Alte Ruhr-Katzenstein nature reserve
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Old Ruhr-Katzenstein
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 Ruhraltarm and Katzenstein |
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| location | Hattingen , Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis , Ruhr area , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany | |
| WDPA ID | 162095 | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 24 ' N , 7 ° 15' E | |
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| Setup date | 1950 | |
The Alte Ruhr-Katzenstein nature reserve is a nature reserve in Hattingen , Ennepe-Ruhr district , North Rhine-Westphalia (NSG EN-003) , which was first designated in 1950 . It is located in the area between Blankenstein Castle and Steinenhaus . It includes an old arm of the Ruhr and the Katzenstein . The oxbow lake is fed by the Pleßbach . The NSG goes in the north to the Ruhr and the city limits of Hattingen. In the east, too, the NSG goes to the city limits. The NSG is divided into three parts by the L 924 and L 551. The Hattingen - Hagen railway line of the 'Middle Ruhr Valley Railway', which is only used for tourist purposes , runs in a west-east direction on the edge of the floodplain. The area is crossed by a high voltage line in the southeast. The Kemnade house is like an island in the NSG, while Blankenstein Castle is just outside the protected area. In some cases, the buildings are directly connected to the NSG.
Area description
There is a hornbeam beech forest on Mount Katzenstein. Oak, birch, hornbeam, spruce, larch and pine are scattered in the stock. The shrub layer in the NSG is dominated by Ilex stands. The slopes of the Ruhr to the west of the Katzenstein are mostly planted with older beech trees. The steep slopes of the Ruhr are divided by some deeply incised sieves that temporarily have water-bearing streams without typical vegetation. The Ruhraue in the NSG is used agriculturally as a meadow. Previously existing fields and pastures have been converted into intensively used meadows. There are some flood hollows in the grassland. Groynes face the Ruhr . There are hardly any trees in the floodplain, only a broken hedge grows on the eastern edge. To the west of Kemnader Straße there is a 60 to 120 m wide strip of grassland accompanying the river with a row of wells for water extraction, which on the eastern edge merges into a well system surrounded by younger trees and older horse chestnuts. In the south of the floodplain there is an oxbow lake on both sides of Kemnader Straße that is flooded when the Ruhr floods. There are reeds and large, wet tall herbaceous meadows dominated by balsam. Softwood stocks are growing locally and there is a lot of giant hogweed in places . South of the railway line, the Plessbach feeds the oxbow lake with water. Silting zones with swaths of reeds, cane grass and extensive thickets of broad-leaved cattails can be found here.
Protection purpose
The NSG was designated to protect the hillside forests and the Ruhr floodplain with old arm remains. Furthermore, for the preservation of partially endangered plant and animal species, especially the remains of the oxbow lakes as an important retreat and for the restoration of a near-natural meadow landscape with extensive forms of use.
See also
Web links
- Nature reserve “Alte Ruhr-Katzenstein” (EN-003) in the specialist information system of the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia