Ilm floodplain forest
The Ilm-Auwald is an alluvial forest on the upper reaches of the Ilm between the city of Ilmenau and its district Langewiesen . The 3.5 hectare biotope has been under protection as an area natural monument since 1989 .
geography
The forest is 460 meters above sea level, begins about 50 meters below the Ilm bridge at Grenzhammer and extends to the recycling center in Langewiesen in a one kilometer long and no more than 100 meter wide strip on both banks of the Ilm. The southern border is the Ilm Valley Cycle Path , which here runs identical to the Ilm-Rennsteig cycle path on the route of the former Ilmenau – Großbreitenbach railway line ; the northern border is a forest path from the Fridolin Inn to the recycling center.
The alluvial forest has some former flood basins of the Ilm, which are now dry due to the partly regulated course of the Ilm (deepening and bank reinforcement with rubble stones). There is also a weir in the forest. In the past a mill ditch branched off here to the south, which is now dry.
Flora and fauna
The riparian forest consists largely of black alder , but broken willow , norway maple , sycamore maple and ash are also represented here. To the south, the forest is dominated by about 70 meters from the Tragberg , which is why the solar radiation and the associated heat development in the alluvial forest is lower than in the surrounding area. Combined with the dense roof of the treetops, this ensures that only plants that prefer cool, damp and dark locations thrive under the trees. These include the black elder , the white butterbur , the wire-haired calf's head and the ragwort . Characteristic of the lowland forest is the variety of spring flowering plants such as the caves Corydalis , the Yellow Anemone , the wood anemone , the Forest Gold Star and the wild garlic . A total of around 60 different plant species were counted in the alluvial forest.
The animal species represented include the kingfisher , the dipper , various types of ducks and railings , the green woodpecker , the small woodpecker and the gray wagtail . In a census in 1986, 41 bird species were found, 24 of which also breed in the alluvial forest.
literature
- District office Ilm-Kreis (Ed.): Home booklets of the Ilm-Kreis: Geological natural monuments and area natural monuments in the Ilm-Kreis . Arnstadt 2007.
Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 44 ″ N , 10 ° 56 ′ 55 ″ E