Morth

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The Mörth is a former hillside moor in the Schwalenberg Forest , town of Lügde and town of Schieder-Schwalenberg , Lippe district , North Rhine-Westphalia ( Germany ). The name is derived from Lippe Low German and means 'moor'.

geography

The Mörth lies on a plateau in the Weser Uplands at a height of up to 446  m above sea level. NN between the places Schieder, Schwalenberg, Rischenau and Elbrinxen . Most of this raised bog area is now planted with a spruce and larch culture and is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the surrounding forest, which is mostly made up of beech trees. 43 hectares of the Mörth are under nature protection and have been designated as an FFH protected area.

History of use

In the Middle Ages, the Mörth was still a plateau covered with beech forest. When it was used as a Hudewald forest , the tree population was thinned, while the remaining trees were exposed to the weather. The impermeable clay layers led to waterlogging, which in turn accelerated the death of the beeches. It formed a fen . In the late 18th century, attempts were made to counteract the expansion of the moor and thus the destruction of the valuable trees. Drainage ditches were dug and attempts at reforestation were made, which initially failed. Success was only achieved with the undemanding spruce, first building a southern protective wall opposite the beeches and then planting the rest of the open Mörth with greenery. Since, in contrast to the beeches, the spruce evaporates through its needles all year round, the soil also became drier.

Because of the peat deposits that could be used as fuel, a brick factory for the production of bricks was temporarily located here. However, the bricks were of poor quality and transport down the mountain was difficult, so that operations were stopped again around 1850.

Part of the former military area on Mörth

During the Cold War, the Dutch armed forces maintained a military base for the MIM-23 HAWK mobile anti-aircraft missiles on the mountain ridge west of Elbrinxen from 1963 to 1994 . The former military area has been largely dismantled today. Buildings and paths have been removed and have given way to natural regeneration of the forest for almost 20 years. Plants, trees and animals have settled without human intervention. This vegetation, which is not influenced by humans, is an area that is particularly worthy of protection, especially since the plants and trees that occur there are optimally adapted to the habitat. The adjacent raised bog is planted with a spruce and larch culture. Efforts by forestry and the Lippe Biological Station have been aiming for years to re-irrigate the area, and a mixed forest has developed again.

present

The plateau, popularly known as “Mörth = Moor”, is part of the nature reserve of the Schwalenberg Forest and is topographically referred to as the “Big Pulskopf”. The nature reserve is of European importance. Most of the areas of the high plateau and the surrounding slopes, which are partly wooded with very old beech trees, are protected as an FFH area under special protection according to EU guidelines. According to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive, dated May 21, 1992, 92/43 / EEC), they are classified as species and habitat types that are particularly worthy of protection. The Schwalenberg forest with the Mörth forms around half of the approximately 4,000 hectare forest area in the southeast of Lippe, which is one of the largest contiguous forest areas in the region. The area covers a wide, partly steep ridge ridge with a more than 440 m high summit plateau, the "Mörth". Within the closed beech forest complex there is a predominantly wooded depression. A small stream flows in this, which is accompanied by alders, ash trees, pasture grassland, fallow meadows and moist tall herbaceous meadows. Numerous spring brooks flow from the adjacent slopes. The “Mörth” drains into the surrounding rivers, some of which are also designated as FFH and nature reserves. In addition to the nameless small bodies of water, these include the Schwaibach, Steinbach, Lippebach, Wörmke and finally the Emmer and Niese. The Magdalenenquelle spring about 1000 meters from the town of Schwalenberg , rises in the rain-rich area of ​​the "Mörthes". This last special feature of the high plateau keeps the surrounding springs and waters alive and also has a climatic effect.

"Himmelsteich" at Mörth, NSG Schwalenberger Wald

The mortar consists of low-base sandstones and intermediate layers of clay. Due to the resulting waterlogging in the soil, small-scale bog soils could develop. In addition, the plateau is home to several species protection waters, so-called sky ponds . These represent the basic habitat for the numerous rare and endangered dragonfly species that occur in North Rhine-Westphalia, such as the great moss damsel. Due to the regional uniqueness of the landscape, other particularly protected animal and plant species have settled. These include the midwife toad , the crested newt , different bat species and stag beetles . Numerous rare bird species such as the black stork , the red kite , the black woodpecker , the gray woodpecker and the middle woodpecker use the plateau as a breeding area and habitat. The habitat, which is of supraregional importance for certain animal and plant communities, has a particularly well developed and complete biotope inventory within the forests of the Lippe mountainous region. The latest findings assume that the wildcat , which is also specially protected, has resided there again. Current efforts are aimed at the conservation and development of the beech forests and the restoration of the bog forest. The area of ​​the "Schwalenberg Forest" is a Natura 2000 area in which a nature park trail on the topic of "NaturZeitReise" has been set up. In 2012 a new pond was dug for species worthy of protection.

Planning for the construction of a pumped storage plant

The construction group Hochtief plans to build a pumped storage plant on the Mörthes plateau from 2016 to 2021 with an investment volume of several hundred million euros. The project site is centrally located on the Mörth plateau. Due to the topographical conditions, a possible drop height of the water up to a height of 300 meters is calculated according to the current preliminary planning. According to the planning, a future power plant output of 320 MW should be achieved. The plan is to build an approx. 32 hectare upper basin on the high plateau.

According to the planning, the water reservoir is to be surrounded by an approximately 15 m high unwooded wall, which is secured by a fence. The basin should be paved or sealed with a foil in order to create the necessary tightness. The lower water reservoir takes up another 32 hectares at the foot of the “Mörthes”. The upper and lower basins represent a natural industrial building. How the large-scale waterproofing affects the drainage of the mortar into the surrounding water and the source areas is not known, among other factors. The effects on nature and the climate cannot be estimated. The Emmer on the left bank of the Schiedersee , which is currently being renatured with subsidies, is to be used for the initial filling and operational dewatering . A dedicated line is to be laid for this purpose. The Emmerniederung is also an FFH protected area up to the lake. The upper and lower basins should be 2.5 km apart and guarantee a height difference of 300 meters for turbine operation. For this purpose, a tunnel is driven through the mountain. A size of 32 hectares is estimated for each of the basins, the pure water surface should be 22 hectares each. The actual operating building is to be built partly underground, on the edge of the lower water reservoir. This makes additional excavation necessary. The planned construction would represent a far-reaching encroachment on the natural and landscape area.

See also

The following sights and geographical destinations are located near the Mörth:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NSG Schwalenberger Wald
  2. ↑ Natura 2000 areas in North Rhine-Westphalia; No. DE-4121-302 “Schwalenberger Wald” , published by the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection, North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on May 5, 2014.
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Peters: Start of the nature park project “NaturZeitReise” in the Schwalenberg Forest: Pond excavated for species worthy of protection. (No longer available online.) October 2, 2012, archived from the original on April 29, 2014 ; Retrieved May 5, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.naturpark-teutoburgerwald.de
  4. ↑ www.psw-lippe.de
  5. ↑ Photo of the upper basin
  6. ↑ Statement on the construction planning by the state office of the nature conservation associations NRW from May 28, 2014 (accessed on November 12, 2014)

Coordinates: 51 ° 53 ′ 37.9 ″  N , 9 ° 12 ′ 49.5 ″  E