Spreewald Biosphere Reserve

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Location of the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve

The 475 square kilometers Spreewald Biosphere Reserve , located about 100 kilometers south of Berlin , under the auspices of UNESCO , aims to create a landscape that is unique in Central Europe with its 1575 kilometer network of natural and artificial watercourses of the Spree , the typical wet meadows , small fields and near-natural lowland forests to preserve. It was designated on October 1, 1990 as part of the GDR's national park program.

Biosphere Reserve guidelines

Logo of the biosphere reserve
Location of the biosphere reserve

Biosphere reserves are model areas of sustainable use and development in which a balance is to be achieved between the preservation of biological diversity and the demands of people on economic development and participation in prosperity in practice. They are therefore more than just protected areas. The prerequisite for success is the bringing together of all interest groups in a partnership approach and an expanded understanding of the relationships between man and nature. The Seville Strategy , the basic document of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Program (MaB) adopted in 1995 , serves as a guideline for all biosphere reserves.

From this, the following guidelines were developed for the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve:

  1. Protection of the unique lowland landscape with its finely structured running water systems, species-rich wet meadows and lowland forests.
  2. Maintenance, use, design and regulation of lowland areas with a near-natural water regime, high groundwater levels and periodic overflows in certain sub-areas as habitats for the animals and plants typical of the Spreewald. In these measures, the interests of the local population in zones II - IV must be adequately taken into account.
  3. Preservation, promotion and stabilization of traditional forms of management such as Horstäcker , [Streuwiese] n and the resulting small-scale usage mosaic .
  4. Protection, care and promotion of endangered and endangered species in their habitats through appropriate measures (land use and tourism management).
  5. The regeneration of degraded ecological melioration sflächen and rivers to a wide area networked ecologically stable habitats. An ecologically efficient and sustainable land use model is to be aimed for through site-appropriate land use (possibly changing the type of use), the creation of a biotope network system and the protection of the soil from degradation . Natural watercourses, wetland biotopes and low-lying forests are part of a landscape that is restored in this way and should be promoted within the framework of contractual nature conservation.
  6. The promotion of sustainable land use models in the biosphere reserve is intended to tie in with the creative tradition of farmers and foresters, hunters and fishermen in this cultural landscape. This is intended to give sustainable land uses a livelihood and to develop exemplary solutions for the region.
  7. Tourism in the Spreewald has a tradition that goes back over 100 years. It mainly takes place on the waterways and can be easily steered using the boat trips . Supplemented by nature observation and information about the natural balance and land management, it is an instrument for environmental education.
  8. All forms of tourist use should be environmentally and socially compatible. Avoiding polluting traffic and promoting environmentally friendly means of transport is an important principle.
  9. The settlement structure typical of the area, the integration of the villages into the landscape and the traditional construction of the scattered settlement farms and villages on the rivers characterize this landscape. The maintenance, preservation and development of these elements are an important requirement of this cultural landscape.
  10. Existing impairments to buildings in the villages and in the open landscape are to be alleviated and compensated for through integration and redesign. New projects should be based on the principles of avoidance.

Emergence

Spreewald Biosphere Reserve

When the temperatures rose again around 10,000 years ago after the Ice Age , an inland delta formed in today's Spreewald due to the slight gradient . Since the land was often flooded, the fallen leaves of the trees rot under the exclusion of air and formed the peatland soils typical of the Spreewald .

The root system of the trees slowed the eroding force of the water to such an extent that the main watercourses were forced into firmer beds. There was clearing only in the Younger Bronze Age from approx. 1,400 BC. A longer period of drought with greater drying out of the soil allowed for more extensive farming for several centuries.

Shortly before the turn of the century, the population inexplicably declined again. The cleared areas were forested again. Only the German colonization from the 11th century onwards brought more intensive land use and extensive deforestation. In the 12./13. In the 19th century there were the first mills, which held back the water through their dams and thus allowed parts of the area to continue to swamp. It was only settled on the edge of the Spreewald, as there were higher locations there, further away from the groundwater.

In the 18th century, internal colonization resulted in the towns of Burg-Kauper and Burg-Kolonie (now part of Burg (Spreewald) ). The people drained the land with many canals in order to use the land for agriculture. From 1933 to 1938, arable land was reclaimed by piling up the southern and northern fringes of the Oberspreewald. Also in the time of the GDR the Spreewald was changed to improve the agricultural usability through amelioration . At the present time trying buffer strips project to stabilize the water balance.

Protection zones

The entire area of ​​the biosphere reserve is designated as a landscape protection area, in which 23 nature reserves (NSG) and 7 core zones are embedded.

Core zone, protection zone I
The core zone protects the parts of the Spreewald in which largely untouched nature can be found. It takes up 2 percent of the Spreewald - primarily near-natural forest stands. Here the ecosystems are left to their natural dynamism. The nature reserves designated as total reserves may only be entered for research purposes.
Care zone, protection zone II
The maintenance zone covers 18 percent of the area's characteristic ecosystems of the Spreewald natural area. They are secured as nature reserves for the special protection of animals and plants. In nature conservation areas, the focus is on biotope and species protection. The nature reserve ordinance regulates usage restrictions through the protection purpose, requirements and prohibitions.

Targeted maintenance and development measures are intended to preserve the diversity typical of the landscape and promote traditional use, as well as shielding the core zones from harmful influences.

Development zone, protection zone III
The development zone takes up the largest part of the biosphere reserve with over 80 percent. It contains landscape areas in which a sustainable economy has preserved the landscape that has grown over centuries, which is now to be protected by promoting traditional uses (protection zone III, zone of the harmonious cultural landscape). In the Spreewald, the entire development zone has been declared a landscape protection area. The main goals of landscape protection areas (LSG) are to preserve the appearance of the landscape and to maintain or restore the efficiency of the natural balance. LSG are primarily used for recreation. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting are possible within the scope of the Protection Ordinance without significant restrictions.
Regeneration zone, protection zone IV
Parts of the development zone are damaged by improper, monostructured management. In the Biosphere Reserve Ordinance, it was identified as an additional subdivision of the zoning of the MaB program as a regeneration zone, in which the efficiency of the natural balance and the typical habitat diversity of the cultural landscape of the Spreewald must first be restored (protection zone IV, regeneration zone).

facts and figures

Board of Trustees for Large
Protected Areas in Brandenburg Founded in 1995, chairman Rainer Schloddarick, managing director of the Oberland / Calau water and soil association

Preamble
The boards of trustees support the large protected areas in their role as initiators for sustainable, nature-friendly regional development. They act in an advisory capacity and act as an intermediary between the tasks of the large-scale conservation area administrations, the municipalities and other regional authorities and associations. The boards of trustees have a right of initiative and the right to submit their own opinions. You have no authority to issue instructions to the administrations of the large protected areas.

The biosphere reserve

Founding: October 1, 1990
Biosphere Reserve: Recognized by UNESCO on April 11, 1991
Size: 474.85 km² of it
  • Forest: 130.20 km² (27.4%)
  • Arable land: 115.57 km² (24.3%)
  • Grassland: 177.40 km² (37.5%)
  • Water: 13.86 km² (2.9%)
  • Other: 37.82 km² (7.9%)
Nature reserves: Zone 1 and 2: 102.88 km² (21.7%)
Landscape protection areas: Zone 3 and 4: 372.05 km² (78.3%)
Cities and communes: 37 villages, 2 cities ( Lübben ; Lübbenau )
Population: 50,000 inhabitants, population density 105 Ew. / km²
Administration: 11 employees and 7 nature guards
Head of the Biosphere Reserve Administration: Eugene Nowak

biodiversity

Ornithological nature trail between Lübben and Schlepzig
Species identification in summer 1990

Around 18,000 plant and animal species are distributed in the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve, but only a fraction of them have been recorded. During the mapping work of the last few years u. a. 900 plant species, including 150 Red List species:

830 butterfly species
113 mussels and snails
18 amphibians and reptiles
48 dragonflies
36 fish
45 mammals
138 breeding birds

These include many well-known and protected species such as sea eagles and ospreys , black and white storks , kingfisher , hoopoe , crane , otter and beaver .

Agriculture

Over half of the area of ​​the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve is used for agriculture - to this day, agricultural use is of paramount importance for the Spreewald landscape. In order to preserve and develop the typical Spreewald landscape with its small-scale usage mosaics, on the one hand, possibilities must be found to maintain traditional usage types. At the same time, new, nature-friendly methods of use must be developed. With the conversion to extensive and transparent agriculture, the region's agricultural economy has faced these special conditions in this sensitive region in recent years. Organic farming plays a decisive role here - around 70% of the usable agricultural area is cultivated according to the guidelines of organic farming - this corresponds to around 20,000 hectares. This is also conveyed to the consumer via the regional umbrella brand Spreewald. Healthy food from the region - with the significant contribution of the biosphere reserve administration, this has become the program of the region and has a positive effect in the first value chains. The Spreewald pickled cucumber , but also Spreewald meat and sausage specialties are well-known examples here.

forestry

With a forest area of ​​over 12,000 hectares, forestry represents an important land use in the biosphere reserve. The state forest of around 6,000 hectares is managed by the state forest administration in coordination with the goals of the biosphere reserve. The other half of the forest area is private forest, here natural forest management is sought through advice and support programs.

It must be taken into account that the lowland forests are the most natural areas in the biosphere reserve and deserve special protection. Near-natural deciduous forests dominate here with a high proportion of old and dead wood and a high structural diversity created by tree fungi , insects, birds and mammals. Quite a number of endangered animal species - from the shy black stork about beavers and otters to Europe protected hermit have their habitat. The humid low-lying forests are also of particular importance for the water balance - here the river can still overflow its banks. The remaining floodplains are particularly valuable ecologically. The forest is also of great value for tourism and recreation. The high alder forests in the Oberspreewald and the mixed deciduous forests in the Unterspreewald are natural attractions that cannot be seen anywhere else.

The focus of forest development is set according to the protection zones. In protection zone I, the natural development of the forests is secured and scientifically observed without human intervention. In the low-lying forests of protection zone II, the focus is on the diversity of biotopes and species. Due to nature conservation- appropriate forms of use such as single-trunk to small-scale wood harvest, soil-conserving wood harvesting and predominantly natural forest regeneration , varied and tree species-rich swamp or floodplain forests are preserved or redeveloped here according to the soil and water conditions . As a result, the dominant alders in the future forest generation will be supplemented by ash , elm and common oak . In the edge areas of the lowlands, in the protection zones III and IV, pine forests have so far determined the forest appearance. In the future, a greater variety of tree species and stability should be achieved here through forest conversion .

tourism

Boat trips are the tourist attraction in the Spreewald. Hundreds of thousands of guests poke their way through the flow labyrinth in the traditional boat every year and experience pure nature. This also applies to paddle, bike and hiking tours. There are also many observation towers from which you can observe rare animals.

Museums in the biosphere reserve

Environmental education

  • Visitor Centers of the Biosphere Reserve:
    House for people and nature in Lübbenau
    On the move under water In the old mill Schlepzig
    Experience nature with all your senses at the Schlossberghof Burg
    Medicinal and spice plant garden and nature experience clock

The core of environmental education is aimed at understanding the relationships in nature, the environment and society, in particular the complex relationships between the various factors of sustainable development.

  • Research boat Nautilust
  • Environmental Education with New Media Adventure GPS
  • Teacher training
  • The Nature Watch offers a range of guided tours and excursions
  • For small and large students there is a varied program based on the curriculum for the individual grade levels.

There is also the Spreewald rallye especially for secondary school students I and II . The offer based on the framework curricula of the state of Brandenburg enables an intensive encounter with the biosphere reserve, in which the imparted school knowledge, especially in the natural science subjects as well as in art, mathematics, geography and politics is applied, deepened and through practical, active learning and experience is expanded. An extensive pool of independent, also original tasks enables the compilation of individual programs for the individual group.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves. on: unesco.de
  2. ↑ Spreewald riparian strip project. on: grps.info
  3. ↑ nautilust.net

Web links

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

Coordinates: 51 ° 51 '35.4 "  N , 14 ° 3' 31.9"  E