Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve

Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
Typical fen ditch with cotton grass
location	North-east of Kirchwerder
surface	8.57 km²
WDPA ID	164098
Geographical location	53 ° 26 '  N , 10 ° 10'  E Coordinates: 53 ° 25 '56 "  N , 10 ° 10' 11"  E
Setup date	1993
administration	BSU

The Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve in Hamburg, with 857 hectares, is located in the south-east of Hamburg in the districts of Kirchwerder and Neuengamme within the Vierlande . The southern main part lies between the Gose Elbe and Stromelbe and the smaller, northern part between the Gose Elbe and the Dove Elbe .

Meadows in the southern Kirchwerder meadows

The Kirchwerder Wiesen represent a spacious, largely open cultural landscape , which is characterized by extensively used, moist to wet marsh grassland with a close-knit network of species-rich, nature conservation-relevant ditches. This cultural landscape is a habitat for rare meadow, marsh and aquatic plants as well as for numerous rare or endangered animal species such as ground-breeding meadow birds, amphibians, dragonflies and fish. The area is looked after by the Naturschutzbund Deutschland .

Protection status

After the first comprehensive recording and evaluation of the habitats of the Vier- und Marschlande as part of the state-wide biotope mapping , the outstanding value of the Kirchwerder meadows and their need for protection became clear in the mid-1980s. A lively controversy arose with the owners, farms, hunters, anglers and their associations about the designation of the protected area. To ensure that no activities that counteract the intended protection goals (e.g. plowing up grassland) were possible during the process of designating the protected area, the Senate issued an ordinance on June 16, 1992 to secure the future Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve. After discussions with those affected, the political bodies and a public display, the Senate passed the nature reserve ordinance on August 24, 1993. The legal disputes over the designation of the protected area were led to the Hamburg Higher Administrative Court , which in 2005 confirmed the legality of the ordinance.

On December 22, 1999, it was designated as an FFH area in accordance with Directive 92/43 / EEC . As a Natura 2000 area, it is part of the Europe-wide system of protected areas. The boundaries of the FFH area Kirchwerder Wiesen include all areas designated as nature reserve as well as the water sections of Gose Elbe and Neuengammer Durchstich , which connect the sections of these two bodies of water in the nature reserve. The nature reserve Kirchwerder Wiesen contains the habitat types according to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive

• (LRT 3150) Natural eutrophic lakes,
• (LRT 3260) planar to montane level rivers,
• (LRT 6430) Moist tall herbaceous vegetation of the planar to montane level,
• (LRT 6510) Lean flatland hay meadow,
• (LRT 7140) Transitional and vibrating lawn bogs.

Lean, lowland hay meadow.

For the Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve, five animal species have been registered as conservation objectives in accordance with Annex II of the Habitats Directive: loach , mud whip , bitterling , asp and petite poppet snail .

Usage history

As part of the Vier- und Marschlande, the Kirchwerder Wiesen were mainly used by humans from the Geest until the 12th century . The area was influenced by tides and floods as well as significant long-term fluctuations in the water level. This did not allow long-term settlement. Extensive swamp and floodplain forests, reed beds and moors on the edge of the Geest shaped the landscape. The significant lowering of the sea level between 850 and 1100 made it possible to settle the marshes throughout northern Germany. The resumption of sea level rise was countered by the construction of the dike. The embankment church Werder took place from 1212 to 1220 and was the prerequisite for the utilization of the area. In order to be able to use the soils close to the groundwater for agriculture, a complex ditch system was created. For a uniform distribution of soil conditions and proportionate dike entertainment the land for individual farms in 40 was morning large march hooves , relatively narrow and very long strips corridors divided that extended from the dike to the back of the dike. This type of settlement, which is still largely preserved in the Kirchwerder Wiesen today, with the dykes and the system of ditches as a defining landscape feature, provides a clear picture of the cultivation of the marshes over 800 years ago. The actual bed ditch system was only slightly changed up to the beginning of the 20th century. In the first few centuries, drainage only took place via locks and sluices. At the beginning of the dike, the land was 0.5 to 1 meter higher than the current surface and thus about one meter above the mean high water of the Elbe, whose main stream was the Gose Elbe at that time. The cultivation also had some undesirable consequences: the drainage withdrew water from the soil, which then reacted with sagging. As a result of increasing dikes and deforestation in the High Middle Ages with soil erosion, more and more silt and sand were deposited in the foreland of the dykes. The elevations of the inland dyke are today in the east of the area between 0.80 and 1.00 m above sea level and rise to 1.60 to 2.10 m above sea level in the east. Without the existing Elbe dykes, the landscape would be up to 1.60 m under water every day at high tide, since the mean high tide in Zollenspieker is 2.44 m asl (1974–2005). In the past centuries, the drainage system did not function adequately when the Elbe flooded for a long time, when there was heavy rainfall or when there was no wind, so that the lower-lying areas in particular (which was named after the field name Seefeld in Kirchwerder) were often flooded for weeks. Since the beginning of the 18th century, wind-powered bucket mills were used, which conveyed into the Gose Elbe. This resulted in a significant expansion of horticultural use and a conversion of meadows and pastures to arable land. Due to the population growth in Hamburg and new sales markets, the horticultural area doubled between 1895 and 1936 and comprised 30% of the agriculturally used area. In the 1960s and 1970s, horticultural areas began to regress towards agricultural uses.

Removal of fruit trees in the Kirchwerder meadows.

Fruit tree crops at times took up a considerable share of the area and added value. The fruit tree census in 1900 showed a population of 2,100 trees on 100 hectares for the entire Vierlande, with the main focus with 43% of the total population in Kirchwerder. In the Altes Land, a density of 7,900 trees per 100 ha was reached at that time. In 1900, 64,921 fruit trees were counted in Kirchwerder, in 1913 significantly more with 75,416. From the 1950s onwards, the stock decreased considerably. Agricultural statistical surveys show that, unlike other marshlands, a large part of the Vier- und Marschlande including today's nature reserve was mainly used for arable farming until the 20th century, although this proportion fluctuated considerably in the long term due to weather conditions and sales opportunities for products. The landscape at that time, with its nine-year crop rotation in arable land, included fallow land in the first year and pasture in the 8th and 9th years, although deviations on low, flood-exposed soils without winter cereal cultivation and a fifty percent willow share were not uncommon. Between 1883 and 1904 the proportion of arable pastures remained fairly constant at 30% of the cultivated area. The landscape of that time with the high proportion of arable land cannot be compared with today's intensity of use in this type of crop.

Waters and their history

In addition to the rift system, the Gose Elbe and a brackish brackish on the Gose Elbe, there are two larger still water complexes in the protected area with the Seefeld ponds and the Hower See.

South Kirchwerder collecting ditch.

The Hower See was created between 1976 and 1987 by wet gravel down to a depth of 17.7 m. The ponds south of the Hower See were created in the 1980s by removing bran. The first bodies of water for the Seefeld ponds were initially created for a private fish farm on Heinrich-Osterath-Straße and acquired in 1976 by the Bergedorfer Angelverein and considerably expanded by purchasing additional land in 1981 and 1985.

The Neuengammer puncture is created a connection between the upper Dove Elbe and the Gose Elbe and was in the 1920s to drain during flooding of the upper Bille and the upper Dove Elbe water into the Gose Elbe, store and via the About Schöpfwerk Ochsenwerder with high water levels into the tide-dependent lower Dove Elbe. With the construction of the Tatenberg lock , this function was no longer necessary and in order to reduce maintenance costs, the floor width was largely reduced from 25 m to 5 m in the 1960s and at the same time a deepening from 0.50 m to 1.50 m was carried out.

Floors

The Kirchwerder Wiesen are located in the middle of the glacial valley of the Elbe. The glacial valley was cleared by the melt waters of the glaciers from the Vistula glaciation . Coarse-grained glacial valley sands and fine-grained post-glacial river sands were deposited one after the other over the gravel horizon of the older Pleistocene .

The soils of the area belong to the class of marshes that formed under the influence of the tides after the last Ice Age. During floods, clayey material was deposited in quieter zones, while the coarser sands and gravels were deposited directly on the edge of the river. After the Ice Ages in the Holocene , the rise in sea level in a cool, humid climate also led to the wetting of the lowlands and, as a result, to the formation of large fens. Subsequent deposition of mud layers of varying thicknesses resulted in the soil types bog marsh (20 - 40 cm silt layer) and river marsh (over 40 cm silt layer), which largely characterize the area. In the area close to the river, the deposited sands were often mixed with the fine-grained marshy soil through cultivation and thus developed into easily usable soils for horticulture and agriculture. The large areas with heavy clayey river marshland in the dike hinterland are more suitable as grassland locations, since the waterlogging has an unfavorable effect on arable land. The majority of the soils in the nature reserve belong to the latter type, the thickness of which is more than 4 m in places over the glacial valley sands.

Habitats

56 different biotope types have been mapped in the nature reserve. 69% of the protected area consists of grassland communities. Most of the grassland is grazed. Trenches make up 13% of the protected area. Some of them have developed into high-quality fen ditches with a number of very rare and endangered plant species. The other biotope types belong to the following groups: gardens, orchards, arable and horticultural areas (9%); Still waters including Gose Elbe and fish ponds (4%), field trees and bushes (2%); Settlement and traffic areas (2%); Fallow land (1%).

flora

First and foremost, it is the marshland trenches in the protected area that provide a habitat for a species-rich flora, whereby the bog trenches with swinging lawn are of outstanding importance. In addition, there are meadow areas in the core area of ​​the area, which are characterized by valuable grassland vegetation. In the Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve, 380 plant species have been identified. Around a third of these are considered rare or endangered in Hamburg. Six of these plant species have so far been assessed as extinct in Hamburg. Of these, the wire sedge and the swamp lice weed should be emphasized, which are endangered nationwide. Ten other plant species from the Kirchwerder meadows are threatened with extinction in Hamburg. These include species such as the swamp flat pea , the knotweed pondweed and the dwarf hedgehog , which in the Kirchwerder Meadows are one of the few (swamp flat pea, dwarf hedgehog) or the only one (knotweed pondweed) present in Hamburg .

Typical bed ditch

fauna

The Kirchwerder meadows are predestined for the protection of meadow birds due to their landscape structure. Meadow birds are mainly found north of the Fersenweg. Here the landscape is poor in trees and offers sufficient visibility. Trenches with open water bodies and submerged vegetation are important habitats for amphibians and dragonflies. The Kirchwerder meadows are the most important protected area in Hamburg for the moor frog. Of the different types of trenches, the crab claw trenches have an outstanding position: In addition to the highly endangered crab claws themselves, it is the occurrence of very rare and highly endangered animal species, such as black tern , green damsel , rimmed hunting spider and petite poppy snail that makes this type of trench so valuable. The trenches of the reserve are important for several rare small fish species. Here it is above all the main trenches, the Neuengammer Durchstich and the Gose Elbe that offer particularly suitable habitats for endangered fish species due to their water volume, their networking function and their constant water flow. But also the sewer ditches and bed ditches can, depending on their characteristics, take on habitat functions, for example for the mud whip, which is worthy of protection throughout Europe .

Birds

Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) Largest population in Hamburg

Over 60 different species of birds breed in the Kirchwerder meadows. The black tern is one of the threatened species and the most valuable breeding birds . Black terns feed on small fish and insect larvae. Trenches with a dense floating plant cover are required as a breeding ground. Another important species is the reed warbler , which prefers to breed in reed ditches and has its largest population in Hamburg in the Kirchwerder meadows. There are also five bird species that are highly endangered in Hamburg: common snipe , lapwing , shoveler , redshank , white stork and, in some years, the godwit . All species are typical inhabitants of large grassland areas of the marshland and underline the importance of the Kirchwerder meadows for the protection of meadow birds.

Amphibians and reptiles

There are two reptiles and six amphibian species in the nature reserve. The strictly protected moor frog is a species that inhabits the wet grassland. Sun-exposed ditches with high water levels and lush underwater vegetation are used for spawning. The amphibians also come newt , crested newt , common toad , grass and edible frog before. The forest lizard and grass snake have a good occurrence among reptiles . The grass snake has a distribution focus in the Kirchwerder meadows in Hamburg.

fishes

22 different fish species have been identified in the nature reserve. Most species occur in the Gose Elbe, the Neuengammer Durchstich and the main drainage ditches. The occurrence of the species protected by the Habitats Directive is noteworthy: loach , mud whip , asp and bitterling . The Schlammpeitzger prefers waters with rich underwater vegetation, whereby no high demands are placed on the water quality and oxygen content. As a less mobile fish species, it is dependent on a network of suitable habitats so that suitable habitats can be quickly repopulated after disturbances (water maintenance, dehydration). Loewas have similar habitat requirements. But you need oxygen-rich water. A low feeding pressure from predatory fish such as eels is important. Due to their special reproductive biology (the eggs are deposited in the gills of large mussels), bitterlings are bound to the occurrence of pond and painter mussels.

Dragonflies

Spotted emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora flavomaculata)

So far 34 species have been identified in the area. The most common is the bat azur damsel , which has its main distribution in the Kirchwerder meadows in Hamburg. The former reed hunter is widespread in the larger waters . Due to its mostly short flight time and inconspicuous behavior, it is often overlooked. The green damsel , which is protected according to the Habitats Directive , can be described as a character species of the Vier- und Marschlande. She is dependent on crab claws to lay her eggs . The larvae, which have a high need for oxygen, sink with the crayfish claws to the bottom of the water in winter, where they are better protected against cold and freezing over. The stocks can only be preserved or increased by promoting the crab claw water. The rare wedge-shaped damsel is also dependent on crab claw waters. The spotted emerald dragonfly makes special demands on its habitat: it does not colonize open water surfaces, but rather well-structured shallow water zones separated from them. In the Kirchwerder Wiesen these are vegetation-rich ditch sections with stable water levels. The warmth- loving banded darter is generally accommodated by the trench system with its management dynamics: the larvae of this R-strategist can develop quickly in trenches that have been cleared recently with good heat development, little competition and few predators .

Grasshoppers

Nightingale grasshopper (Chorthippus biguttulus) Taken in the Kirchwerder meadows

15 out of 30 grasshopper species currently found in Hamburg were found in the nature reserve. The swamp insect, which is endangered nationwide, deserves special mention. It is a typical type of wet meadow, the larvae of which have the highest moisture requirements of all European grasshopper species. Even if the protected area as a whole is not of particular importance for locusts, the marsh insect and the great golden insect are to be regarded as key species for the development of the protected area.

Snails and clams

33 species of mussels and snails have been identified in the protected area. Particularly noteworthy is the occurrence of the petite poppet snail . The Kirchwerder meadows are the most important habitat in Hamburg for this species, which is also endangered nationwide. It lives in sun-exposed, plant-rich small bodies of water with clear water.

reachability

The nature reserve can be easily reached by bike from Hamburg city center: via Rothenburgsort, the Billwerder Bucht barrage on the dike defense path at the main dike on the moorland on the Elbe to the Tatenberg lock. This is where the march embankment begins. From here it is 8 km to the protected area via Ochsenwerder and Fünfhausen. From Bergedorf from the Curslacker Neuer Deich, over the Kirchwerder Landweg to the Fersenweg it is 7 km. By public transport: from Bergedorf S-Bahn station, bus lines 223 or 323 to the Fersenweg stop. A possible 7 km circular route: on Kirchwerder Landweg, take the Fersenweg eastwards to the Marschbahndamm. Follow this south to the Gleisdreieck (large children's playground). Here the marshland embankment heading west to Kirchwerder Landweg and there heading north to Fersenweg.

literature

• Sven Baumung: A walk through the “Kirchwerder Wiesen” nature reserve . In: Lichtwark booklet . No. 74 . HB-Werbung publisher, ISSN  1862-3549 .
• Authority for Urban Development and the Environment: Maintenance and development plan for the Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve. (Plan for the conservation and development of the protected area binding on authorities, 175). S. 2012.
• Kai Schmille: The Hamburg nature reserves, green jewels in the big city. Edition Temmen, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8378-2015-7 .
• Claus Strunz (Ed.): Hamburg is so green: Discover all the nature reserves of the Hanseatic city. Verlag Hamburger Abendblatt, 2009, ISBN 978-3-939716-21-1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ordinance on the Kirchwerder Wiesen nature reserve of August 24, 1993 . Website of the Hamburg judiciary. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
2. ↑ Martens, J., Gilland, L. & H. Kurz (1985): Concept for the care and development of protected biotopes in the Vier- und Marschlande . Nature conservation and landscape management in Hamburg. Series of publications of the environmental authority issue 11. Hamburg
3. ↑ 2526304 Kirchwerder Wiesen.  (FFH area) Profiles of the Natura 2000 areas. Published by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation . Retrieved February 21, 2016.
4. ↑ Behre, Karl-Ernst (2008): The fluctuations of the mean tidal high water on the German North Sea coast in the last 3000 years according to archaeological data in G. Schernewski and T. Dolch (eds.): Geographie der Meere und Coasts, Coastline Reports 1 ( 2004) pp. 1-7, ISSN  0928-2734
5. ^ Aschenberg, Heinz and Gerhard Kroker (1992): Storm surges and flood protection in Hamburg. An outline of the history of dyke construction and internal drainage in the Elbe river splitting area , Building Authority of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, p. 64
6. ^ Küster, Hansjörg (1999): History of the landscape in Central Europe . CH Beck publishing house. Munich 424 pp. ISBN 3 406 453570
7. ↑ Schwoon, C. (1926): The drainage and irrigation of the Hamburg marsh lowlands . The construction technology. Book 53: 1-23
8. ↑ Kundt, Hildegard (1938): Die Vierlande. Development of your landscape in connection with the economy . Dissertation Hansische Universität Hamburg, series of publications by the Hanseatic Guild, Volume 9, 71 pp.
9. ↑ Röhr, Johannes (1907): The development of agriculture in the Vierlanden near Hamburg, a business study on the influence of sales on business organization . Dissertation at the Grand Ducal Hessian Ludwig University of Giessen. 71 pp.
10. ↑ Sköllin, Helmut (1920): The settlement options in the Hamburg marshland. On the basis of a special recording of the land rulers on agricultural cultivation in the Marsch- and Vierlanden . Statistical reports on the Hamburg state No. 9, Otto Meissner Verlag, Hamburg
11. ^ Geological map of Hamburg, scale 1: 25,000 with explanations (sheet 2526 Allermöhe), Geological State Office, 1993

Web links

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