Nature reserve quarry area Bernhardshammer and Binsfeldhammer
The nature reserve of the quarry area Bernhardshammer and Binsfeldhammer is located in the city region of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia . It has an area of 81 ha and is located at an average altitude of 240 m above sea level , with the highest elevation 281 m and the deepest depression at an altitude of 198 m. The nature reserve is located approx. 3 kilometers southeast of the city center of Stolberg .
The Bernhardshammer and Binsfeldhammer quarries are currently one of 37 nature reserves belonging to the city of Stolberg (Rhld.).
geology
The geological subsoil of the nature reserve is largely determined by limestone formations of the Viséum . In the quarries Binsfeldhammer and Bernhardshammer z. The so-called Upper Dolomite was partly mined until the 1970s . Both quarries supplied the high quality raw materials for the cement industry in the area. While the Binsfeldhammer quarry was built on the NW flank of the Burgholzer Mulde, the Bernharshammer quarry is located on the opposite flank of the hollow . The hollow core of the Burgholzer Mulde, which is formed by rocks from the Namurian , runs between the two quarries . The limestones were deeply karstified during the Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods and the resulting cavities were filled with red loam and sandy sediments .
history
The names of the two quarries come from the time of the copper and riding masters . Until 1846 there was a Binsfeldhammer copper yard in Stolberg, which had to give way to the Binsfeldhammer lead smelter after its demolition . The Bernardshammer Reitwerk was converted into a copper yard in the 17th century. The building still exists today. After the quarries were abandoned to extract limestone, no renaturation took place. They have been left to nature, which is gradually reclaiming the area.
Flora and fauna
General
The nature reserve consists of two neighboring, now abandoned limestone quarries. These are surrounded by afforested forest areas. The originally existing orchid-lime-beech forest is only left in remnants. At the edge of the pit up to 50 m deep, a ruderal flora and rubble flora with tall perennials and pioneer bushes has formed. The bottom of the pit contains a lake fed by groundwater and rainwater. Due to the existing rocky cliffs, numerous small bodies of water as well as heather and smaller grassland areas in combination with the heavy metal locations typical for the Stolberg region, one finds a highly specialized flora and fauna.
Typical of this area is vegetation that has largely specialized in dry locations. In addition, there is a plant community that has been adapted to the galmeihaltige soil, so that here there is a fauna and flora comparable to the nature reserves Schlangenberg , Bärenstein or Brockenberg .
An investigation from 1995 showed the following percentage division of the area according to the types of vegetation found:
Inland rocks, scree and rubble heaps as well as sandy areas account for the highest proportion of 37% of the total area. 25% are declared as landfills, pits and industrial areas. Less significant in percentage terms is the proportion of 8% of the nature reserve, which consists of moist and mesophilic grassland. 12% are deciduous forests and 10% artificial forests, which here consist especially of poplar stands. 4% of the area are standing or flowing inland waters. 2% of the area corresponds to the vegetation type salt marsh, salt meadow or salt steppe. 1% show bank vegetation and a further 1% heather and scrub.
flora
Typical plants of the nature reserve are the yellow calamine particles Viola lutea ssp , which are adapted to the heavy metal content of the calamine soil . calaminaria that calamine Thrift Armeria species alaminaria and the Galmeitäschelkraut Thlaspi calaminare .
A specialty is the beehive root Ophrys apifera found in the orchid beech forest .
fauna
Numerous endangered animal species living in the nature reserve. This biotope is the habitat of endangered nocturnal birds of prey. But also the red- backed shrimp Lanius collurio and the woodlark Lullula arborea can still be found here frequently.
The sea area offers a suitable habitat for reptiles. Here you can find the grass snake Natrix natrix . The lake area has now also become a habitat for the yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata , which uses this area as a spawning habitat and suitable summer and winter land habitat.
But the area also offers a suitable habitat for butterflies. Here you can find the Lilagold-Feuerfalter (Kleiner Dock-Feuerfalter) Lycaena hippothoe , the dwarf blue-winged Cupido minimus or the swallowtail Papilio machaon . The common sickle insect Phaneroptera falcata is one of the inhabitants of the area as well as the two-colored bite insect Metrioptera bicolor .
Threat to the nature reserve
One danger for the nature reserve is that existing small bodies of water are lost. In addition, there is a risk of vegetation change through afforestation with non-indigenous tree species. Entering the area repeatedly pollutes the biotope.
The area is subject to control by the Biological Station in the Aachen district. V.
literature
- Commission of the European Community (Ed.): NATURA 2 0 0 0 Territory No . : DE 5203-309 . March 27, 1994 ( online ( memento of October 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF; accessed on November 1, 2007]).
Web links
- Nature reserve "Steinbruchbereich Bernhardshammer and Binsfeldhammer" (ACK-013) in the specialist information system of the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Natura 2000 area DE-5203-309 in the specialist information system of the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roland Walter: Aachen and southern surroundings: North Eifel and Northeast Ardennes . Geological Guide Collection, Volume 100, Gebr. Borntraeger, Berlin, Stuttgart, pp. 153–179, ISBN 978-3-443-15086-0
Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 34 " N , 6 ° 14 ′ 58" E