In the pastures near Blankenheim

In the pastures near Blankenheim IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
View from the observation post to the south bank.
location	South of the Blankenheim district of the town of Bebra in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in East Hesse .
surface	5 hectares
Identifier	1632005
WDPA ID	81989
Geographical location	50 ° 56 '  N , 9 ° 47'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '54 "  N , 9 ° 46' 36"  E
Sea level	190  m
Setup date	September 1983
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve and as part of a Natura 2000 , EU bird and landscape protection area .

In the pastures near Blankenheim is the name of a nature reserve on the central reaches of the Fulda in the eastern Hessian district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg . Most of the area is taken up by a former gravel pit, which is now filled by a groundwater lake. This has an important function as a breeding, resting and foraging biotope as well as a “ stepping stone ” for ducks , rails and divers . Songbird species find good breeding opportunities in the woodlands on the banks .

Geographical location

The protected area is located in the middle Fulda valley, south of the Blankenheim district of Bebra in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district. It is located in a triangular area bounded to the northwest by the railway line from Bebra to Fulda and to the south by the left bank of the Fulda.

In terms of nature , the area is assigned to the sub-unit “ Friedlos-Mecklarer Fuldatal ” in the “ Fulda-Werra-Bergland ”, which belongs to the main unit group “ East Hessian Highlands ”.

Protected position

With the ordinance of September 12, 1983 of the District Directorate for Forests and Nature Conservation at the regional council in Kassel , the former gravel pond was declared a nature reserve under the name "In den Weiden bei Blankenheim". The purpose of the protection was "to permanently secure the water, which is valuable from an ornithological point of view, as a habitat for numerous endangered bird species and to improve its special importance for the bird world through design measures". Since the protected area borders on the Fulda, in addition to the rules of the model ordinance, boaters are not allowed to moor on the right bank and to enter it. The protected area has a size of around 5 hectares, has the national identification 1632005 and the WDPA code 81989.

According to the requirements of the European Birds Directive and the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive , the “pastures” were reported to the European Union in 2004 for the transnational network of protected areas “Natura 2000” . In addition to area management and monitoring , the EU demanded a formal declaration of protection, which was fulfilled in January 2008 at the state level with the "Ordinance on Natura 2000 areas in Hesse". The nature reserve became part of two Natura 2000 areas:

• Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Area 5024-305 “Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz”.

The approximately 790 hectare FFH area includes the Fulda valley between the cities of Bad Hersfeld and Rotenburg , three smaller sub-areas in the Rohrbachtal near the Ludwigsauer districts of Gerterode , Tann and Rohrbach and the Solzaue between Sorga and Kathus . One of the main reporting reasons for the Hesse-wide important floodplain cultural landscape was the occurrence of the butterfly butterfly Dunkler Wiesenknopf-blue ant , which is endangered throughout Europe and is regarded as a key species. Hessen bears a special responsibility for its continued existence in Germany.

• Bird sanctuary 5024-401 “Fulda valley between Rotenburg and Niederaula”.

The numerous lakes created by gravel mining and the Fulda, which regularly overflows its banks during floods, in the wide floodplains of the approximately 1700 hectare European bird sanctuary, offer areas of water for the bird world all year round. The protected areas are an important resting and wintering area for water birds, waders and meadow birds.

The protected area is located completely in the conservation area "Auenverbund Fulda," belong to the surfaces along the Fulda in several counties. The purpose of the protection of the area designated in 1993 is the preservation of the riparian vegetation types characterized by different degrees of moisture penetration as well as the restoration of near-natural water sections by converting arable land into extensively used grassland.

nature

The development of gravel deposits has changed the landscape in the Fulda valley and brought a multitude of new habitats to the floodplain, which is poor in still waters. The gravel pit "In den Weiden" was the first on the middle course of the Fulda, whose artificially created water surface was recognized as a subsequent use of nature conservation after the end of the gravel. When the exploitation of gravel was stopped in the mid-1960s, there were still no requirements for renaturation and bank design measures. With a depth of around four meters, the lake has mostly steep banks on which no reeds can develop.

The pebble pond is surrounded by a dense border of wooded trees dominated by willows, the branches of which protrude to the surface of the water. Narrow marginal strips in the southern area, which were previously used as meadows, developed into an alluvial forest via herbaceous vegetation. A small island in the lake is overgrown with alders and willows.

The fish species bream , tench , pike , roach , rudd , perch , carp , eel and pikeperch live in the lake . As a predatory fish, the pike is a natural regulator of the fish population.

The alders and willows on the small island in the lake serve as resting trees for the cormorants.

The Fuldaaue is a valuable resting area for numerous bird species and the gravel pond “In den Weiden” is an important wintering place for water birds despite its small water surface of around 2.6 hectares. In the "Ornithological Report" published in 2017, the Hersfeld-Rotenburg working group of the Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation (HGON) evaluated the observation data from 2016. According to the bird conservationists, the rather small nature reserve with 26 recorded species of water, marsh and meadow birds still has a "respectable" rating. Species spectrum. The rest of the stocks were considered remarkable teal , which are high compared with other areas still, and the first evidence of a herring gull. The declining number of resting cormorants , a target species of the EU bird sanctuary , was rated as unpleasant .

Breeding and ground birds that nest in trees and high shrubs of riparian zones are: mute swan , mallard , great crested grebe , moorhen and coot . Most irregular and highly protected partially guests are: seed , gray and Egyptian Goose , Gadwall , whistling , Krick- , Knäk- , Tableware and Tufted Duck , Common Merganser , little grebe , silver and gray herons , ospreys , Sandpiper , Green Sandpiper , Black-headed gull , kingfisher and gray wagtail .

Tourist development

The protected area is not accessible by paths. On the northern edge there is an observation post with information boards, which can be reached from Blankenheim via agricultural paths and the grassy “river meadow path” along the railway embankment. Only from here is it possible to see the lake and watch birds.

literature

• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, p. 174 f. ISBN 3-932583-13-2 .

Web links

Commons : Nature reserve “In den Weiden bei Blankenheim”  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation - Hersfeld-Rotenburg working group: Ornithological reports from the Middle Fulda valley (PDF;); accessed on June 10, 2019

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Albrecht Ensgraber: Hessens new nature reserves in bird and the environment , Journal of Ornithology and natural in Hesse, Volume 4, Issue 1, p.11 f. Wiesbaden, May 1986.
2. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on June 10, 2019.
3. ↑ Quoted from the ordinance on the nature reserve "In den Weiden bei Blankenheim" of September 26, 1983 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, issue 39/83 of September 26, 1983, p. 1924 f.
4. ↑ Nature reserve "In den Weiden bei Blankenheim" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on June 10, 2019.
5. ^ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hesse of January 16, 2008, in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse, Part I, No. 4, of March 7, 2008.
6. ^ "Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on June 10, 2019.
7. ↑ Profile of the FFH area 5024-305 “Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on June 10, 2019.
8. ^ "Auenwiesen von Fulda, Rohrbach and Solz" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on June 10, 2019.
9. ↑ Profile of the EU bird sanctuary 5024-401 “Fuldatal between Rotenburg and Niederaula” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on June 10, 2019.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen, Volume 3.
11. ^ "Auenverbund Fulda" in the world database on protected areas; accessed on June 10, 2019.
12. ^ Ordinance on the landscape protection area "Auenverbund Fulda" of January 28, 1993 in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse, edition 4/1993 of March 2, 1993, p. 56 f.
13. ↑ Online edition of the ornithological reports from the Middle Fulda valley from 2016 with supplements from 2014 to 2015 on the website of the HGON working group Hersfeld-Rotenburg; accessed on June 10, 2019.