Erlensee (Bad Salzungen)

Erlensee
	The salt marshes of Allendorf, about 1 km away is the reed-lined lake in front of the trees that mark the left bank of the Werra.
Geographical location	Immelborn , Wartburgkreis ( Thuringia )
Tributaries	Drainage ditch
Drain	Drainage ditch
Places on the shore	bad Salzungen
	Data
Coordinates	50 ° 48 '33.2 " N , 10 ° 16' 2.7" E Coordinates: 50 ° 48 '33.2 " N , 10 ° 16' 2.7" E
Altitude above sea level	238.9 m above sea level NN
surface	0.5 ha
Maximum depth	2 m
particularities	14 types of halophyte flora

The Erlensee is a natural, water-filled depression in Thuringia . It was formed centuries ago as a sinkhole . The peculiarity of the lake is the high salt content in the water, it counts next to the neighboring "salt pond" near Immelborn as a unique open inland salt point in the Wartburg district and has a halophyte flora adapted to these extreme conditions , so far 14 species have been identified.

location

The Erlensee lies on the boundary of Immelborn and Dorf Allendorf in the "Salzwiesen" corridor. The location is at 238.9 m above sea level. Above sea level, in the flood- prone Werraaue , about 1.4 km east of the town center of Bad Salzungen . A mining area with gravel dredging lakes around Immelborn and Barchfeld begins barely 500 m southeast .

geology

The area around the Erlensee is covered by Holocene glaciers. The Erlensee is considered a collapse lake and was created by leaching underground Zechstein salts close to the surface. The formation, which was probably many centuries ago, has been followed up to the present day by a gradual replenishment of alluvial debris during floods. Today's lake bed currently has an approximately 2 m thick layer of mud.

natural reserve

Nature reserve

The Erlensee was designated as an area natural monument as early as 1940 on the initiative of the nature and heritage protection associations of Thuringia. The open water area of the lake was about 64 × 26 m in 1990; it is also becoming smaller due to the expansion of the reed belt around the lake.

Around the Erlensee near Bad Salzungen is the most valuable, extensive, uncut meadow landscape in the southern Thuringian Werraaue, which is of national importance for species and biotope protection. As early as 1990 a nature reserve “Erlensee-Salzwiesen” and a landscape protection area “Werraaue” were temporarily secured.

The lake is protected as a natural monument “Erlensee-Salzwiesen” and is the subject of scientific research because of its abundance of salt plants and specialized insects, which is rare in the region. The annually occurring floods in the Werraaue result in a temporary exchange of water with the river water; the salinity in the brackish water then naturally increases again after the flooding has subsided.

Schwingbodenmoor

A Schwingboden bog is currently emerging around the lake, which is in the state of gradual silting up. It is therefore only possible to walk on the site on the paths that have been laid out.

Road construction project with hazard potential

In connection with the construction of the bypass road, at the same time the re-routing of the federal highway 62 , the road construction authority proposed a variant with a road embankment across the Werraaue, which could put extreme strain on the sensitive ecosystem in the Werraaue, as the water flow through the embankment would be impeded.

literature

Cornelia Schuster, Roland Bellstedt, Klaus Schmidt: Flora, fauna and development of the inland salt stations in the Wartburg district . In: Wartburgkreis, Lower Nature Conservation Authority (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in the Wartburgkreis . Issue 16. Bad Salzungen 2010, p. 96 .

Individual evidence

↑ Specially protected biotopes in the Wartburg district . In: Wartburgkreis, Lower Nature Conservation Authority (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in the Wartburgkreis . Issue 4. Bad Salzungen 1995, p. 42-44 .
↑ Thuringian Land Surveying Office TK25 - sheet 5127 Bad Salzungen , Erfurt 1997, ISBN 3-86140-063-4
↑ ^a ^b Geyer, Jahne, Storch: Geological sights of the Wartburg district and the independent city of Eisenach In: Naturschutz im Wartburgkreis , issue 8. Bad Salzungen 1999, p. 120f.
↑ ^a ^b Valuable salt marshes and breeding birds in danger. Werraaue near Bad Salzungen threatened by the re-routing of the B 62. NABU Thuringia, 2011, accessed on July 4, 2011 : “With preferred variant 1a, the Werra crossing cuts through the planned and already repeatedly secured nature reserve“ Erlensee-Salzwiesen ”. Impairments to NATURA 2000 areas cannot be ruled out. Almost continuous dams up to 10 m high are planned in the flood plain, and adjacent plateaus will be cut 15 m deep. Numerous legal norms of environmental and planning law are insufficiently taken into account. "
↑ The area natural monuments in the Wartburg district . In: Wartburgkreis, Lower Nature Conservation Authority (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in the Wartburgkreis . Issue 5. Bad Salzungen 1997.

[Naturschutz4-1] Specially protected biotopes in the Wartburg district . In: Wartburgkreis, Lower Nature Conservation Authority (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in the Wartburgkreis . Issue 4. Bad Salzungen 1995, p. 42-44 .

[TK25-Bl.5127-2] Thuringian Land Surveying Office TK25 - sheet 5127 Bad Salzungen , Erfurt 1997, ISBN 3-86140-063-4

[Geologie-3] Geyer, Jahne, Storch: Geological sights of the Wartburg district and the independent city of Eisenach In: Naturschutz im Wartburgkreis , issue 8. Bad Salzungen 1999, p. 120f.

[NABU-4] Valuable salt marshes and breeding birds in danger. Werraaue near Bad Salzungen threatened by the re-routing of the B 62. NABU Thuringia, 2011, accessed on July 4, 2011 : “With preferred variant 1a, the Werra crossing cuts through the planned and already repeatedly secured nature reserve“ Erlensee-Salzwiesen ”. Impairments to NATURA 2000 areas cannot be ruled out. Almost continuous dams up to 10 m high are planned in the flood plain, and adjacent plateaus will be cut 15 m deep. Numerous legal norms of environmental and planning law are insufficiently taken into account. "

[Naturschutz-5] The area natural monuments in the Wartburg district . In: Wartburgkreis, Lower Nature Conservation Authority (Hrsg.): Nature conservation in the Wartburgkreis . Issue 5. Bad Salzungen 1997.