Schönower Heide

Schönower Heide

Location of the Schönower Heide in Brandenburg, north of Berlin

The Schönower Heide , on the north-western border of the village of Schönow (since 2003 a district of the city of Bernau near Berlin ), is a 533 hectare nature reserve in Brandenburg owned by the city of Berlin . The area, which was used as a military training area from the beginning of the 20th century to 1991, received protection status in 2000. Since then, the Schönower Heide has also been designated as a European fauna and flora habitat . In addition to an open moorland with sweeping broom heathland in the nature reserve more worth protecting habitats, including to find sand lean lawns and - inland dunes areas and the wetlands of a pipe Den's. 2009 in a 140-hectare fenced area fallow deer , mouflon and deer exposed, which contributes decisively to hold open the heathland.

Entrance gate to Schönower Heide

Inland dune in the southern part of the Schönower Heide

Two circular hiking trails of approx. 1.5 and 5.0 km in length lead through the nature reserve and with numerous information boards offer the opportunity to find out interesting facts about the Schönower Heide and the grazing project . A lookout tower offers wide views over the heathland. The interest group Schönower Heide eV, founded in 2006, regularly invites you to guided tours and supports efforts to preserve the nature reserve with various events and work assignments. The association is also active in environmental education with its children's group “Heidekinder”.

Protection purpose

The protection purpose of the nature reserve consists in the preservation and development of the Schönower Heide "as a location of rare wild plant communities that are threatened in their existence, in particular of societies of the swamp sedge, alder, white moss-pine and willow-buckthorn societies as well as the permanent protection of sandy heaths Common heather and gorse, the dry sandy lawn with silver grass and ostrich grass as habitat types according to Annex I of Directive 92/43 EEC of May 21, 1992 for the conservation of natural habitats and wild animals and plants (“Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive”) “. The Schönower Heide is also under protection as a "habitat for endangered animal species, especially as a feeding and reproduction area for various bird, amphibian, reptile, butterfly, stinging voices, grasshoppers, dragonflies, beetles and spider species."

Accordingly, the Berlin Forests have made it their goal “to preserve the multitude of plant communities by allowing dynamic processes and favoring and promoting natural developments, increasing the diversity of species and securing the natural and near-natural communities in the Schönower Heide. The grazing wild animals is intended to represent a form of management that combines the necessary protection, renaturation and maintenance measures at both ecological and at the economic level. "

history

Autumn mood in the heather

Lookout tower in the heathland

The mixed deciduous forests originally found in the Schönower Heide were already used in the Middle Ages for wood extraction and as forest pasture . The associated removal of nutrients soon led to a further impoverishment of the gravel and sandy soils, which were not very nutrient-rich in any case, and which were left behind by the Ice Age as deposits of the Wandlitz-Ladeburger- Sanders . The result was the formation of vegetation rich in moss and lichen .

Only the sharp decline in population as a result of the Thirty Years War brought a certain recovery of the original forest areas. A division of the Schönower Heide made in 1757, "which so far from the Königl. Amte Mühlenbeck and the treasury at Bernau were half owned and used jointly ”, primarily served the purpose of being able to better regulate the use of the forest through fixed ownership. Koch notes that the heather “probably looked pretty desolate” due to the fact that the Schönow farmers had been able to “collect wood and remove litter” until then. Efforts to preserve forests were further promoted in the 19th century through targeted reforestation measures. As a result, an extensive pine forest area developed in the Bernau area near Berlin- Schönwalde - Wandlitz .

At the turn of the 20th century (1908 in honor of the city head of planning were the city of Berlin around the belonging to Schönow settlement Birkbusch James Hobrecht in Hobrechtsfelde renamed) lands for the construction of a city material and for conditioning of sewage purchased. With this, considerable parts of the Schönower Heide came into Berlin possession. At the beginning of the 20th century, a forest area within the Schönower Heide that was destroyed by caterpillars began to be used as a military training area , first by Imperial Guard infantrymen, then by units of the Reichswehr, and from 1946 to 1991 by those stationed in the Bernau area Armed Forces of the USSR / CIS . For the Soviet tank and infantry units operating in the heath, around 125 hectares of forest area were cleared with heavy combat vehicles, buildings, massive shelters and paths were created. Due to the constant "fighting" in the area, the open sand areas were largely preserved. Fires, caused by the use of live ammunition, occurred frequently, especially in the summer months, and contributed to the preservation of the heathland.

In the course of German reunification , Schönower Heide was transferred back into the possession of the State of Berlin. Responsibility for the area was transferred to the Berlin Forests, but use turned out to be difficult due to the high ammunition load. Even today, large parts of the Schönower Heide are prohibited from being visited. In 2000 the Schönower Heide received the status of a nature reserve and a European fauna and flora habitat. Accordingly, various measures were implemented in the following years to preserve the heathland, such as grazing with sheep in 2000, the dismantling of buildings and paths in 2001/02, large-scale mowing in 2002 and a partial winter fire in 2004.

In 2004, the Berlin forest administration began to open the nature reserve to visitors. A car and bicycle parking lot was created on Landesstraße 30 between Schönow and Schönwalde and the “Gate to the Heath” was built as the starting point for the newly created hiking trails. Today an asphalt bike and skater path leads past the gate, which connects the Schönower Heide with the Gorinsee , Hobrechtsfelde and the Bucher Forest . An observation tower and a picnic area were created in the area itself, and information boards were set up along a circular path. In 2008 the plan for continuous grazing of the heather areas by wild animals was drawn up, which was implemented the following year. A second circular hiking trail leads around the enclosure.

flora

Wetland within the Schönower Heide

A vegetation survey carried out in 2008 provided evidence of around 200 different plant species in the Schönower Heide. Among these are used as landscape plants typical of the counting of the dwarf shrubs heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), pine , birch and juniper . The plants found on the sandy areas include the species typical of pioneer corridors and sandy grasslands, including the silver grass ( Corynephorus canescens ), the hawkweed ( Hieracium pilosella ), the stonecrop ( Sedum acre ) and the straw flower ( Helichrysum arenarium ). Around 40 species of lichen were also found. In some areas the aspen dominates .

In the north-east of the NSG there is a large depression that was once wet and now overgrown with tall forebears and grass. Another 26 hectare wetland is located immediately to the west of the sandy areas on Landesstraße 30. The pipe break belongs to the source area of ​​the Lietzengraben and is characterized by alders , swamp sedge and tall herbaceous vegetation.

fauna

The animal world in the Schönower Heide nature reserve is largely shaped by warmth-loving animals that use the heath as a feeding, reproductive, retreat and repopulation area. These include sand lizards , butterflies , tiger beetles , darter beetles , various types of wild bees and grasshoppers .

The bird world is abundant. In 2001, 61 breeding bird species were identified in an inventory. Including numerous endangered species such as were whinchat and Woodlark , Hoopoe , Stonechat , woodcock , nightjar , Gray Shrike , Tawny Pipit . The number of breeding wheatears has decreased . The removal of the building remains and debris deposits that were initially still present in the NSG had a negative effect on their existence. Fitis , tree pipit , goldhammer , skylark , chaffinch and blackbird can be observed regularly .

Wildlife grazing

Grazing of the heather by fallow deer

After various traditional measures had been used to preserve the open heathland in the years between 2000 and 2004 with sheep grazing, mowing and the targeted burning down of overaged Calluna populations, the forest administration made a plan in 2008 for permanent grazing of the heather area through wildlife. Fallow and roe deer should keep the emerging shrub and tree vegetation, mouflon the ground vegetation including the common heather short by browsing. In order to be able to keep the animals permanently in the heather, an area of ​​140 ha, of which around 120 ha is central Calluna sand heather area, was surrounded by a wild animal fence. In the enclosure, areas of water were created as drinking troughs . In 2009, twelve animals each of fallow deer, mouflon and eight roe deer were released. The project planners expect that the population will increase to around 140 animals in the future.

The wildlife project is supported by the " University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde " and the " Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin". In their observations, the scientists and foresters investigate the question of whether wild animal grazing can actually prevent the heathland from being overgrown and how many animals are necessary for this. At the same time, the influence of wild animal populations on other species groups indigenous to the heather, such as various insect species, whose food supply (heather flower nectar) is likely to decline, is examined. Special attention is also paid to the healthy development of the abandoned wild animals.

Wildlife grazing is an enrichment for visitors to Schönower Heide. After a short time, they had the opportunity to observe the abandoned animals up close and yet in a largely original environment.

2012 was in the southeastern area of Schönower Heide, in addition to the approximately powered by Hobrechtsfelde since 2011 Bucher Forest and the former sewage forest grazing by Konik and robust cattle, a herd of Konik set for grazing the local high forests.

literature

• Panketal community; Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) eV - Landesverband Berlin (Hrsg.): 100 years Hobrechtsfelde. A village for the Berlin water. Berlin 2006 online (PDF; 3.3 MB).
• Otto Koch: From Schönow's past. Self-published by Otto Koch, Schönow 1934.

Web links

Commons : Schönower Heide  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ordinance on the "Schönower Heide" nature reserve of October 10, 2000
• Berlin forests to Schönower Heide
• Schönower Heide Association
• Hiking recommendation for the Schönower Heide with directions

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ordinance on the Schönower Heide nature reserve, accessed October 2012
2. ↑ Representation of the circular hiking trails including information boards, see board: "Das Naturschutzgebiet", accessed October 2012
3. ^ Certificate of division of May 14, 1757, quoted from: Otto Koch: From Schönow's Past. Self-published by Otto Koch, Schönow 1934, p. 18.
4. ↑ Otto Koch: From Schönow's past. Self-published by Otto Koch, Schönow 1934, p. 22.
5. ↑ Representation of the circular hiking trails including information boards, see board: "History", accessed October 2012
6. ↑ Grazing project around Hobrechtsfelde, accessed November 2012  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.