Schwanheimer dune
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Schwanheimer dune
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 Schwanheimer dune |
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| location | Frankfurt-Schwanheim |
| surface | 58.5 hectares |
| Identifier | 1412005 |
| WDPA ID | 165483 |
| Natura 2000 ID | DE5917301 |
| Geographical location | None |
| Setup date | 1984 |
The Schwanheimer Düne is a 58.5 hectare inland dune in the west of Frankfurt-Schwanheim and has been a nature reserve since 1984 . In addition, it has been designated as a protected area since 2003 according to the EU's Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive . The site immediately southeast of the Höchst industrial park is a popular local recreation area, also for the 22,000 industrial park employees.
construction
The dune consists of sand , grassland and forest areas as well as a few small lakes and is home to a variety of rare and endangered animal and plant species. It is unique in the Frankfurt metropolitan area, because inland - far away from the sea - dunes of this type, with their very valuable flora and fauna, are seldom found.
Two paths run through the Schwanheimer dune, in north-south and east-west direction, which intersect in the middle and have been covered with planks in the sandy areas since 1999 . A plank path guides visitors through the area so that they can explore it without harming the sensitive habitat of the animals and plants, which is why it is forbidden to leave the path. While riding on the normal paths is permitted, the boardwalk must not be ridden and cyclists should also dismount for their own safety. At special points along the path, there are some explanatory boards that contain brief information on the individual sections. The dune is surrounded by ponds, orchards and hedges, which are mainly used for bird protection.
Emergence
The area was created after the last ice age about 10,000 years ago by relocating the lime-free quartz sand from the nearby Main and was initially forested. At the beginning of the 19th century, the then strictly protected forest, the Dannewald , was attacked by pine trees and after storm damage, large areas were cleared. By 1811 the last pines and oaks had disappeared. The farmers made several attempts to plant cherry plantations here, which failed due to several dry spells. After that, the dune lay fallow, began to hike and was built in its current location between 1882 and 1890.
On June 13, 1984, a 38 hectare area was declared a nature reserve in an ordinance of the Darmstadt Regional Council and in 2002 it was expanded to its present size.
Sand mining
At the beginning of the 20th century, sand was removed from the Schwanheimer dune and transported to Kelsterbacher Weg via a specially built truck . The trolleys used for this were pushed on the rails over huge concrete blocks by workers or pulled by horses until operations were stopped in the 1940s. A number of concrete blocks are still in the middle of the area at the intersection of the two paths.
During the Second World War there was a flak position here. It was only after the Second World War that sand was mined again by an entrepreneur named Otto Schmitt , which resulted in the Schmitt'sche Pit , which is now the largest lake in the nature reserve. In this area, which is cordoned off for visitors, there is a largely undisturbed habitat and an important retreat for endangered bird and amphibian species. In the reedy shore areas breed reed warbler and gray herons and grebes fish there.
Other bodies of water in the area of the Schwanheimer dune are the Martinsgrube , a little to the north , a nearly rectangular former gravel pond of 3.2 hectares and approx. 3 meters deep, as well as three smaller ponds north and east of the dune. Two other former gravel pits west of the dune have now been filled, one in the early 1980s by the neighboring Hoechst AG , the other in 2001 for the planned construction of the connecting road from the Leunabrücke to the federal highway 40 .
Flora and fauna
The nutrient-poor sandy soils and the dry climate only allow life that is adapted to such harsh conditions, such as the typically patchy vegetation of the silver- green silver grass meadows , in which many insects live.
In the outer regions the Schwanheimer Dune is lean turf covers, in the evening primrose , Natternkopf , downy brome thrive and Small cudweed. Even plants that have immigrated from the Mediterranean region and are adapted to dry and hot locations can be found there.
The grove in the dune consists of small and bush-like pines with low-hanging branches, which, unusual for the region and unlike, for example, the pines in the nearby Frankfurt city forest , otherwise only occur in this form on the seashore. Another typical feature of a dune is the hardly overgrown ground, which is partially covered by cushions of various mosses and lichens , including cup lichen .
On small sand hills and embankments in the core area, the silver grass, which is identified as an endangered plant species in Hesse, grows, which with its deep-reaching roots predominantly colonizes exposed, humus-poor sand areas. This area also includes spring cinquefoil , bare-stemmed farm mustard , small hawkweed , sand hornwort , spring hungerflower , real St. John's wort , real bedstraw , field man litter , mountain sandbells , spring spark , sand strawflower , sand forget-me-not , Cypress milkweed and the spring dwarf vetch . The sandgrass and the dainty schillergrass grow in the poor grass areas and dog roses and wine roses can also be discovered along the way.
Numerous animal species are represented in the dune (see fauna of the inland dunes ), including the Heidschnucke , a breed of sheep that ensures natural landscape maintenance and is under the care of the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND). In addition, lizards , amphibians such as the natterjack toad , the pheasant , the golden hammer , the woodlark and the oriole as well as numerous insects that have adapted to this habitat such as the blue-winged wasteland insect live there .
As on some other sandy areas of the Upper Rhine Rift , the population of the locust sand wasp ( Sphex funerarius ), one of the largest digging wasps in Central Europe, has increased significantly in Schwanheim since 2003 . The species may even occur in two generations. The animals hunt long-feeler terrors in the areas, but can regularly be found on the more open areas of the dune when looking for their nests or when visiting the field man-litter bushes. As with other so-called expansion types, it is unclear whether they actually expanded their habitat to the north or were only able to build up a larger local population due to the temporarily more favorable climate - so that people could then be observed for the first time.
See also
Web links
- Schwanheimer Düne on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main
- New boardwalk in the Schwanheimer dune
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schmitt'sche Grube on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main
- ↑ Martinsgrube on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main
- ↑ Pond north of the Schwanheimer dune on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main
- ↑ Ponds east of the Schwanheimer dune on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main
