Säulingssee

Säulingssee near Kleinensee IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
Water buffalo as "landscape maintenance" in the protected area
location	On the western edge of the Heringen district of Kleinensee in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in Hesse , directly on the border with Thuringia .
surface	21.41 hectares
Identifier	1632008
WDPA ID	165337/555520376http: //infobox-schutzgebiet.wdpa-id.test/165337%20%2F%20555520376
Natura 2000 ID	5025-302
Geographical location	50 ° 56 '  N , 9 ° 58'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '53 "  N , 9 ° 58' 5"  E
Sea level	at 230  m
Setup date	1984
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve and Natura 2000 area.

The Säulingssee (also called Seulingsee according to another spelling ) is a former lake in a subrosion depression in the north-east Hessian district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg . The area on the border with Thuringia is characterized by humid biotopes : small areas alternate between moist meadows, fallow grassland, groups of trees, woody plants, tall herbaceous areas and ponds. The waters in the area have remarkable occurrences of highly endangered, regionally lost or endangered aquatic plants .

The area is completely surrounded by agriculturally unused land and a surrounding ditch. The area, which has become a habitat for rare and endangered plant communities , amphibians and bird species, was declared a nature reserve in March 1984 and later, with the same boundaries and conservation objectives, as a flora-fauna-habitat area, part of the European networked protected area system " Natura 2000 ".

location

The "Säulingssee" nature reserve is located in the district of Kleinensee in the city of Heringen (Werra) in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district . To the north and west it borders on Großensee in the Thuringian Wartburg district . The protected area is located in one of the East Hessian subrosion depressions , which were created by the leaching of Zechstein salts with a subsequent subsidence of the rock layers above. At an altitude of 230  m , it is outside the floodplain of the Werra .

In terms of natural space, the area is assigned to the sub-unit “ Salzunger Werrabergland ” in the main unit group “ Osthessisches Bergland ”. To the south and west, the area merges into the “ Seulingswald ” sub-unit of the “ Fulda-Werra-Bergland ”.

climate

Due to the location of the basin and the high level of moisture in the ground, the depression is considered a cold lake and is determined by a cool to cold-damp climate . This causes a lengthening of frost periods with a higher proportion of early and late frosts and a shortening of the vegetation period to around 250 days. The average annual precipitation is between 600 and 650 mm and the average annual temperature is 8º C.

Origin of the area

The Säulingssee lies in a depression that was created in the Tertiary period in the Lower and Middle Buntsandstein . In the tub-like basin there was originally a large, shallow lake, which was finally drained in 1934. The floors of the former lake consist of loamy to sandy sediments . In the lower-lying southwest part, muddy lake deposits occur and in the area of seepage water outlets in the northwest part there are peaty moor soils .

According to ancient traditions, the lake is said to have been so rich in carp and pike that the inhabitants were able to make a living from fishing during this period.

In the 19th century the lake was drained in order to be able to use the area for agriculture. The Suhlbach on the northern edge, which originally fed the lake, was relocated in order to lead its water past the depression. The drainage was intensified in the 1930s by the construction of a large drainage ditch and a drainage network . After that, cultivation, including arable farming, was possible in the entire area. After the withdrawal of agriculture, around 1960 to 1970, the drainage was no longer maintained and the area became more wet again, which ultimately led to the abandonment of the area. Only the drier eastern areas are still used as hay meadows or extensive pastures according to the specifications of the nature conservation authority.

In the first half of the 1980s, the restoration of the wetland began with the creation of several standing water ponds . Some are over three feet deep and have shallow banks. The water levels here fluctuate greatly over the course of the year, and some areas of water also dry out during the summer. As part of extensive maintenance work, additional new shallow water bodies were created in winter 2004/2005 and some old water bodies were enlarged. Trees and bushes that had shaded the ponds were cleared.

nature

Still waters with reed fringes in the southern part.

Due to their behavior, the water buffalo ensure a variety of small biotopes and different types of vegetation in the grazed wet grassland.

According to the “Standard Data Sheet for Special Protected Areas”, which was created in April 1998 and updated in February 2015, the eutrophic shallow waters are of nationwide importance as a habitat for highly endangered aquatic plant species. As a specialty, the endangered species of pill fern and water feather grow here in a silting pond . Other characteristic species of this location are aquatic mosses and shield buttercups . In some shallow waters, extensive belts of pondweed have developed.

The overall results of the zoological investigations showed that the protected area is also of high regional and supra-regional importance for the protection of fauna. The various still waters are considered ideal habitats for amphibians. Common toads , leaf, green and common frogs as well as crested newts , mountain newts and pond newts spawn and spend their development phase linked to the water in the pools .

In a relatively clear, sunny body of water rich in water plants, a large population of the endangered Moderlieschen was detected. This small fish species forms the food basis for the red list species little grebe and kingfisher , which visit the area for hunting. The transition zones with reed beds , trees and shrubs offer breeding grounds and feeding habitats for other bird species. Members of the Naturschutzbund Germany (NABU) in Heringen evaluated the observation data from the years 2008 to 2013 and afterwards the following endangered bird species were found in the area of ​​the Säulingssee: The breeding birds common snipe , bluethroat , whinchat , field owl , teal and tufted duck , Red backed killer , reed bunting , reed swirl , pond warbler and water rail . The migratory and resting birds included wood sandpipers , gray goose , teal duck , red and black kite , great egret , pochard , wood sandpiper and white stork .

Water buffalo have been grazing in the northeastern area since 2006 . Through the extensive grazing of Hochstaudenfluren and browsing of woody plants that are to Verschattungs - and the siltation processes of the waters to be stopped. The aim of the near-natural pasture operation is to preserve the open landscape with the diverse small structures in the wetlands.

Protected position

• Nature reserve

With an ordinance of March 1, 1984 by the District Directorate for Forests and Nature Conservation at the regional council in Kassel , the area of ​​the former Säulingssee was declared a nature reserve. With the protection, the aim was to preserve and secure the tall herbaceous meadows, wet meadows and ditches as a habitat for numerous amphibian and bird species. The area should also be protected as a site for endangered, retreating plant communities. In addition to the model ordinance, agricultural land use was permitted to the previous extent and in the previous manner, and the search for the observation well by Kali und Salz AG was also exempt from the prohibitions. The nature reserve has a size of around 21.5 hectares, has the national identification 1632008 and the WDPA code 165337.

• Flora-fauna habitat area

As part of the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive , the “Säulingssee” was reported by the State of Hesse to the EU Commission in 2002 for the Europe-wide network of special protected areas, Natura 2000 . Natura 2000 aims to promote biological diversity and to preserve or restore a favorable condition of natural biotopes. Decisive for the designation as an FFH area was the habitat type 3150 "Natural and near-natural nutrient-rich still waters with spawning or frog-bite communities" and the occurrence of yellow-bellied toad and crested newt. Legal protection took place in January 2008 with the "Ordinance on Natura 2000 areas in Hesse". The FFH area, which is the same size and the same boundaries as the nature reserve, has the area number 5025-302 and the WDPA code 555520376.

• Adjacent protected areas

In the north and west of the Säulingssee is the Thuringian EU bird sanctuary 5127-401 "Werra-Aue between Breitungen and Creuzburg", which offers many endangered bird species typical habitats.

The nearby Hessian nature conservation and FFH areas " Rhäden in Obersuhl and Bosserode ", "upper Suhler Aue" and " Rohrlache of herring " and the Thuringian FFH area "Werra between Phillipp valley and Herleshausen" forms of Säulingssee an important stepping stone in the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The system of near-natural floodplain biotopes in the Middle Werra Valley also includes the nature reserves "Alte Werra", "Werraaue bei Berka and Untersuhl" and "Rohrlache between Dippach and Dankmarshausen" in Thuringia, which are also characterized by bodies of water and wetlands. They are an important part of a biotope network along the “ Green Belt ” on the former inner-German border . The major nature conservation project , which was declared a national natural monument by the decision of the Thuringian state parliament on November 9, 2018 , connects numerous rare habitats and is intended to contribute to the conservation of biological diversity in Germany and the region.

Tourist development

Information board on the circular route in the protected area

The reserve is accessible from Kleinensee with a grassy circular path. It begins and ends near the sports field on the western outskirts. A notice board provides information about the area.

literature

• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen, protect-experience-maintain. Volume 3, Werra-Meißner district and Hersfeld-Rotenburg district . cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, ISBN 3-932583-13-2 , p. 185 f .
• Claus Neckermann, Alexander Wenzel: Basic data acquisition for the FFH area “Säulingssee bei Kleinensee” . Kassel Regional Council, Nature Conservation Department, Cölbe 2003.

Web links

Commons : Säulingssee nature reserve near Kleinensee  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ The “Seulingsee bei Kleinensee” on the website of the city of Heringen (Werra); accessed on December 28, 2019.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Claus Neckermann and Alexander Wenzel: Basic data acquisition for the FFH area “Säulingssee bei Kleinensee” .
3. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on December 28, 2019.
4. ^ Chronicle on the website of the Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Kleinensee; accessed on December 28, 2019.
5. ^ ^{A b} Sieglinde and Lothar Nitsche: Nature reserves in the Werra-Meißner district and Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in nature reserves in Hesse, protect-experience-maintain. Volume 3. P. 185 f.
6. ↑ Standard data sheet for special protected areas, created on behalf of the Kassel Regional Council.
7. ↑ Endangered bird species in the action plan for FFH area 5025-302 "Säulingssee bei Kleinensee" . Created on behalf of the Upper Nature Conservation Authority at the Kassel regional council. July 2014, revised in December 2016.
8. ↑ The ordinance came into force the day after its publication in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse on March 26, 1984.
9. ^ Ordinance on the "Säulingssee bei Kleinensee" nature reserve of March 1, 1984 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, edition 13/1984 of March 26, 1984, p. 658 f.
10. ^ "Säulingssee bei Kleinensee" nature reserve in the world database on protected areas; accessed on November 14, 2019.
11. ↑ The LRT is described on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and its distribution, endangerment and protection is shown; accessed on December 28, 2019.
12. ↑ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hesse of January 16, 2008 in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse, Part I, No. 4, of March 7, 2008.
13. ↑ Profile of FFH area 5025-302 “Säulingssee bei Kleinensee” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on December 28, 2019.
14. ↑ Profile of the EU bird sanctuary 5127-401 “Werra-Aue between Breitungen and Creuzburg” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on December 28, 2019.
15. ^ "The Green Belt of Thuringia - National Natural Monument" on the website of the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation; accessed on December 28, 2019.