Zeiserlberg nature reserve

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View from the Zeiserlberg with blooming individuals of the Tátorján sea cabbage

The Zeiserlberg nature reserve , also known as the Zeiselbergen , west of Ottenthal in the Mistelbach district in Lower Austria is the only known location in Austria for the very rare Tátorján sea kale . The area is dominated by a dry grassland and is of international importance as a biogenetic reservoir due to the rare species that occur.

geology

The Zeiserlberg is a loess- covered impact slope, exposed to the west, which was formed by floor tiles during the last Ice Age . The position exposed to the wind allowed the loess to come to light in many cases and, together with the steep slope, prevented a closed vegetation cover . This only allowed drought specialists to colonize the place. In addition, the steep area could not be used economically or only extensively, which increased the chances of survival of rare species.

Flora and fauna

The Tátorján sea kale is a southern Siberian-Pontic-Pannonian flora element that reaches its western limit in Austria and southern Moravia . The closest occurrence of Tatar sea kale, as the species is also called, is on the Hutberg near Pouzdřany . The current main distribution area of ​​the species is in the southern Ukrainian and southern Russian steppe area north of the Black Sea . During and immediately after the last ice age there were extensive cold steppes in Central Europe and thus suitable habitats for the Tátorján sea kale. This enabled the species to spread to the edge of the glaciated parts of the Alps . After the temperatures rose, it was again displaced by more demanding species and could only hold its own in a few, extremely dry locations, such as the Zeiserlberg. Seedlings of the species require open ground to emerge. The habitat of the Tátorján sea kale are deep loosely dry grasslands such as those on the Zeiserlberg, which are plant-sociologically linked to the woodland sage and furrowed grassland. In 1909 around 150 specimens were counted on the Zeiserlberg. Thanks to the care measures that began shortly after the turn of the millennium, the sea kale was able to increase its population to around 600 individuals.

In the Austrian dry grass catalog, the Zeiserlberg was classified as "nationally important". Other strongly endangered plant species occurring on the Zeiserlberg would be the tuberous plant herb ( Phlomis tuberosa ), the steppe pointed keel ( Oxytropis pilosa ), the throughgrow hare's ear ( Bupleurum rotundifolium ), the German elephant ( Inula germanica ) and the villi flax ( Linum hirsutum ). There are also attractive occurrences of the diptam , the spring adonis and the helminth orchid . So far, a total of 200 plant species have been identified on Zeiserlberg, 36 of which are on Austria's Red List of Endangered Plants .

protection

The Tátorján sea kale was rediscovered on a grassy slope by Alois Teyber at the end of May 1902 for what was then the Crown Land of Lower Austria. The slope mentioned is likely to be the Zeiserlberg near Ottenthal. As early as 1910, the Imperial and Royal Zoological and Botanical Society leased two pieces of land measuring around 0.2 hectares on the Zeiserlberg in order to preserve the only occurrence of Tatar sea kale in Austria. In 1932, the area was declared a "statutory ban area" and in 1978 it was upgraded to a nature reserve. In 1995 the protection was extended to the entire south-western slope and a total of 3.2 hectares in order to ensure the long-term survival of the rare plant and animal species. Since the use of the new areas was gradually abandoned, the dry grassland as well as the population of sea cabbage could expand. In the course of a LIFE project carried out from 2004 to 2008 , extensive improvement measures were carried out on the Zeiserlberg, which was included in the Natura 2000 area " Weinviertel cliff zone ". Regular maintenance measures, such as small-scale mowing and the removal of bushes, as well as accompanying monitoring of the measures, are necessary in order to maintain the dry lawn over the long term.

photos

  • The west-exposed slope is covered by a species-rich dry grassland.

  • In spring you can admire the inflorescences of the diptam .

  • Leaf shoots of Tátorján sea cabbage ; the plant only blooms once after 6–7 years.

  • The Tátorján sea kale ( Crambe tataria ), which is highly endangered in Austria, spreads its diaspores as steppe rollers .

  • The sea kale has spherical fruits (pods) that each contain only one seed and do not open.

  • The Ottenthal coat of arms contains stylized sea kale blossoms.

  • The bulbous cinderella ( Phlomis tuberosa ) occurs only very rarely in Austria and is highly endangered.

  • The rare steppe pointed keel ( Oxytropis pilosa ) is endangered in Austria.

  • The chalk- loving through-wax rabbit's ear ( Bupleurum rotundifolium ) is endangered in Austria.

  • The Germany Alant ( Inula germanica ) likes to grow on loess soils and is endangered in Austria.

  • The shaggy flax ( Linum hirsutum ) needs disturbed soil sites for germination and is endangered in Austria.

  • The Pontic wormwood ( Artemisia pontica ) likes to grow over loess and is endangered in Austria.

  • The common hedgehog ( Lappula squarrosa ) occurs in fallow land on Zeiserlberg and is endangered in Austria.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Heinz Wiesbauer (Ed.): The steppe lives, rock steppes and dry grasslands in Lower Austria , St. Pölten 2008, ISBN 3-901542-28-0 , pp. 62 f, 69 f Archived copy ( memento of the original from 19. February 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 775 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.steppe.at
  2. ^ A b Gustav Wendelberger: From the beginnings of nature conservation in Lower Austria: The early leasehold areas of the Zoological-Botanical Society, A review in the European year of nature conservation 1970 , in: Negotiation of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Vienna , Vol. 110/111 (1971/72 ), P. 126 ff [1] (PDF; 1.24 MB)
  3. ↑ a b Manfred A. Fischer: Relicts of the Ice Age to Early Ice Age Loess Vegetation , in: Heinz Wiesbauer and Herbert Zettel: Hohlwege und Lössterrassen in Niederösterreich , Vienna 2014, ISBN 3-901542-42-6
  4. ↑ Harald Niklfeld: On xerothermal vegetation in the east of Lower Austria , in: Negotiations of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Vienna , 103/104, Vienna 1964, p. 158 f [2] (PDF; 2.26 MB)
  5. ↑ a b c August Ginzberger: Report of the Section for Botany - Talk evening on June 27, 1913 - Dr. August Ginzberger gave the following report on the excursion to the plant geographical reservations near Nikolsburg and Ottenthal (on May 22, 1913) , in: Negotiations of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Vienna , 63, 1913, pp. (143) - (149) [3 ] (PDF; 24.3 MB)
  6. ↑ a b c Heinz Wiesbauer and Manuela Zinöcker: "Zeiserlberg" nature reserve , maintenance within the framework of the LIFE nature project "Pannonian steppes and dry grasslands", undated, archived copy ( memento of the original from October 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info : The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 603 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.steppe.at
  7. ↑ Wolfgang Holzner et al .: Austrian dry grass catalog. “Steppes”, “heaths”, dry meadows, poor meadows: existence, endangerment, possibilities of their conservation. In: Green series of the Federal Ministry for Health and Environmental Protection , Volume 6, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-900-649-065 , Object ÖK 10/3
  8. ↑ a b Heinz Wiesbauer: Diversity in the wasteland, protection and care of Pannonian steppe and dry grasslands as part of a LIFE-Nature project , St. Pölten 2009, ISBN 3-901542-30-2 , p. 19 Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 4.57 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.steppe.at
  9. ^ A. Teyber: LIV. Report of the Section for Botany - Meeting on October 17, 1902 - Mr. A. Teyber demonstrated and discussed a number of very interesting floristic finds in Lower Austria , in: Negotiations of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Vienna , 52, pp. 590-594 [4] (PDF; 1.97 MB)
  10. ^ A b c d e f g h Manfred A. Fischer, Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .

Web links

Commons : Zeiserlberg (Ottenthal)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 45 ′ 47.7 "  N , 16 ° 33 ′ 52.8"  E