Meadow irrigation
The Water-meadow and management of Wässerwiesen is a special form of management of grasslands in agriculture with the aim of fertilizer and better water supply of the meadows. Grassland areas that were artificially irrigated by damming streams were also referred to as raft meadows .
Water meadows
The so-called water meadows are an element of historical cultural landscapes in Central Europe that probably originated in the Middle Ages. For this purpose, whole systems of ditches and small ponds were created to collect the water from the houses, streets and stables and to direct it to the meadows to increase yield. In the 19th century the method of irrigation of meadows experienced a great boom. A Prussian water law of February 28, 1843, for example, made it easier to create flood meadows, which could then be created without a permit if neighboring properties were not flooded. Various techniques were used to develop the meadows, depending on the water supply and the relief. So z. B. Overflow, natural hillside construction, bed slope construction or back construction , in which the meadow surfaces are completely redesigned. The irrigation of the meadows had a significant effect on the vegetation of the meadow areas and ditches: today, former water meadows often have a high structural diversity and are - depending on the state of preservation - to be classified as cultural monuments . In addition to the positive aspects, the cultural-technical expansion of the meadows - locally differently pronounced - also brought a number of disadvantages:
| Positive effects | Negative effects |
|---|---|
| Example of effective use of resources | Water consumption |
| Water retention effects | Barriers in the water (diversion structures) |
| Groundwater recharge | Water development u. straightening |
| Pronounced micro-relief | Targeted drainage of surface waters |
| high variety of locations | Meadow intensification (species decline) |
| small-scale vegetation pattern | Relief remodeling u. Soil disturbance |
Troll writes about the development of meadow irrigation and its historical causes:
"The artificial meadow irrigation [...] has developed from z. Sometimes very old beginnings developed particularly strongly in the 18th century in the course of rational agriculture , agricultural intensification in the wake of population growth and the increased demand for agricultural products. They are tied to the respective overall structure of agriculture, on the one hand through livestock farming , for which they can provide increased fodder, and on the other hand through the use of fertilizer , because one can ensure cattle forage by irrigating the meadows without adding the fertilizer that is also required for the field crops claim. "
Irrigation forms
Wild sprinkling
The wild sprinkling is the simplest form of meadow irrigation, in which the water is directed through feeders to the ridges of the terrain and from the feeders the drainage channels below and following the terrain lines are fed. The water required to cross flows through obstacles in a wide path over the surface to the drainage ditches in the basins. This form of sprinkling can be used on terrain slopes of at least 2%.
Artificial hillside construction
If the terrain is too steep, the missing terrain can be created artificially. If the gradient is not too small, the method of artificial slope construction can be used, in which the hanging boards are arranged one above the other in a sawtooth shape. The inlet and outlet are more or less perpendicular to the slope lines, the drainage channels are horizontal.
Back (bed) construction
When building backs (beds), the slope is created by creating artificially created ridges. A back consists of two panels. On the ridge of the back lies the trickle channel, which is fed from the feeder or, as in the case of the stepped back construction, which is used for larger areas, from additional distribution ditches with which the trickle water is fed. Drainage channels in the back troughs divert the water. In contrast to the artificial slope construction, the irrigation and drainage channels as well as the ridges are in the direction of the natural slope.
Meadow irrigation on the Soeste near Cloppenburg
historical development
Until about 1927, the farmers of the lean Sandeschen from Krapendorf , Schmertheim , Ambühren and Stalförden , i.e. the farmers to the left and right of the Soeste near Cloppenburg , whose fields did not produce a large yield in the Soestetal despite the best care, used the increasingly developing meadow irrigation systems.
There is an overview of the history of meadow irrigation on the Soeste from Cloppenburg to Stedingsmühlen. The fertilization of the field by pest cut was canceled due to the division of brands and their legal basis in 1806. So the view was directed towards the water and the meadow with the aim of increasing the livestock and the productivity of the fields by increasing the amount of feed.
- "People remembered the saying that the meadow is the mother of the field".
As early as 1820, the Oldenburg Agricultural Cooperative had issued premiums for “improving meadows and increasing grass growth by means of overwatering”. In 1844 the Agricultural Society moved a Lüneburg Rieselmeister to Cloppenburg to investigate the possibilities of irrigation systems. After 1850, the landowner Bothe auf Stedingsmühlen had several meadows in the Soeste river valley, which had been converted into irrigation meadows, irrigated from the upper water of his dam. In 1874, the meadow master builder Naber recorded the Soestelauf below Cloppenburg and examined whether the slope was to be regarded as sufficient for the installation of an irrigation system.
| system | surface |
|---|---|
| Artificial meadows in bed construction | 31.3 ha |
| Artificial meadows in hillside construction | 6.6 ha |
| Wild sprinkling | 16.0 ha |
| Unprocessed meadows | 14.2 ha |
| All in all | 68.1 ha |
In 1875, Naber presented his draft, which provided for the construction of three dams between the old Jewish cemetery in Cloppenburg and Stalförden. The first traffic jam should be created at the old Jewish cemetery in the Fillerei. The second traffic jam should be below the route from Schmertheim to Ambühren and the third near Börne. A total of 77.4432 ha were included for the melioration cooperative, of which 54.6895 ha were to be irrigated. In 1884, Wiesenbauer Winken from Schmertheim revised the entire system.
The river areas with higher banks had to be dosed at a lower level, 1/2 to 2 in height. The artificial embankments between the Ambührener Baggersee and Ambühren, at Börne and Stedingsmühlen were created in this context. Almost all areas between Cloppenburg and Stedingsmühlen were irrigated. The water was diverted from the locks and fed into the meadows via canals.
Field names and Rieselwiesen
For example, field names that belong to the Rieselwiesen area include: Aberriek, Thunwiese, Diek, Mölenbrink, Telgenkamp, Achterm Graskamp, Grote Wisk, Bruch, Berg, Grünshoh, Neue and Alte Zusatz, Lattenbrok, Bögewisk and Timphok on the right side of the valley and Rolfswiese, on Krapendorfer Moor, Schmaleriek, Anschluss, Moorzuschlag, Moorwisk, Sandwiese, Hinterm Busch, Auf'm Windbusch, Buckwiese, Mausewiese, Ammerbrok, Lutke Wiese, Helle and Bergfeld on the left bank of the Soeste.
Final phase of the meadow irrigation in the Soestetal
The advent of artificial fertilizers and the labor-intensive maintenance of the irrigation meadows , which did not allow the use of heavy technical equipment, led to the decline of the Rieselwiesenwirtschaft after the First World War . On October 2, 1927, the irrigation cooperative applied for the sprinkling "to be suspended for a few years".
Current ecological importance of the Rieselwiesen
The influence of the grassland management on the site consists on the one hand in a morphological redesign of the soil surface through feeders, groups, ridges and the leveling of bank areas and on the other hand in a material change of the soil through substrate and fertilizer input and increased nitrification due to better aeration during drainage. The irrigation and drainage system formed the basis for today's drainage system of the low moor area of the Soeste between Cloppenburg and Stedingsmühlen. The back and group system is still reflected today in a more or less clear small-area change in the plant cover.
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parallel black lines in the direction of the slope towards the Soeste represent irrigation and drainage ditches. They are about 10 meters apart. Narrow black lines, perpendicular to the slope and parallel to the Soeste, primarily indicate distribution trenches that feed the water to the distribution trenches, or containment trenches with the purpose of draining into the Soeste or for reuse of the water in a subsequent rear tier. Outside run the feed pipes marked with a bold black line, from which the water is either directed directly to the ridge or first into the distribution trenches.
Meadow irrigation in Franconia (Bavaria)
In Franconia , water meadows located in the flat valleys of the Regnitz , Rednitz and Pegnitz rivers were irrigated by water pumping wheels. In 1805 around 190 such waterwheels were still in operation on the Regnitz between Fürth and Forchheim over a length of approx. 25 kilometers, more than any other river in Central Europe.
A simple water wheel draws around 1,400 cubic meters of water or 1,400,000 liters per day. One wheel supplied up to 8 hectares of meadows. Thanks to this irrigation of the meadows, three mowings (harvests) of hay and grummet could be brought in a year instead of the usual one . Since the irrigation network usually irrigated meadows from different owners, the irrigation times of the individual properties were meticulously determined.
Ten historic water paddle wheels are still in operation in Möhrendorf , upstream from the Kleinseebacher Mühle .
Fléizen - meadow irrigation in Luxembourg
Under Fléizen means the Water-meadow in Ösling , so the Luxembourg part of the Ardennes . Until the post-war period, meadows throughout the Ösling were (probably) irrigated in a manner similar to that in many parts of Central Europe. There were water meadows z. B. in Siegerland , in the Palatinate , on the Upper Rhine and in the Black Forest . The most famous and impressive examples of Central Europe are certainly the irrigation systems in the inner-alpine arid regions, e.g. B. the Waale in Vinschgau / South Tyrol or the Suonen in Valais / Switzerland.
Start of meadow irrigation in the Ösling
In Ösling, as in many of these areas, the relevant techniques must have been known for a long time. Meadow irrigation on a large scale does not begin (as in Saarland or Siegerland) until the middle of the 19th century. The trigger is likely to have been industrialization . With the increasing population in the industrial areas, the demand for meat, milk and dairy products increased. With the advent of the railroad, the means of transporting agricultural products improved. This increased the number of cattle, especially cattle. At the same time, the forest, in the Ösling probably due to the creation of tunnels , could no longer be used to the same extent for fodder and litter production.
More hay had to be harvested to feed the additional cattle. There was nothing left but to cultivate the meadows more intensively than before. Since the manure was insufficient for this and artificial manure was not yet available, the only option was to maintain the meadows more intensively and to supply them with water (if possible with nutrient-rich water).
When exactly the meadow irrigation in the Ösling came about cannot be clarified at the moment. At the clergy z. B. Passages for irrigation ditches in the railway embankments indicate that these ditches were already in place before the railway was built (here before 1866). On the other hand, the trenches and the associated weirs are not shown in the original cadastre from 1824.
Forms of meadow irrigation in the Ösling
On the rivers and larger streams
Here one worked with specially built weirs, the so-called "Schleisen". From there trenches led almost horizontally into the meadows. Cooperatives (Syndicate), in which the neighboring farmers were involved, were responsible for the systems. The Syndicate or its president arranged the necessary work, the closure of the weir and the distribution of the water. The cleaning of the weirs after the flood was particularly dangerous. Many of these weirs are constructed very similarly. This suggests that they were built according to a uniform plan and around the same time. The location of the weirs is also interesting. You are always at the beginning of a loop of the river, for example where the river separates from the bank . From there you can easily reach a large part of the meadows on the flat inside of the river loop, the so-called sliding slope , with a horizontal channel. This principle was probably adopted from the water mills. There you reached the maximum height of fall.
The meadows on the Klerf were usually watered only once a year, after the hay harvest in July, the “Heemoont” ( hay month). The individual syndicates usually agreed with each other. Because of the fishing and the other users (e.g. the mills), a certain water flow always had to be maintained. Each weir was closed for about eight days. Since the trenches were laid out almost horizontally, the water level could be regulated with the gate valves in the weir so that the trenches overflowed. The water ran into the meadows along its entire length. It stood about two inches above the sward. The flooded meadows were a popular playground for the children. This irrigation of the meadows meant that the yield of the second cut, the “groum” ( grummet ), was significantly better.
On the small side streams
Even in the smaller, narrower side valleys there used to be meadows almost everywhere. A simpler irrigation system was used there. The small streams were literally channeled along the contour line. From there, small, horizontal trenches were branched off on both sides. The stream was then dammed by turf so that the water was distributed into the side ditches. These side trenches then ran over the entire length - just like the larger trenches on the Klerf . In this way, a strip of meadow was evenly watered below the trench. The next side ditch was then dug beneath this irrigated strip. In this way you worked your way slowly from top to bottom through the valley. The creek in the middle and the side ditches formed a kind of herringbone pattern at the end.
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The most important tool was the meadow ax . If you wanted to dig a new trench, the ax side was used to cut through the sward on both sides. Then it was cut across every 30 to 40 centimeters. The rectangular sods were dug with the heel side and placed on the lower, lower side of the trench. In the same way you knocked out the sods with which you then blocked the stream. It was also used to maintain the existing trenches. If the brook carried enough water, the meadows in the small valleys began to water as early as autumn and continued, interrupted only by frost, into spring. Only before the hay month was the stream completely opened so that the meadows were dry for haymaking and the hay could be dried on the spot. These meadows were also fertilized with ashes. In this way, for example, the white clover , a popular fodder plant, was promoted.
Fléiz pond
If the amount of water fluctuated strongly or was insufficient for a long-term meadow irrigation, so-called Fléiz ponds were created. This affected many of the small streams and the shallow hollows on the Ösling plateau. On the one hand you had a certain water reserve in dry periods, on the other hand you could at least temporarily irrigate the meadows with the help of the dammed water from the ponds, for example after the hay harvest.
The end of fleece
All the water meadows were mowed by hand, the hay was collected and loaded by hand. The irrigation channels did not particularly bother us. That changed especially after the Second World War with the increased modernization of agriculture. By using artificial fertilizers on meadows, the grass yield could be increased enormously without irrigation. The trenches interfered with cultivation and haymaking with machines. They were therefore gradually filled in or leveled. They were only preserved at the property boundaries and can still be recognized there today by the swamp vegetation. In the narrow side valleys, the meadows were often too narrow or too steep to be cultivated with machines. They were therefore often converted into pastures or afforested, mostly with spruce trees, which actually do not fit into these damp locations.
With the canals, the weirs lost their function. They were no longer entertained. The wooden structures were torn away or torn off by the flood at some point in order not to hinder the flow of water during floods.
Today only the remains of the weirs and the main irrigation ditches remind of the Fléizen. Within a generation, the knowledge and technology have almost completely disappeared from memory.
(Meadow) irrigation in Europe
- Salisbury Plain in southern England
- Rieselwiesen Wiedenhof of the open-air museum at Kiekeberg in Lower Saxony
- Örtze in Lower Saxony
- Blew in Saarland
- Meadow irrigation on the Soeste near Cloppenburg
- Rieselwiesen in Siegerland, z. B. in Wilnsdorf
- Water meadows in the (northern) Saarland Blies
- Jossa in the Spessart
- Water meadows on the Queich / Pfalz with the Pfalzstorch campaign
- Water meadows in Franconia , see Möhrendorfer water scoop wheels
- Water meadows on the Schutter / Black Forest
- Wuhre in the southern Black Forest
- Waale in Upper Swabia and in Vinschgau / South Tyrol
- Water mats on the Langete / Switzerland
- Suone in Valais / Switzerland
- Levadas in Madeira
- Emmerzhausen Rhineland-Palatinate
See also
literature
- H. Böhm: Meadow irrigation in Central Europe 1937. Notes on a map by C. Troll . In: Geography. Vol. 44, Issue 1, pp. 1-10, 1990.
- O. and J. Eggelsmann: unpublished. Manuscript on Rieselwiesenwirtschaft. Zweckverband Thülsfelder Talsperre , Cloppenburg.
- K.-H. Glaser, D. Hassler and M. Hassler: Wässerwiesen, history, technology and ecology of irrigated meadows, streams and ditches in Kraichgau, Hardt and Bruhrain . Regional culture publishing house, Ubstadt-Weiher 2001.
- A. Hoppe: Distribution and vegetation of the irrigation meadows of northwest Germany. (= Treatises from the Westphalian Museum of Natural History. 64th year, 2002, issue 1).
- Heinz-Josef Lücking: Ecological evaluation of the Soestetal between Cloppenburg and Stedingsmühlen (LK Cloppenburg, Northwest Germany) from the point of view of nature conservation with special consideration of vegetation, water quality and the ecomorphological water status. In: BSH / NVN naturspecialREPORT. Issue 21, ISBN 3-923788-29-0 . Diploma thesis in geography at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen 1992.
- Alwin Geimer: Fléizen . In: De Cliärrwer Kanton , Édition spéciale 2006, pp. 51–57.
- H. Rehme: The Soestetal from Cloppenburg to Stedingsmühlen - expansion and decay of a meadow irrigation system on the Soeste . In: Volkstum und Landschaft (= Heimatblätter of the Münsterländische Tageszeitung , Cloppenburg), 15th year, 1955, issue 33, pp. 5–8.
- Sabine Schellberg: Parapotamic utilization systems - meadow irrigation at the foot of the Kaiserstuhl . Dissertation, University of Freiburg 2011 ( http://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/8607/pdf/Parapotamische_Nutzungssysteme.pdf digitalisat).
- G. Schroeder: Agricultural hydraulic engineering. 4th edition. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 1968.
- GC Patzig: Improvement of meadows through irrigation . Leipzig 1858.
- Ferdinand Stamm: The art of agriculture in all parts of agriculture and livestock . Prague 1853.
- Johann Gottfried Schaumburg: Introduction to Saxon law . Leipzig 1728.
Web links
- Meadow irrigation in Freiburg / Breisgau. Himmelsbach-Reinigung.de
- Meadow irrigation on the Perlenbach / North Eifel. NRW Foundation
- The Siegerland meadow construction. Ahlering.de
- Water meadows, water mats. Geomatics Switzerland (PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Meadow irrigation at the Alme (PDF; 993 kB)
- ↑ Troll, 1943/46, cit. in Böhm, 1990, p. 7
- ↑ a b c d e H. Rehme: The Soestetal from Cloppenburg to Stedingsmühlen - expansion and decay of a meadow irrigation system on the Soeste . In: Volkstum und Landschaft (= Heimatblätter of the Münsterländische Tageszeitung , Cloppenburg), 15 Jg., 1955, H. 33, S. 5–8.
- ↑ Eggelsmann, oOuJ
-
↑ Map basis: German basic map (aerial photo
plan ) sheet 3113-15 (Stalförden) - ↑ Bucket wheels and meadows, in: Stadt-Land-Fluss, Erlangen and the Regnitz