Frankenloch near Heldra

Frankenloch near Heldra IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
The wooden footbridge over the flood basin of the revitalized oxbow lake.
location	Heldra in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse .
surface	8.9 hectares
Identifier	1636029
WDPA ID	163136
Natura 2000 ID	4827-302
Geographical location	51 ° 8 '  N , 10 ° 12'  E Coordinates: 51 ° 7 '33 "  N , 10 ° 12' 23"  E
Sea level	from 160  m to 180  m
Setup date	December 1995
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve , Natura 2000 area, so part of the protected landscape area "Auenverbund Werra".

The Frankenloch near Heldra is a naturally formed oxbow arm of the Werra in the district of Heldra in the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse . Because of the rare animal and plant species occurring here, which have found a retreat in the otherwise intensely used Werraaue in the Frankenloch, the area was designated as a nature reserve in 1995 . Since 2008, the Frankenloch has also been part of the Natura 2000 protected area system as a flora-fauna-habitat area .

Geographical location

The Frankenloch lies east of the Wanfrieder district of Heldra. As a narrow strip with a width of around 10 m to 160 m, it extends along the state border with Thuringia . In the southeast it is bounded by the Werra over a length of around 270 m. In terms of natural space , it is assigned to the Treffurt-Wanfrieder Werratal in the lower Werraland , which belongs to the main unit group of the East Hessian Uplands .

Protected position

With the designation as a nature reserve in December 1995, the area of ​​the old arm of the Werra with its adjacent grassland areas was to be protected in order to secure the habitat of the special flora and fauna and to develop it further through extensive cultivation. The protected area with the national identification number 1636029 and the WDPA code 163136 has a size of 8.9 hectares. With the same area boundaries and conservation goals, the Frankenloch became part of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas as a fauna-flora-habitat area in 2008 . It is also part of the "Auenverbund Werra" landscape protection area, which was designated in 1992 and which, with several sub-areas and a total area of ​​around 4,000 hectares, lies along the Werra in the districts of Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Werra-Meißner. Near-natural water sections of the Werra, as a river landscape typical for Hessen, are to be preserved and restored in the landscape protection area.

On the Thuringian side, two protected areas border directly on the Frankenloch: the 68.5 hectare nature reserve “Werra-Aue bei Treffurt” and the flora-fauna-habitat area 5328-305 “Werra to Treffurt with tributaries”. The FFH area is 2,260 hectares in size and stretches with many sub-areas in the Werra valley from the source area to the border at Treffurt . Both areas also serve to protect water and floodplains and, together with the Frankenloch, form a spatial and functional unit. The immediate vicinity of the two protected areas in Thuringia makes the variety of the Frankenloch possible, as its large areas ensure that the species living in the river plains have a sufficiently large area available.

nature

The oxbow arm of the Werra.

The Frankenloch is an older, near-natural oxbow lake in an advanced stage of siltation and the Werra only flows through it when there is an exceptional flood . For decades, the area lay directly on the GDR border and was therefore largely protected. This also applies to the areas bordering on the Thuringian side, which developed into a largely undisturbed part of the landscape, as the former border strip only ran some distance away. Without the location on the edge of the extensive floodplain protection area, with its bodies of water and reed beds, the significance of the Frankenloch as a protected area would be much less.

Scientists examined the protected area in the 2000s on behalf of the Upper Nature Conservation Authority of the Kassel Regional Council. As part of the reporting obligation to the EU Commission, action plans had to be drawn up for the areas reported as flora-fauna-habitat protection areas. According to the expert opinion, the Frankenloch represents, even if only with remains, a natural river meadow landscape . The nutrient-rich still water of the oxbow lake belongs to the habitat type 3150 "eutrophic lakes" . The occurrence of the crucian carp is considered remarkable . The fish species from the carp family, threatened with extinction in Hessen, is a characteristic species of the oxbow lakes in floodplains. They are tied to advanced silting stages and are valuable for the habitat type.

In the reed beds , sedge vineyards , moist wastelands and Hochstaudenfluren many species of birds find suitable habitat and reproduction conditions, migrating birds use it as a resting biotope. Particularly rare migrants are the great reed warbler , black tern , common snipe , whinchat , lapwing and hen harrier . Sometimes these bird species also stay longer in the floodplain as food guests.

The grassland areas in the open landscape belonging to the protected area are extensively managed as hay meadows or horse pastures. The soils consist of one to two meters thick floodplains over river gravel.

Aquatic ecology, nature conservation and agriculture

Information board in the nature reserve.

Information board in the nature reserve.

The Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation (HGON) is trying to improve the river and its floodplain under the term “Gewässerdynamik Werra”, which it coined . By upgrading the structure of protected areas, as many of the endangered plants and animal species as possible should be given a habitat that offers sufficient food, cover and protection. With the help of the Frankfurt Zoological Society , which, in addition to its non-European projects, also looks after nature in Germany, areas of the Frankenloch could be bought. With a land consolidation procedure , almost all areas of the nature reserve came into the ownership of the Zoological Society. Some remaining areas are still owned by Hessen-Forst and the Federal Waterway Administration .

The land reorganization initiated in March 2003 had the goal of unbundling the conflict of interests between agriculture and nature conservation. With the concept of a near-natural, partly extensively used river meadow landscape, the intensively used agricultural areas could be removed from the nature reserve through purchase and exchange.

In order to allow the river dynamics again, a silted up flood basin was opened again by dredging. In the event of flooding, the water of the Werra can flow in and flood the areas of the channel. Species specially adapted to such conditions should find suitable living conditions and retreats in this flood basin.

Next to the flood basin, two information boards were set up to gain acceptance for the changes in the protected area. They provide information about the ecological significance of the Frankenloch and are intended to enable visitors to understand the purpose of the measures.

Tourist development

The "Blue Bridge" over the Werra: The former river barrier of the GDR border system has become a bridge for cyclists and hikers.

A dirt road leads from Heldra through the Frankenloch to the Werra. The flood basin of the revitalized old arm is crossed with a wooden walkway. After the border was opened, the barriers and grates were removed from a former river barrier of the GDR border installations , which was supposed to prevent people from fleeing across the Werra . The active members of the Heldrastein interest group succeeded in getting the dismantled rusting back and relocating them. This created a second hiking route to the Heldrastein and the Thuringian nature reserve "Werra-Aue bei Treffurt" can now be reached via circular hiking trails from the Hessian side.

literature

• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, ISBN 3-932583-13-2 .
• Hjalmar Thiel: Basic data acquisition for the monitoring and management of the FFH area no. 4827-302 "Frankenloch bei Heldra" . Prepared on behalf of the Kassel Regional Council. Rosdorf, November 2004, amended March 2005.

Web links

Commons : Frankenloch bei Heldra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Guideline on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on November 4, 2018.
2. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on September 28, 2018.
3. ^ Ordinance on the nature reserve "Frankenloch bei Heldra" of November 28, 1995 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, 51/1995 of December 18, 1995, p. 4112 f.
4. ^ "Frankenloch bei Heldra" in the world database for protected areas; accessed on November 4, 2018.
5. ^ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hesse in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse from January 16, 2008.
6. ↑ "Auenverbund Werra" in the world database for protected areas; accessed on November 4, 2018.
7. ↑ Ordinance on the landscape protection area "Auenverbund Werra" of August 13, 1992 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, 36/1992 of September 7, 1992, p. 2202 f.
8. ^ The ordinance on the landscape protection area "Auenverbund Werra" on the website of the Kassel Regional Council; accessed on November 1, 2018.
9. ↑ "Werra-Aue Treffurt" in the world database for protected areas; accessed on November 4, 2018.
10. ↑ Profile of the FFH area 5328-305 “Werra to Treffurt with tributaries” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on November 4, 2018.
11. ↑ List of habitats occurring in Germany in Appendix I of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive; accessed on November 1, 2018.
12. ↑ Basic data acquisition for monitoring and management of the FFH area 4827-302 "Frankenloch bei Heldra" ; accessed on November 4, 2018.
13. ↑ Information board of the Kassel Regional Council and the Office for Land Management Homberg (Eschwege) in the protected area.