Rhön Biosphere Reserve

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Location of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve
Logo of the biosphere reserve

The Rhön Biosphere Reserve comprises the entire core area of ​​the Rhön , a low mountain range in Hesse , Bavaria and Thuringia .

In 1991 the Rhön was recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO across all countries . The Thuringian part was designated in advance on October 1, 1990 as part of the GDR's national park program. In June 2014, the UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve successfully reviewed its previous work by the International Coordination Council, after which UNESCO status was confirmed for a further 10 years. At the same time, the Bavarian part of the UNESCO biosphere reserve was expanded by 58,000 hectares. The biosphere reserve covers a total area of ​​243,323 hectares , of which 129,585 hectares in Bavaria, 64,828 hectares in Hesse and 48,910 hectares in Thuringia.

The aim of this biosphere reserve is to ensure the diversity and quality of the entire Rhön habitat , taking into account local agriculture , nature conservation , tourism and commerce . The aim is to create long-term and economic framework conditions for agriculture and trade that are in harmony with the protection and care of the local landscape and nature. Humans and living space are inextricably linked in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The aim is sustainable development that combines economic, ecological and social concerns in the best possible way.

Location and limits

The UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve naturally encompasses the three main units Hohe Rhön , Vorder- and Kuppenrhön and Südrhön as well as parts of the Franconian Saale Valley. Geologically, the Rhön includes a variety of rocks in a very small area, such as red sandstone , shell limestone , Keuper and tertiary volcanic rocks , which is why an exact physical delimitation is difficult, especially towards the south.

The Rhön in the narrower sense ends to the south at Dreistelzberg (Kuppenrhön; 660.4  m ) and Platzer Kuppe (Hohe Rhön; 736.8  m ), while in the southern Rhön, only a few basalt cones of lower height appear and the Spessart -Buntsandstein dominates. On the other hand, the 481.3  m high Sodenberg is just beyond the Franconian Saale and thus outside the borders of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön, still a typical basalt cone. The expansion area from 2014 is mostly based on the borders of the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park. At their own request, 22 communities in the Bad Kissingen and Rhön-Grabfeld districts were added to the biosphere reserve.

Bavaria

In the Bavarian part of the biosphere reserve: the Hexenbuchen on the Himmeldunkberg , on the right in the background Kreuzberg and Arnsberg

In Bavaria, parts of the natural areas Südrhön, Mellrichstädter Gäu, Fladunger Mulde and Eastern Rhön foreland are located in the biosphere reserve , bordering the Hohe Rhön . With Stockheim, the reserve covers a place on the Bavarian side that is not part of the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park . The demarcation to the southeast initially follows the Streutal as far as Unsleben and changes to the valley of the Franconian Saale near Bad Neustadt. The two district towns of Bad Neustadt and Bad Kissingen have also largely been within the area since the expansion.  

In addition to the populated municipal areas, there are also some unincorporated areas within the reserve boundaries.

The reserve in Bavaria includes the following municipal areas:

The newly built Rhön Info Center on the Wasserkuppe with funding

Hesse

In the north, the inner Hessian limits of the reserve roughly follow the physical limits of the Rhön in the narrower sense. The north-western part of the Hessian Brückenauer Kuppenrhön in the south lies entirely outside the reserve, apart from the western slope of the Mottener Haube . The south of this part of the landscape is part of the Main-Kinzig district even in the Hessian Spessart Nature Park .

The reserve in Hesse includes the following municipal and settlement areas:

Thuringia

The inner-Thuringian boundaries of the reserve follow, always along traffic routes, largely natural boundaries of the Rhön in the narrower sense, as they are listed in the Handbook of Natural Spatial Structure of Germany along with sheet 126 Fulda ( Federal Institute for Regional Studies ) and The Natural Spaces of Thuringia ( TLUG ).

The assignments of the more significant mountains named below differ from one of the two natural spatial systems:

  • The Pleß ( 645  m ) is outside the reserve. TLUG sees it inside, sheet 126 outside the Rhön.
  • The Stoffelskuppe ( 620  m ) is on the edge of the reserve. According to TLUG, it is also within and according to 126 outside of the Rhön.
  • Neuberg and Hutsberg (both 639  m ) lie within the reserve. TLUG sees them outside, sheet 126 inside the Rhön.

The reserve in Thuringia includes the following municipal and settlement areas:

Milseburg and horse head
Mountain meadow with marsh orchid in the Hohe Rhön
Pigeon tail sucks on alpine milk lettuce
Rhön sheep

Zoning

The biosphere reserve currently (as of June 2017) covers a total area of ​​243,323 ha , of which 129,585 ha in Bavaria, 64,828 ha in Hesse and 48,910 ha in Thuringia. From 1991 to 1995, a “framework concept for protection, care and development” with goals and measures for the Rhön was drawn up together with rural districts, municipalities, specialist authorities and associations. With the expansion in 2014, the revision of the framework concept by the three administrative offices of the UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve began.

In accordance with the zoning prescribed by UNESCO , 7,438 hectares (3.06%) in the Rhön were designated as core zones by statutory order, which are excluded from any direct use (e.g. agriculture and forestry). A further 53,897 ha (22.15%) were designated as maintenance zones . Only gentle, natural land use should take place here. The remaining portion of 181,988 ha (74.79%) is the development zone in which the villages and towns of the Rhön are located. There are no special land use requirements that go beyond the statutory provisions applicable throughout Germany.

Some of the core zones have been designated as natural forest reserves for several decades, for example the Lösershag or the Gangolfsberg . The forest areas in the area of ​​the Wildflecken military training area were subject to a special form of human use as a restricted military area before they were designated as a core zone. Other core zones were used for forestry until they were designated in 2014. In a ten-year transition period, felling measures for non-site softwood are still planned. Other core zones include the Dreienberg , the Stallberg in the Hessian skittles , the Schafstein , the Steinkopf and the western slope of the Stirnberg .

The open, structurally rich grassland with a high biotope quality typical of the Rhône falls largely into the maintenance zone. Core zones and the most important areas of the maintenance zone are legally protected as nature reserves. In total, this is almost 10% of the area of ​​the biosphere reserve.

Goals and Concepts

The "land of open spaces", as the Rhön is also called, should be preserved as a living space for people and nature. Counties, municipalities, clubs, associations, specialist authorities, the private sector and consumers should make their best possible contribution to this. Implementing the idea of ​​the biosphere reserve is based on cooperation, consensus and innovation. As an initiative of regional marketing, the Rhön umbrella brand is working specifically on the implementation of ecological, economic and social needs with the aim of sustainable development. It supports companies in Rhön in the marketing of sustainably manufactured and at the same time high-quality products according to the motto "Protection through use". Products that have been produced and processed in the region and meet the quality criteria of the Rhön umbrella brand are allowed to carry the umbrella brand quality seal. “Protection through use” applies in particular to the Rhön sheep , a formerly almost extinct breed of sheep. On the initiative of the Bund Naturschutz Bayern and committed Rhön Shepherds, the breed was preserved and made a popular figure for the region.

Blue dragonfly in the Rhön

The Rhön apple initiative is committed to preserving the orchards that characterize the landscape. The network of orchard meadow owners and processing companies organizes events related to apples, organizes the organic certification of the areas and supports the development of new apple ideas. In Hausen , a meadow fruit nature trail and a variety garden have been set up to preserve old and rare types of fruit.

Cross-border zoological and botanical species protection concepts serve as the basis for future nature conservation work, to inform the population and for specific biotope maintenance. In addition to the three state administrative offices of the biosphere reserve, there is a private sponsoring association for each federal state. A full-time and voluntary nature watch has been set up, the aim of which is to educate visitors and to guide them moderately, especially in the sensitive nature reserves of the Rhön. Large-scale nature conservation projects such as the “Thuringian Rhönhutungen” project, the LIFE project “Mountain Grassland Hessian Rhön” or species aid projects for wild cats and red kites make their contribution to preserving the diversity of flora and fauna in the Rhön.

The Rhön was recognized as a star park by the International Dark Sky Association on August 7, 2014, as there are still areas here with an almost undisturbed, dark night landscape. The “Star Park Rhön” project offers guided tours and educational events on astronomical and cultural-historical topics. Another issue is light pollution .

Movies

literature

  • Karl-Friedrich Abe: The Rhön Biosphere Reserve. In: Michael Succow, Hans Dieter Knapp, Lebrecht Jeschke (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in Germany. Retrospectives - Insights - Outlooks. Links, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3861536864 , pp. 169-174.
  • Rhön Biosphere Reserve. In: Rolf Fischer: Germany's natural paradises. All national parks, biosphere reserves and nature parks in portrait. Komet, Cologne 2016, ISBN 978-3869416359 , pp. 112–116.
  • Joseph Dehler, Gerd Michelsen (Ed.): Rhön Biosphere Reserve. In harmony between nature conservation and regional development. (= Science in Social Responsibility, Volume 23). VAS, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 978-3888641237 .
  • Reinhard Grebe, Guido Bauernschmitt (Ed.): Rhön Biosphere Reserve. Framework for protection, care and development. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1998, ISBN 978-3740201623 .
  • Wolfgang Helfer: The primeval forests of tomorrow. Bavarian natural forest reserves in the Unesco Rhön Biosphere Reserve. (= Natural forest reserves in Bavaria. Volume 5). IHW-Verlag, Eching 2000, ISBN 978-3930167463 .
  • Eckhard Jedicke: The Rhön as a biodiversity hotspot - between aspiration and reality. In: Thomas Heiler, Udo Lange, Gregor K. Stasch, Frank Verse (eds.): The Rhön - History of a Landscape. Conference proceedings. (= Publication for the symposium "Rhön 2015 - History of a Landscape" in Fulda 2014). Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7319-0256-0 , pp. 37-60.
  • Herwig Klemp: And go up to the Rhön. Forays through a biosphere reserve. Klemp, Sandkrug 1998, ISBN 978-3931323059 .
  • Marion Lahner: Regional Governance in Biosphere Reserves. An analysis using the example of the Rhön and Schaalsee regions, including place-making. ibidem, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3838200309 .
  • Ute Lange: The Rhön. A biosphere reserve. Printing house R. Mack, Mellrichstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3942112277 .
  • Cornelius Merlin: Tourism and sustainable regional development in German biosphere reserves. Regional economic effects of tourist demand and scope for action in destination development by biosphere reserve administrations examined in six biosphere reserves. (= Würzburg Geographical Works, Volume 118). Würzburg University Press, Würzburg 2017, ISBN 978-3958260504 .
  • Torsten Raab: Sustainable development of the (cultural) landscape in the UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve. In: Thomas Heiler, Udo Lange, Gregor K. Stasch, Frank Verse (eds.): The Rhön - History of a Landscape. Conference proceedings. (= Publication for the symposium "Rhön 2015 - History of a Landscape" in Fulda 2014). Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7319-0256-0 , pp. 307-320.
  • Gerold Rahmann, Ezzat Tawfik (ed.): Landscape conservation with farm animals in a socio-economic context. Shown using the example of selected villages in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. (= Series of publications on agricultural research results, Volume 20). Kovac, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 978-3830003250 .

Web links

Commons : Rhön Biosphere Reserve  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From recognition in 1991 to expansion in 2014. In: Biosphaerenreservat-Rhoen.de. Retrieved February 3, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Biosphere Reserves in Germany (PDF). (PDF) In: bfn.de. June 2017, accessed February 3, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  4. ↑ a b c Map and list of municipalities ( memento from October 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Rhön Biosphere Reserve
  5. ^ The three-country corner of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia | Rhön Biosphere Reserve. Retrieved March 17, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Rhön umbrella brand - Quality of the Biosphere Reserve | Rhön umbrella brand. Retrieved January 25, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Rhoenapfel.de. Retrieved January 25, 2018 .
  8. ↑ nature conservation project `Thuringian Rhönhutungen`. Retrieved January 25, 2018 .
  9. ↑ | Lead projects. Retrieved January 25, 2018 .
  10. ↑ International Dark-Sky Association | IDA | Light pollution. Retrieved January 25, 2018 (American English).
  11. ↑ https://www.sternenpark-rhoen.de/informationsportal-fr-kommunen/projekt-sternenpark-rhn/index.html
  12. ↑ Wild Germany - The Rhön. In: Fernsehserien.de. Retrieved February 27, 2018 .