FFH area Bentheimer Wald

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The FFH area Bentheimer Wald is an FFH area (No. 3608-302) with an area of ​​780  hectares in the county of Bentheim . Most of it is in the urban area of Bad Bentheim . Smaller parts are also in the communities of Isterberg and Schüttorf . The Bentheim Forest is 1,200 ha in size, only 780 ha belong to the FFH area. The Bad Bentheim spa gardens are like an island in the area. The Bentheim forest is cut up by the federal highway 403 . The FFH area partially extends to the outskirts of Bad Bentheim and Schüttorf.

Area description

In the FFH area Bentheimer Wald there are predominantly near-natural oak and hornbeam forests on damp soil sites. In places in the forest there are also transitions to beech-oak forest with holly . Occasionally there are small, near-natural streams in the area. There is partly alder-ash forest along the streams. There are old wood stocks in the brook valleys. A special feature are the older field maples that regularly stand along the streams .

There are several forest meadows in the forest area. In the FFH area Bentheimer Wald there are the FFH habitat types lean lowland hay meadows, alder-ash and softwood alluvial forests, chickweed-oak-hornbeam forests, hornbeam-beech forests and Atlantic acidic beech-oak forests with holly.

Hutewald

About 75 hectares in the central area of ​​the forest area is a former Hutewald with old wood. Some of the broad-crowned hornbeams and oaks in the Hutewald have bizarre growth forms and a high proportion of dead wood, which is why these stands are often perceived as primeval forest . The forest has been used as a Hudewald at least since the first written record in the 14th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, up to 3,500 pigs were brought in annually in the second week of October. The forest was also used for other pets. In 1885 there were 900 cows and 1200 sheep in the forest for eight months. There were also horses, goats and geese. The shepherds parted the hornbeams so that the cattle could eat the fresh leaves. Snowing means that the shepherds cut off the leafy branches. The trees became head trees like the pollard willows . The combination of forest pasture and the snowing of hornbeams on the same area is a cultural and historical specialty beyond the region. At the beginning of the 20th century, the cutting of hornbeams was discontinued. The use as forest pasture was also discontinued decades ago. Hornbeams are now parted in a pilot project by the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) with the owner, Prince of Bentheim, and the Nordhorn Zoo . In addition, Bentheim country sheep, Dutch country goats and Galloway cattle graze 26 hectares in the forest.

Special species in the Bentheim forest

The bat species Bechstein's bat and great mouse- eared bat occur in the forest area . Among the insect species, the extremely rare hermit can be found in the area.

78 species of lichen and 64 species of moss could be detected. A species-rich lichen flora with large populations of indicator species for historically old forests, i.e. forest locations with a long stand continuity, was created. The recovery of the lichen species Porina borreri , which is classified as extinct or lost in Germany, and the new record of the nationwide rare Agonimia allobata for Lower Saxony should be emphasized . Due to the large number of lichen species threatened with extinction in Germany and the only current evidence of Porina borreri in Germany , the Bentheim Forest is ascribed a very high level of importance for the protection of lichen species. The inventory of moss and lichen species corresponds to that of comparable Hudewald relics in the Lower Saxony lowlands.

literature

  • Uwe de Bruyn (2005): On the moss and lichen flora of the Bentheim forest . Osnabrücker Naturwissenschaftliche Mitteilungen, Volume 30/31, 2005, pp. 67–78.
  • R. Pott, J. Hüppe (1991): The Hudelandschaften Northwest Germany . Dep. Landesmuseum Naturkunde 53 (1/2): 1–313.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 3608-302 Bentheim Forest (FFH area). Published by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation . Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  2. ↑ Homepage Hudelandschaften in Emsland: The Bentheim Forest
  3. ↑ Uwe de Bruyn (2005): On the moss and lichen flora of the Bentheim forest . Osnabrücker Naturwissenschaftliche Mitteilungen, Volume 30/31, 2005, pp. 67–78.

Coordinates: 52 ° 19 ′ 18.8 ″  N , 7 ° 10 ′ 0.6 ″  E