Haune-Tafelland ” of the “ East Hessian highlands ”.

Soil and climate

On its way to its confluence with the Weser , the Fulda in this area mainly cuts through the Lower and Middle Buntsandstein , from the Triassic period of the Mesozoic . In the river valley , however, younger, Holocene high-tide deposits dominate in the form of alluvial clay layers of varying thickness . The alluvial clay formation probably began as early as the Neolithic , until then the soils were characterized by gravel and sand . The formation of the gravel was directly dependent on the effects of the Ice Ages . During the ice ages, the river graveled gravel layers of varying thickness when the water level was low. During the warm periods that followed, the river deepened again, leaving behind mighty gravel terraces in places .

With the beginning of the early Middle Ages there were massive interventions in the natural landscape of the floodplain. Deforestation and the construction of settlements, in a time of high population growth , led to slope erosion with deposits of up to several meters thick layers of earth in the lowlands. With the expansion of the agriculturally worked areas, recourse was increasingly made to previously unused areas in the swampy river meadows. The alluvial forests were initially partially destroyed, but increased more and more as they were used as pastureland. The maximum expansion of the cultivated land was reached towards the end of the High Middle Ages . It has remained largely constant in the floodplain area. The management, however, has been intensified with the growing technical possibilities of modern times.

The predominant soil type is the brown floodplain soil , which is also called Vega. In places, gley soils have also developed in areas of near-surface groundwater .

From a climatic point of view, the Middle Fulda Valley belongs to the climatic district of the North Hessian mountainous region. This is characterized by relatively cool winters and also cool summers. Compared to the mountainous surrounding area, the Fulda Valley, with an average temperature of around 1 ° C higher, is considered to be slightly less warm. Since the lower valleys often have a higher level of soil moisture, they usually remain colder than drier areas due to greater evaporation. In these depressions, the accumulation of cold air in autumn and winter can lead to the formation of cold air lakes , with increased early and late frosts.

Protected as a nature reserve

With an ordinance of January 10, 1984, the District Directorate for Forests and Nature Conservation at the regional council in Kassel , the old arm of the Fulda was declared a nature reserve. The purpose of placing it under protection was to secure the old arm, which is considered to be ecologically significant, with its rich flora and fauna, and to keep disturbances away from it. In particular, the area that has become a habitat for endangered bird and aquatic plant species should be protected. The surrounding areas, mainly used as grassland, are included in the area as a buffer zone. Apart from the ban on the use of plant treatment products, agriculture is permitted to the extent and in the manner previously used. The reserve has a size of around 12 hectares, has the national identifier 1632007 and the WDPA code 162087.

Belonging to other protected areas

• Fauna-Flora-Habitat (FFH) area

As part of the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive , the nature reserve was reported by the State of Hesse to the EU Commission for the Europe-wide network of special protected areas Natura 2000 . Natura 2000 aims to promote biological diversity and to preserve or restore a favorable condition of natural biotopes. With the legal safeguard in January 2008 by the "Ordinance on Natura 2000 areas in Hesse", the "Alte Fulda" became part of the fauna-flora-habitat area 5323-303 "Upper and Middle Fuldaaue". The northern area of ​​the FFH protected area, which has a total size of more than 2500 hectares, is in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district, the southern in the Fulda district . The sub-area in the district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg includes the Fulda ecosystem with relics of natural floodplain dynamics such as extensively used, regularly flooded grassland, as well as species-rich oat meadows , near-natural riparian wood and the typical floodplain waters of oxbow lakes, oxbow lakes and floodplains.

• EU bird sanctuary

In the 1700 hectare European bird sanctuary "Fulda valley between Rotenburg and Niederaula", with the area number 5024-401, the "Alte Fulda" with the neighboring nature reserves is one of the core zones. The wide open section in the Fulda valley, surrounded by hilly land, is characterized by the course of the river and extensive grassland. The numerous lakes created by gravel mining and the Fulda, which regularly overflows its banks during floods, offer many bird species attractive water areas throughout the year. The protected areas are an important resting and wintering area for water birds, waders and meadow birds.

• Landscape protection area

Also completely is the protected area in the conservation area "Auenverbund Fulda," belong to the surfaces along the Fulda in several counties. The purpose of the protection of the area designated in 1993 is the preservation of the meadow and bank vegetation types characterized by different levels of moisture penetration, as well as the restoration of near-natural sections of water by converting arable land into extensively used grassland.

The sanctuary

The floating leaf vegetation is dominated by the yellow pond rose, which is called pond mummel.

The "Alte Fulda bei Asbach" is one of the few larger natural backwaters of the Middle Fulda. The oxbow lakes, a collective term for oxbow lakes and oxbow lakes, are the last witnesses of the near-natural rivers that once flowed in many meanders , through whose dynamic they were created. While oxbow lakes are still connected to the river bed, oxbow lakes are cut off from it. The silting up of the backwaters is subject to natural development over a longer period of time. Based on the growth of aquatic plants, which multiply particularly in nutrient-rich waters and which reduce the free water surface. Their dead parts sink to the ground and over time form a constantly growing layer of humus. The growing soil layer is populated from the bank by reeds and sedges . Woods establish themselves later and at the end of the sequence of silting stages a closed alluvial forest is created.

The still water of the "Old Fulda", which is sheltered from the wind and surrounded by dense woodland, already has many silted up areas. It is covered by the floating leaf associations of the yellow pond rose and the small and humpbacked duckweed . The wet, swampy areas are characterized by purple willow bushes and water swaths of reeds. Endangered plant species here include the false sedge , real fox sedge , bladder sedge and panicle sedge .

According to the Hessian biotope mapping , the meadow land in the protected area consists of the biotope types extensively and intensively used "grassland in fresh locations", "grassland in moist to wet locations" and "wet fallow land and tall herbaceous areas". While the formerly widespread extensive cultivation through increased fertilization and multi-cut use for silage is in retreat here, the intensively cultivated areas have expanded significantly due to changed agricultural production methods. The traditionally managed wet meadows of the biotope type “grassland from humid to wet locations” have also become rare, as almost all sites that can be meliorated have already been converted and the management of unproductive soils has been abandoned. Wet fallow land and tall herbaceous meadows have settled on the damp and wet sites that have been abandoned due to a lack of profitability and are still expanding their area share.

In the meadow areas, the dark blue ant will find a suitable fodder plant for its caterpillars with the large meadow button . Since this butterfly species is endangered throughout Europe and is regarded as a key species, the area is of great importance as a reproduction habitat .

More than ninety species of birds have been observed in the nature reserve. Rare and endangered birds that rested or forage in the area include hen harrier , black kite , common tern , kingfisher, and red-backed shrike . They are species of Annex I of the Birds Directive , for the protection of which special measures must be taken. The pond rail , small woodpecker , field owl and yellow mocker breed in the reeds and edges of the softwood floodplain . In the grassland and fallow partridge and skylark .

According to the information on the display board on the edge of the protected area, fourteen species of butterflies , twelve dragonflies , three amphibians and eight grasshopper species were detected in 1996 .

Tourist development

The small nature reserve is not accessible by hiking trails. It can be reached via a farm road from Asbach. A display board provides information about what is “worth knowing” about the protected area.

literature

• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen, protect-experience-maintain. Volume 3, Werra-Meißner district and Hersfeld-Rotenburg district . cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, ISBN 3-932583-13-2 , p. 158 .

Web links

Commons : Alte Fulda bei Asbach  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Sieglinde and Lothar Nitsche: Nature reserves in the Werra-Meißner district and Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in nature reserves in Hesse, protect-experience-maintain. Volume 3, p. 158.
2. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on February 28, 2020.
3. ↑ Gerd Teigeler: Action plan for the FFH area “Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz” and the bird sanctuary “Fulda valley between Rotenburg and Niederaula, sub-area Bad Hersfeld - Rotenburg” .
4. ↑ Umwelt Institut Höxter (UIH): Basic data acquisition on the FFH area "Obere and Mittlere Fuldaaue" .
5. ↑ The ordinance came into force on the day after its publication in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse on January 30, 1984.
6. ^ Ordinance on the "Alte Fulda bei Asbach" nature reserve of January 10, 1984 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, issue 5/84 of January 30, 1984 p. 336 f.
7. ^ "Alte Fulda bei Asbach" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on February 28, 2020.
8. ↑ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hesse of January 16, 2008 in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse, Part I, No. 4, of March 7, 2008.
9. ↑ Profile of the FFH area 5323-303 "Upper and Middle Fuldaaue" on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on February 28, 2020.
10. ^ "Obere und Mittlere Fuldaaue" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on February 28, 2020.
11. ↑ Profile of the EU bird sanctuary 5024-401 “Fuldatal between Rotenburg and Niederaula” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on February 28, 2020.
12. ^ "Fuldatal between Rotenburg and Niederaula" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on February 28, 2020.
13. ^ Ordinance on the landscape protection area "Auenverbund Fulda" of January 28, 1993 in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse, edition 4/1993 of March 2, 1993, p. 56 f.
14. ^ "Auenverbund Fulda" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on February 28, 2020.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Information from the display board in the protected area.
16. ↑ Mapping instructions of the Hessian Ministry for State Development, Housing, Agriculture, Forests and Nature Conservation from March 1995; accessed on February 28, 2020 (PDF; 938 kB)