Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve

Logo of the biosphere reserve at EUROPARC Germany , the umbrella organization of national parks, UNESCO biosphere reserves and nature parks

Visitor center "House of 1000 Ponds" in Wartha near Guttau

The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve (abbreviated to BROHTL ), located in the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Area in Eastern Saxony, has been Germany's 13th UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1996 . Due to its unique natural features, it was designated as a landscape protection area and from 1994 as a biosphere reserve. It encompasses a historically grown cultural landscape with a remarkably rich natural environment and special importance for nature and species protection . Together with the northern part of Lower Lusatia , it is the largest contiguous pond landscape in Central Europe.

location and size

Location of the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve ( OSM )

It is located in the districts of Görlitz and Bautzen in the Free State of Saxony and is roughly halfway between the cities of Hoyerswerda , Niesky , Weißwasser , Weißenberg and Bautzen . The total area of the reserve is 30,102 ha of which 13,153 ha as a nature reserve in 21 sub-areas. The nature reserve is an essential part of the FFH area "Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape".

The area is the region with the greatest number of ponds in Germany, 141.6 km² of the total area is covered with forest, around 27.5 km² are ponds, rivers, rivers and other bodies of water, the remaining area is a cultural landscape. The usable pond area is 22.3 km². There are over 350 smaller ponds and lakes in the reserve, almost all of which were artificially created and connected by a system of ditches with weirs and pipelines. These are summarized in 39 pond groups, which are subject to different intensities of use and have different structures due to their surroundings.

history

The more than 350 ponds that characterize the area were constantly changed, especially in the 16th century. The first ponds were laid as early as the 13th century when German farmers settled in the Slavic settlement area. The increased reclamation of the landscape resulted in the conversion of a large part of the low and intermediate moors into ponds, meadows or fields. The extensive amelioration after 1950 had a particularly massive impact .

The area of densely stocked near-natural forests also decreased with increasing settlement. In connection with the overexploitation of the forest, forest pasture and litter use, clearing often led to a lack of wood, especially in the 18th century. Another consequence of the overexploitation was the extensive avoidance of forest areas. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that it was possible to reverse this development, primarily through pine forests, which still dominate the forest today.

Heathland can only be found in parts as evidence of former military use. Until the 19th century, when the rulers were replaced, the agricultural reform and the introduction of potato cultivation led to the increased development of agriculture, the agricultural area was significantly smaller and has always been concentrated on the floodplains of the Kleine Spree, the Spree and the Black Schöpses. Above all rye, but also barley, buckwheat and millet were grown.

Grassland only played a relatively minor role. Litter meadows, of which there are only remnants today, were much more common in the past. Cattle, sheep and pig farming were and are widespread. Goose breeding was also not insignificant, while horses and goats were kept less frequently. Beekeeping and dairy farming have a long tradition . The kaolin, clay, gravel and, above all, lignite mining, which were carried out after 1900, still shape the landscape through residual holes, tipping and lowering of the groundwater.

Although the importance of the area for nature conservation was known for a long time, nature reserves were not established until the 1960s, when the threats from the intensification of production and the influences of mining increased considerably.

geology

The biosphere reserve is located on the Lusatian granite massif and the Görlitz slate mountains. In the south, the basement consists of Lusatian granodiorite and Grauwacke in the north of silica-slate-chert conglomerate. Sediments from the Tertiary and the Pleistocene are deposited over the basement. Tertiary brown coal seams exist in the north. In the south Pleistocene sands and gravels. The deposits from the Quaternary are interesting. Impressive dunes are striking features in the heather area ( dunes and drifting sand ).

Zoning

Alder forest

There are four zones in the reserve that differ in their type of use. These are the core area, the buffer zone, the transition zone and the regeneration zone.

The core zone, which makes up 3.7 percent of the total land area, serves to guarantee an area that is not influenced by humans, where ecosystem processes are largely self-dynamic. In addition to swamp forests and swamp and heather areas, this also includes dune landscapes . It includes almost all habitats occurring in the area . The focus is on the forest habitats and the heather and succession areas.

The maintenance zone with only about 40 percent terrestrial total area includes meadows and pond areas that are valuable in terms of nature conservation, near-natural forest areas, river areas, alluvial forests and an island. The focus is on groups of ponds and heather areas with adjacent forest areas, as well as on wet meadows and floodplains rich in grassland . Most of the moors and reeds as well as the heather and dry grassland areas are located in this zone.

The development zone was divided into a development zone of the harmonious cultural landscape and a development zone of the regeneration areas due to the special influence exerted by people in areas of the post-mining landscapes and their peripheral areas. In the former, a large part of the areas are more intensively used agricultural areas , species-poor pine forests and the settlements, which each have their largest shares in this zone. The regeneration areas primarily include the post-mining landscape with structurally poor areas and a high proportion of foreign tree species.

Natura 2000

The core and maintenance zone are designated as a nature reserve, FFH and SPA area. The FFH area “Upper Lusatian Heide and Pond Landscape” serves to protect the habitat types 3150 Eutrophic Still Waters, 4010 and 4030 Moist and Dry Heath, 7140 Transitional and Swinging Grass Moors and 91D2 * Scots pine bog forests.

Furthermore, the occurrence of species Scheidenblütgras ( Coleanthus subtilis ), Large Copper ( Lycaena dispar ), large white-faced darter ( Leucorrhinia pectoralis ), narrow Bindiger serotine diving beetle ( Graphoderus bilineatus ), loach ( Cobitis taenia or Cobitis taenia x elongatoides ), fire-bellied toad ( Bombina bombina ), pug bat ( Barbastella barbastellus ) and otter ( Lutra lutra ) placed under protection.

The SPA area "Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve" is a sheltered place where significant parts of the Saxon population of the bittern ( Botaurus stellaris ), white-tailed eagle ( Haliaeetus albicilla ), crane ( Grus grus ), common tern ( Sterna hirundo ) and goat milker ( Caprimulgus europaeus ) are housed .

Vegetation and flora

Middle sundew

It is very likely that the original vegetation of the area was not completely forested; intermediate and fens were excluded from the more or less closed forest area. In contrast to the pine forest that dominates today with 39 percent of the total area, the beech tree dominated . The currently prevailing potentially natural vegetation goes hand in hand with the current site conditions. Plant communities predominate in the nutrient-poor locations, while oaks and pines are predominant outside the floodplains .

The biosphere reserve has an open land share of 3.7 percent, which consists of dwarf shrub heaths , dry grassland and succession areas .

The main species , which are particularly closely linked to the properties of the habitats, include the bell heather , the cranberry , the round-leaved and the mean sundew as well as the swamp porst . Furthermore, for example, come in the biosphere reserve vaginal cotton grass , the white and the brown beak-sedge , the pennywort , the Calla Lily , who Sandtragant and the grove Wachtelweizen ago.

fauna

Green maidenhead

White-tailed eagles hunting

Northern crested newt

In 2008 there were records of over 3,400 animal species in the area, including 807 species on the Saxon Red Lists . The dragonfly fauna of the area is particularly well studied with 53 dragonfly species. It is worth mentioning the occurrence of all four species of Moosjungfer ( Zierliche Moosjungfer , Kleine Moosjungfer , Große Moosjungfer , Nordic Moosjungfer ), as well as the green wedge damsel . The ponds are the habitat of numerous species of water beetles, the extensively used forest meadows and heather areas offer numerous butterfly species. Digger wasps and wild bees ( e.g. Oxybelus latro or Lasioglossum subfasciatum ) live on the areas of the former military training areas .

There are 23 species of fish in the area, the European mud whip , the brook lamprey and the wolffish are particularly noteworthy . Other species have found their habitat in the context of fish farming and through naturalization.

The 15-present amphibian species are relatively large holdings of European tree frog , the moor frog , the fire-bellied toad and locally by the Northern crested newt . Among the six species of reptile found are smooth snakes and adder .

161 breeding bird species have been identified since 1997, with some species belonging to substantial parts of the Saxon population. In the biosphere reserve, the white-tailed eagle breeds at around 20 and the crane with 45–50 pairs.

Up to 20 calling males could be detected in the bittern . The ponds also have large stocks of the reed warbler (spread over around 400 territories), the common tern with around 155 pairs and the little grebe with around 200 pairs. Mention will also be smaller populations of red-necked grebe , little bittern and the Small Rail . In structurally rich forest open land areas there are occurrences of hoopoe , woodlark , red-backed killer , goat milker , pygmy owl and rough owl . Up to 30,000 water birds rest in the area on the autumn migration, these consist of over 70 species of migratory birds.

A total of 49 species of mammals have been identified. Among 16 bat species, populations of water bat and great noctule bat are numerous . The otter has 100-150 mature animals one of the densest deposits in Central Europe. The area of the biosphere reserve is part of the wolf's regular range .

climate

The mean annual precipitation in the continentally influenced climate of the reserve averages 630 mm, with a gradient from west, south-west with 600 mm to east-south-east with 700 mm. The maximum precipitation is in the months of June to August, more than half of the precipitation (59 percent) falls during the vegetation period. The average temperature is 8.5 ° C. The coldest month is January with around −0.7 ° C, the warmest month is July with an average of around 18.1 ° C. The annual temperature fluctuations are 18.7 ° C to 19 ° C.

Over half of the winds come from west to south-westerly direction, in July there is an increased proportion of north-westerly winds. In winter, winds blowing from north to east are recorded, which regularly lead to heavy snowdrifts.

population

In 2006 there were around 10,300 residents in 12 communities with 62 districts outside the core and care zone. The area of the traffic and settlement areas is about 1100 ha. In the biosphere reserve there are still traditional branches of employment of agriculture, forestry, fishing and handicrafts, most jobs are in the nearby towns of Bautzen , Hoyerswerda , Niesky and Kamenz . The next larger city is Bautzen with around 41,000 inhabitants. Special features of the biosphere reserve are the recultivation areas of the former lignite opencast mines and the bilingual cultural area (German and Sorbian ).

Individual evidence

↑ Werner Hempel : The nature of the district of Bautzen . Lausitzer Druck- und Verlagshaus, Bautzen 2005, ISBN 978-3-930625-37-6 , p. 147 .
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, p. 9.
↑ Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve. Retrieved August 22, 2014 .
↑ Nature reserve no. D93 "Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft"
↑ FFH area no. 61E "Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape"
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, p. 28.
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, p. 39f.
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, pp. 33-38.
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, p. 32.
↑ Böhnert et al. 1996, p. 33.

literature

Anett Böttger: Paradise for sea eagles and otters ... on the way in the Upper Lusatian heath and pond landscape biosphere reserve . In: National Park . No. 140 , 2008, p. 8-13 .
Böhnert, Buchwald and Reichhoff: Biosphere Reserve Plan Part 1. Basics for protection, care and development . Ed .: Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve. 1st edition. Mücka 1996.