Old Fulda near Blankenheim

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Old Fulda near Blankenheim

IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area

Observation post with an information board on the southwestern edge of the nature reserve.

Observation post with an information board on the southwestern edge of the nature reserve.

location North-east of the district of Blankenheim in the town of Bebra in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district .
surface 22.8 hectares
WDPA ID 81266
Natura 2000 ID 1632004
Geographical location 50 ° 57 '  N , 9 ° 47'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 56 '42 "  N , 9 ° 47' 2"  E
Old Fulda near Blankenheim (Hesse)
Old Fulda near Blankenheim
Sea level 190  m
Setup date December 1981
particularities Special protection as a nature reserve and as part of a Natura 2000 , EU bird and landscape protection area .

The Alte Fulda near Blankenheim is an oxbow lake in a grassland area on the central reaches of the Fulda in the eastern Hessian district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg . As a regionally important habitat of brooding and “ stepping stones ” for migrating bird species, the area declared a nature reserve in December 1981 is of great importance from an ornithological point of view. It is believed that the former loop of the river was cut off from today's bed by a natural course shift. It is possible that the "Alte Fulda" is also a relic of hydraulic engineering measures in the Middle Ages, with which the Fulda was supposed to be navigable to Hersfeld . In the course of later time, the oxbow lake silted up into a large flood channel that periodically carried water.

Geographical location

The nature reserve is located in the Fuldaaue northeast of the municipality of Blankenheim , a district of Bebra in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district. In the west, the right bank of the Fulda forms the border. In the east it is bounded by the railway line between Bebra and Fulda and a road that runs next to the railway line. There is a small area on the other side of the embankment.

In terms of natural space , the "Old Fulda" is assigned to the sub-unit "Bebra Basin" in the " Fulda-Werra-Bergland ", which belongs to the main unit group " Osthessisches Bergland ".

Protected position

The floodplain of the Fulda near Blankenheim is heavily polluted by road, cable and rail lines, gravel mining areas and intensive agricultural use. For nature conservation reasons, it therefore seemed of particular importance to maintain and protect the still relatively near-natural wetland. With the ordinance of the District Directorate for Forests and Nature Conservation at the regional council in Kassel on December 7, 1981, the area around the oxbow lake in the Fulda lowland was designated as a nature reserve.

The protected area consists of two sub-areas: The 22 hectare larger part, between the river bed and the railway line, includes the oxbow lake with the surrounding, partially moist grassland. The other, smaller part is a wetland, around 0.8 hectares in size, which lies between the eastern side of the railway embankment and the Lämmerberg. The purpose of the protection was to secure the area as a breeding and resting area for numerous endangered bird species and to keep disturbances away. The protected area has a total size of around 22.8 hectares, has the national identification 1632004 and the WDPA code 81266.

Backwater

The backwaters along the Fulda are seen as the last witnesses of the near-natural watercourse that once flowed in many meanders . Cut off from the flowing water, they have developed into a still water that has become a retreat for numerous animal and plant species.

Renatured water-bearing flood basin to promote floodplain dynamics and as a near-natural flood protection measure.
The oxbow lake is drained into the Fulda (right in the picture) at the northeast end of the protected area.

In the 1980s, parts of the silted up and backfilled former river loop near Blankenheim were renatured in several construction phases by deepening, so that there are open water areas all year round. The bank lines and structures were preserved. The renaturation measures that have already been implemented and those that are still planned are also intended to relieve the settlement areas and arable land of Blankenheim in the event of flooding, as the flood channels and troughs provide additional retention space.

The "Alte Fulda" is assigned to the FFH habitat type 3150 "Natural eutrophic still waters" , which include nutrient-rich lakes and ponds with underwater plants. From Rough horn sheet , Ährigem milfoil , waterweed and water lilies embossed plant populations are found in the backwaters. The Duckweed and pondweed are adjoined, its coverage ratio have respect only of secondary importance. Of the amphiphytes , marsh ledges , water knotweed and Austrian marsh cress occur regularly.

Section under the Lämmerberg

The area east of the railway line.

The smaller part of the nature reserve east of the railway line bears a mixture of tall herbaceous meadows and sedge reeds , in which three small ponds have been dug. They should offer development opportunities for the yellow-bellied toads that used to live here . However, during the investigations for the FFH basic data collection, they could no longer be detected in the area. Large water fennel , common frog spoon and yellow iris are found here in small stocks.

Belonging to other protected areas

The nature reserve is completely located in other protected areas that belong to different categories and partially overlap:

The 790 hectare area with the number 5024-305 includes the Fulda valley between the cities of Bad Hersfeld and Rotenburg , three smaller sub-areas in the Rohrbach valley near the Ludwigsauer districts of Gerterode , Tann and Rohrbach and the Solzaue between Sorga and Kathus .

The approximately 1700 hectare bird sanctuary with the number 5024-401, like the FFH area, is part of the transnational network of protected areas "Natura 2000". The establishment of the area boundaries and the conservation objectives took place with the "Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hesse" of January 16, 2008.

  • Landscape protection area "Auenverbund Fulda".

The protected area designated in 1993 includes areas along the Fulda from several districts. The protection goal is the preservation of the riparian vegetation types characterized by different degrees of moisture penetration as well as the restoration of near-natural sections of water by converting arable land into extensively used grassland.

Grazing project

The monochrome red-brown cattle of the old domestic breed "Red Höhenvieh" graze the area of ​​the protected area and the adjacent meadows.

In order to keep the area largely free of trees and vegetation, the grassland was initially grazed by sheep. The aim was to develop a large pasture landscape that includes the water complexes. By browsing and stepping, varied mosaics of pasture lawns, tall perennials, open soils and riparian zones with little vegetation are to be created. Since 2008 the cows of the domestic animal breed " Red Höhenvieh " graze the floodplain of the reserve. They are also used outside, on the adjacent meadows, around the flood troughs and channels newly designed as part of the flood protection measures. Because all areas are in the floodplain area of ​​the Fulda, the animals only graze here in the months from April to November.

The monochrome red-brown mountain cattle are considered to be one of the oldest and most original breeds of livestock. As a classic three-purpose cattle that performed pulling and tensioning services as well as delivering milk and meat, it was ousted by the performance breeds specialized in milk or meat production and was in the meantime threatened with extinction . From a nature conservation point of view, the relatively robust and frugal cattle are very well suited for grazing in sensitive areas and are used in various pasture projects, suckler cow husbandry , for landscape maintenance .

Heaped stone mounds are intended to serve as a perch for birds and to provide amphibians, reptiles and insects with a habitat and shelter.

In addition, stone mounds were raised in the open pasture landscape. They should meadow Wagtails , Whinchat , Steinschmätzern , nine killers and other birds as perches serve. The crevices and cavities between the rough stone blocks also became a habitat and shelter for amphibians , reptiles and insects .

Valuable and typical birds

Numerous birds can find suitable habitats in the floodplain with its oxbow lake and the permanent and temporary water-bearing troughs and channels as well as in the grassland. In a "ornithological report" published in 2017, the Hersfeld-Rotenburg working group of the Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation (HGON) evaluated the observation data from 2016. 23 species of waterfowl were found, but unfortunately the number of individuals in the individual species was consistently small. The bird conservationists suspect that one of the causes is the increasing siltation of water with a partial drying out. The observations of resting shelduck , black stork and ruff were regarded as remarkable .

The water-bound bird species that have been found to breed, rest or feed here include: Mute swan , Nile and shelduck , teal and mallard , cormorant , great white and gray heron , black and white stork , black kite , lapwing , little ringed plover , Sandpiper , Green Sandpiper , wood Sandpiper , Ruff , kingfisher , sand martin and gray wagtail .

Breeding birds that have their areas in the protected area and during their the conservationists long-term monitoring have captured are: bee-eater , cuckoo , skylark , Wiesenschafstelze , Whitethroat , backed Shrike , wheatear , Whinchat , grasshopper warbler , Sumpfrohr- and Reed Warbler , Spotted Flycatcher , Linnet , Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting .

Tourist development

The protected area is not accessible by paths. On the southwestern edge there is an observation stand with a display board that provides information about the nature reserve.

literature

  • Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, p. 160 f. ISBN 3-932583-13-2 .
  • 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 , Rural Service of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district.

Web links

Commons : Nature reserve "Alte Fulda bei Blankenheim"  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Joachim Bohr and Claudia Kraft: Hesse's new nature reserves in birds and the environment , magazine for ornithology and nature conservation in Hesse, volume 2, issue 3, p. 163 f. Wiesbaden, December 1982.
  2. ^ A b Lange & Wenzel GbR: Basic data collection FFH area "Auewiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz" , Cölbe, November 2005.
  3. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Ordinance on the "Alte Fulda bei Blankenheim" nature reserve of December 7, 1981 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, issue 51/81 of December 21, 1981, p. 2382 f.
  5. ^ "Alte Fulda bei Blankenheim" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  6. ^ Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, p. 160 f.
  7. ↑ Profile of the FFH area 5024-305 “Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on May 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ 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 May 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Fuldatal between Rotenburg and Niederaula" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hessen in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hessen. Part I - No. 4, dated January 16, 2008.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Auenverbund Fulda" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Pasture Project Alte Fulda bei Blankenheim" on the website "Pasture Projects in Hessen"; accessed on May 28, 2019.
  15. ↑ Online edition of the ornithological reports from the Middle Fulda valley from 2016 with supplements from 2014 to 2015 on the website of the HGON working group Hersfeld-Rotenburg; accessed on May 28, 2019 (PDF; 5.0 MB)