Loser basin from Weiterstadt

	Loser basin from Weiterstadt IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
	View from the water inlet over the pool
location	Weiterstadt , Darmstadt-Dieburg district , Hesse , Germany
surface	8.03 ha
Identifier	1432007
WDPA ID	82114
Natura 2000 ID	DE6117311
FFH area	8.0302 ha
Geographical location	49 ° 53 ' N , 8 ° 34' E Coordinates: 49 ° 53 '22 " N , 8 ° 33' 52" E
Sea level	from 99 m to 100 m ( ø 99.5 m)
Setup date	July 18, 1983
particularities	added September 20, 1993

The Löserbecken of Weiterstadt is a nature reserve (NSG identification 1432007) in the district of Weiterstadt in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district in southern Hesse . It was designated by ordinance of July 18, 1983 with an area of 8.03 hectares and the delimitations were amended on September 20, 1993. Since 2008 it has also been part of the European nature conservation network as the Natura 2000 area "NSG Löserbecken von Weiterstadt" (FFH area 6117-311).

geography

The Löserbecken is an artificially created still water and a forest and meadow area on the southwest edge of Weiterstadt. Originally it is an earlier sand pit from the 1970s, at the bottom of which wet zones and pools have formed, which are largely fed by rainwater . In terms of natural space, the area is part of the Griesheim-Weiterstädter Sands, which in turn represents a sub-unit of the Upper Rhine Plain . Climatically, this location is characterized by low rainfall (less than 600 mm per year) and a generally mild climate.

Immediately to the north is the Weiterstadt correctional facility , the construction of which in 1987 and the demolition and subsequent reconstruction of the area in 1990 had a major impact on the area. For example, to compensate for the necessary interventions in the course of the new building, additional amphibian pools were created. In the east and south-east there are former clarifiers, which are no longer in use today.

Protection purpose

By placing it under protection, the wet biotopes on the pit floor, the dry, warm open grass corridors and flowering ruderal corridors in the area of the pit embankments as well as the interspersed bushes and woody areas in the surrounding area are to be preserved.

Flora and fauna

The plant communities of the area have gone through various stages of succession since the end of the economic use of the Loser Basin . For example, there are populations of pines , willows , locust trees and poplars , and hedges and bushes have been planted to delimit agricultural areas in the north and west.

The looser basin is of particular importance for amphibian protection; among other protected species such as garlic toad , agile frog and toad also comes here crested newt before which in FFH called Annex II as a "species of Community interest". The reptiles are represented in the area by the sand lizard . Furthermore, here incubates the marsh harrier .