Upper Möhnetal nature reserve (Brilon)

Renatured area of the Möhne north of the Scharfenberg train station

Renatured area of the Möhne which almost directly connects to the area in the first picture

The nature reserve Upper Möhnetal with a size of 81.22 hectares begins northwest of Wülfte in the urban area of Brilon ( North Rhine-Westphalia ) and includes a section of the Möhne with Aue up to the district boundary. The area was designated as a nature reserve (NSG) by the Hochsauerlandkreis in 2008 with the landscape plan of the Brilon plateau . The NSG from the former Scharfenberg train station belongs to the FFH area Möhne-Oberlauf (DE 4516-302). The NSG and FFH area continue in the urban area of Rüthen . The NSG in the Soest district is called the Möhnetal nature reserve .

Area description

The NSG is part of the Möhneaue. In the floodplain there are swamp forests, alluvial forest relics and alder forests that accompany the stream. There are also wet and wet grasslands in the floodplain.

Protection purpose

The Möhne floodplain is to be protected in the NSG. As with all nature reserves in Germany, the protection designation pointed out that the area became a nature reserve “because of the rarity, special character and beauty of the area”.

Species in the NSG

Many rare species were found in the NSG. Bird species such as kingfisher , dipper and red- backed shrike breed in the area. The black stork is a food guest. Species such as darter , marsh insect and meadowsweet mother-of-pearl were found among the insects . Bullhead and brook lamprey can be found in the Möhne itself .

Life + Project Möhne

The Life + Project Möhne ran from 2010 to 2014 . The project ran on parts of the Möhneaue from the Scharfenberg train station to shortly before the Möhnetalsperre . In the Soest district, the project sponsors are the Lower Landscape Authority District Soest and in the Hochsauerlandkreis the Biological Station Hochsauerlandkreis . In the 1950s, the Möhne floodplain was continuously used as grassland. For this purpose, areas were drained and other areas irrigated. Later, many areas fell fallow or were reforested with red spruce . The river itself has been straightened and the banks reinforced in many ways. The aim of the life project was to reactivate the Möhne's own dynamic. Side channels were created with excavators and meanders were created in order to create an extension of the Möhne. Bank reinforcements have been removed. In order to increase the dynamics in the river, dead wood was built into the river in the form of tree trunks. In the floodplain, spruce forests have been cleared and converted into grassland. Many fallow land also became grassland again. Several fish ponds were removed from the floodplain.