Machland North
Machland Nord is an Upper Austrian nature reserve in the Machland and Strudengau between Mitterkirchen and Hirschenau on the border with Lower Austria north of the Danube .
The largest flood protection project in Austria and Central Europe , the Machland Nord flood protection project (also called Machland dam ), will be built in the region by 2015 . Since beavers are native to the region , where the dam is built in the vicinity of beaver areas, the stability of the dam can be endangered by beaver burrows and pipes.
More than 57 square kilometers of the Upper and Lower Austrian Machlands have been declared an Important Bird Area by Birdlife Austria . Among other things, the bluethroat has the largest distribution in Austria there.
The land use in the form of agriculture and forestry , hunting , fishing as well as economic and recreational use in the future European protected area ( FFH area ) will then be regulated and partially restricted in accordance with the relevant guidelines.
The Danube Cycle Path and the Donausteig run through the protected landscape area .
Extent and overview of vegetation and habitats
In the west, the planned European protected area extends to the Wallsee-Mitterkirchen power plant and in the east to the state border between Upper Austria and Lower Austria in Hirschenau. In the south, the Danube or the state border with Lower Austria forms the boundary to the Machland Süd nature reserve . While the Danube bank delimits the area worthy of protection in the eastern part, this ends from Dornach at the edge of the terrace from the step to the lower terrace. In the direction of the Wallsee-Mitterkirchen power plant, the Hüttinger oxbow lake forms the northern border.
The Ausufe is characterized by a wide riparian forest belt. On the lower terrace this is loosened up by arable and meadow areas. In the alluvial forest there are remains of white willow meadows and numerous floodplain waters. There is an intensive agricultural use.
The most valuable habitats from the point of view of nature conservation are the rough meadows and semi-arid grasslands on the terrace embankment. In the lowlands of the Danube feeder Aist , Naarn and Mettensdorfer Mühlbach, forest remnants and agricultural areas can be found side by side.
Flora and fauna
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The Machland Nord region is an important habitat for more than one hundred breeding bird species and is important as a resting and wintering area:
- It is one of the few breeding occurrences of the middle woodpecker and currently the only breeding occurrence of the nightingale in Upper Austria.
- You can find a diverse amphibian fauna with 13 different species such as yellow-bellied toad , crested newt , common toad and green toad .
- Fish species such as bitterling and crucian carp are typical fish species for backwaters . Endangered species of fish such as nerds and mud whippers are native to the area.
- Highly endangered species of moths such as the female poplar can be identified.
- Beavers and otters are native to the floodplains and oxbow lakes.
- The occurrence of the fringed bat is remarkable.
The Machland Nord region has a high level of biodiversity in the floodplain and on the dry terrace slopes.
- The particularly endangered species in the oxbow lakes of the wetlands include the swan flower and the pointed-leaf spawn .
- In the alluvial forests there is a rare occurrence of the easter luze .
- Comb sedge and reeds can be found on the swampy meadows .
- The field man litter occurs on the nutrient-poor meadows of the low terrace embankment .
Conservation activities
The Machland regional group of the Upper Austrian Nature Conservation Association has been active in the Machland Nord region since 2004. A nature information center has been set up in Saxen.
The focus is in particular on species protection projects, the establishment of a natural farm, cooperation in implementation measures in accordance with the Water Framework Directive, cooperation in the Machland flood protection project, the e-learning project Ecology in the Au, educational work and awareness-raising, the operation of the nature information center in Saxen and much more.
Concrete ongoing projects:
- Species aid project owls and bats in the cultural landscape
- Mühlbergerhof natural economy
- Renaturation of the Donauauen with Aicherbauernlacke
- River pearl mussel protection Gießenbach
- Dornach eco station
- Nature foundation fund of duck varnishes
- Amphibious fence care in Wetzelsdorf on the B 3 ( Donau Straße )
- Creation of new spawning waters for the yellow-bellied toad in the Silent Valley near Bad Kreuzen
- Offering guided beaver walks and ornithological tours
Award
- Upper Austrian State Prize for Environment and Nature (2010)
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 21.6 ″ N , 14 ° 47 ′ 27.6 ″ E