Eppendorfer Moor nature reserve

Eppendorfer Moor nature reserve IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
Water surface in the Eppendorfer Moor
location	Hamburg , Germany
surface	26 ha
WDPA ID	81615
Geographical location	53 ° 36 '  N , 9 ° 59'  E Coordinates: 53 ° 36 '28 "  N , 9 ° 59' 20"  E
Setup date	1982
administration	BSU

Pool

The Eppendorfer Moor nature reserve is located between Alsterkrugchaussee and Hamburg Airport in the Hamburg district of Groß Borstel on the border with Eppendorf . With an area of ​​26 hectares, it is the fourth smallest nature reserve in the Hanseatic city, but the largest inner-city moor in Europe. The moor was created after the last ice age on a river terrace and is a remnant of the formerly extensive wet lowlands in the valley of the Alster . Until 1904 there was a shooting range for Infantry Regiment No. 76 in Eppendorfer Moor , of which the bullet trap street across the street still reminds us today . It has been under protection since 1982 and was expanded from 15 to 26 hectares in January 2015.

In the center of the moor there is a large expanse of water that is surrounded by a birch and alder forest . This core zone merges into a common oak - birch forest . Another belt of deciduous trees separates the moor from the densely built-up urban environment and the busy streets.

The reserve is home to 320 species of plants, including 35 species of moss (in 1909 there were 140 species) and 20 species of trees. Reeds , Schlankseggenried , bell-heather , willow bushes and silt trees grow in the moor . Endangered species that occur here are, for example, the swamp blood-eye , the ostrich-flowered loosestrife , lung gentian and hail bush .

The most common birds are the wren , great tit , blackbird , robin , chiffchaff, and blackcap . Are ground litter since 1998 Spotted Flycatcher , nuthatch , marsh tit and buzzards , since 1999, the little grebe . In the 1990s, when there were many dead birch trees, the small woodpecker also brooded here , and in a few years the nightingale was suspected of breeding . The mistletoe and bats have also been observed . 641 butterfly species live in Eppendorfer Moor, 78 of which are on the Red List of Endangered Species .

The moor is not only exposed to the influence of humans today: environmental toxins, traffic noise, use as a recreation and leisure area. As early as in the Middle Ages, biologically valuable areas for building or agricultural use were drained and pitted as part of increasing urbanization. From 1948 to 1950 the forest was reforested and the groundwater was lowered later when the Alsterkrugchaussee was built. As a result, many light and moisture-loving plants disappeared. The soot and sulphurous acid of the big city, the deposition of all kinds of rubble as well as the hideous pots and cans of food spoil sensitive citizens of the flora and thus mostly the rarities of their stay.

Conclusions about the destruction of the moor can be drawn from detailed descriptions of the landscape by HÖLLER (1914) (21), who describes the landscape in the early 20th century. He reports on the moor, which at that time consisted of a birch and willow forest: “So the city expansion (since around 1867, author's note) fell victim to the Eppendorfer moor, which was previously barely passable in wet years and so rich in interesting plants. for what is still left after the drainage ditch was deepened hardly deserves the name of a bog and of its flora, especially since the opening of the shooting range and the resulting migration of peoples there, hardly anything is left. Yes, of course, reeds, rushes and heather are still there, but I have not been able to find the various splendid orchids from the past, and how long the dainty swamp-ear lily will last is probably half decided "

In addition to the city of Hamburg, the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) also takes care of the moor . Since the area no longer has access to its natural water supply, it is threatened in dry periods. The moorland must therefore be artificially kept free from the growth of bushes and trees. Raspberries and blackberries spread in the forest belt . There are also neophytes such as the Japanese knotweed and the small balsam. The specific moor vegetation in the Eppendorfer Moor can only be preserved through targeted protective measures. a restoration of the formerly species-rich biotope types is not to be expected due to the now mineralized peat soils due to the lowering of the water level and the changed pH values ​​and nutrient situation. Nature conservation therefore focuses on the preservation of today's biotopes.

literature

• P. Junge: The vascular plants of the Eppendorfer Moor near Hamburg . In: Negotiations of the Natural Science Association in Hamburg . tape 12 , 1905, pp. 30–76 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).

Web links

Commons : Eppendorfer Moor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• NABU Landesverband Hamburg about the Eppendorfer Moor
• The Eppendorfer Moor nature reserve
• Data sheet for the Eppendorfer Moor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Moor protection in the city on hamburg.de , accessed on January 25, 2015.
2. ↑ Alexander Mitschke et al .: Ornithological Annual Report 1999 and 2000. In: 'hab' - Hamburger ornithological contributions 33 : 2005, p. 77, ISSN  0340-5168