Weißbachtal near Reichenbach

Weißbachtal near Reichenbach IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
View into the Weißbach valley.
location	Reichenbach , town of Hessisch Lichtenau in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse .
surface	27.0 hectares
Identifier	1636010
WDPA ID	82882
Natura 2000 ID	4824-302
FFH area	28.21 hectares
Geographical location	51 ° 14 '  N , 9 ° 58'  E Coordinates: 51 ° 13 '36 "  N , 9 ° 57' 52"  E
Sea level	from 330  m to 375  m
Setup date	1983/1990
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve and Natura 2000 area.

The Weißbachtal near Reichenbach is a meadow valley characterized by agricultural use in the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse . The nature conservation significance of the valley is based primarily on the lime-rich fen with its source areas, which has become the location of numerous endangered plant species. In order to secure and preserve this valuable habitat, the Weißbachtal was designated as a nature reserve in 1990 and since 2008 it has been part of the Natura 2000 protected area system as a flora-fauna-habitat area .

Geographical location

The Weißbachtal begins northeast of the Reichenbach district of the city of Hessisch Lichtenau in the Werra-Meißner district. The area is divided into two parts, in the north is the "Untere Weißbachtal", in the south the "Obere Weißbachtal". The state road 3249 partially represents the western border of the protected area. To the east, south and west the valley is surrounded by the Natura 2000 area “Reichenbacher Kalkberge” with its extensive beech forests and orchid-rich limestone grasslands.

The eponymous Weißbach flows through the valley from south to northeast. The light color of the limestone deposits means that limestone waters are often referred to as "Weißenborn" or "Weißenbach". The name Weißbachtal probably also refers to the lime content of the brook.

The Weißbachtal is located in the " Geo-Nature Park Frau-Holle-Land ". In terms of natural space , it is assigned to the "Hessisch-Lichtenau Basin" in the " Fulda-Werra-Bergland ", which belongs to the main unit group " Osthessisches Bergland ".

Protected position

View from the country road to the east over the Weißbachtal to the limestone mountains.

For the first time in 1983, with an ordinance issued by the District Directorate for Forests and Nature Conservation in Kassel , around 20 hectares of the Weißbachtal were declared a nature reserve. The purpose of the protection was " to secure and preserve the fens and swamp sedge ridge including the surrounding wet meadows as locations for numerous, in some cases very rare, plant species and as a habitat for threatened animal species in the wet meadow region ." With an area enlarged to 27.0 hectares, the national identifier 1636010 and the WDPA code 82882, it was again designated as a nature reserve in 1990.

Because the valley has "natural habitats and species that are worthy of protection" , "which in their particularity represent part of the natural heritage of the European Community" , the Weißbachtal became part of the Natura 2000 protected area system as a flora-fauna-habitat area with the number 4824-302 . The establishment of the area boundaries and the conservation objectives took place in the "Ordinance on Natura 2000 areas in Hesse" of January 16, 2008.

nature

The meadow valley bordered by the Reichenbacher Kalkberge was shaped by the agricultural use as arable and grassland. Today the areas are mainly worked extensively as hay meadows and pastures. Only in the flat, humid fen areas in the lower Weißbachtal is there no management.

Are protected in Weißbachtal predominantly grassland biotopes , which is composed of a mosaic of wetlands and wet waste land, small sedge swamps and sedge vineyards , Hochstaudenfluren together and small-scale wood surfaces. The value as a nature reserve is based primarily on these wetland complexes around the lime-rich fen with its source areas , which is the habitat of a large number of rare and endangered plant species. Here the orchids and the plant species of the humid biotopes are seen as treasures of vegetation . These include the spotted orchid , the Broad orchid , the marsh helleborine , the fly orchid that Davallsegge that Wenigblütige bulrush , the Siberian iris , the Bogbean , the adder's tongue , the Parnassia palustris , the Swamp trident and the globe flower .

On behalf of the Upper Nature Conservation Authority of the Kassel Regional Council, scientists examined the protected area in 2002 and 2003 as part of the reporting obligation to the EU Commission. The basic data collection completed in March 2004 shows a large number of rare biotopes that are considered relevant habitat types (LRT) according to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive .

In the study, an area of ​​around two hectares in the lower Weißbach valley acquired by the State of Hesse, in which valuable swamp and bog areas are concentrated, is viewed as of supra-regional importance. The area included in LRT 7230 “Limestone-rich fens”, which is also known as “Kalkquellsumpf” or “Davallseggenried”, is a characteristic element of the limestone landscape of northern Hesse. Water-retaining clay layers at the layer boundary between the Lower Muschelkalk and the Upper Buntsandstein underneath , which is called red , cause the formation of swelling outlets. The appearance of the wet habitat is characterized by lime- and moisture-loving small sedge. The Davalls sedge , which also occurs in the Weißbachtal , the swamp stendelwort and the broad-leaved cottongrass are regarded as characteristic species . This sub-area has been subject to special care measures since 1983, and fertilization has stopped there since 1985.

In addition to the occurrence of the fen, other biotopes underline the high status of the area. These are the other wet areas such as the LRT 6430 "Feuchte Hochstaudenfluren " and the LRT 6410 "Pfeifengraswiesen" , whose colorful, species-rich stock has a large range of flowers, seeds and fruits and serves as a food source for the insect world, as well as the priority LRT 91E0 * "Alluvial forests" , which was created in the Weißbachtal during the succession.

The two open-land habitats LRT 6510 "Lean flatland hay meadows" and LRT 6210 "Semi-arid grasslands close to nature" are now regarded as rare special locations due to the progressive mechanization and intensification of agriculture.

The near-natural forest areas embedded in the lower valley slope areas are assigned to the habitat types 9130 "Woodruff-beech forest" and 9150 "Central European orchid-lime-beech forest". The model for the forests is the preservation of the structure-rich stands with standing and lying dead wood and the typical tree species in their various stages of development and age.

The immediate vicinity of the adjacent Natura 2000 area “Reichenbacher Kalkberge” is seen as adding value to the Weißbachtal. The forest and semi-arid grass there increase the area of ​​these valuable biotopes and counteract islanding.

• 

  Seggenried and floodplain forest in the lower Weißbachtal.

• 

  View from the south of the area around the fen in the reserve. In the background the Hohe Meißner.

• 

  Lot from the Lower Weißbachtal.

Tourist development

The protected area is easily visible from the state road 3249. Some paths, which are to be reserved for agricultural and forestry use, cross the valley. An information board at the “Drei Linden” car park at the entrance to Reichenbach provides information about the Natura 2000 areas and is intended to enable visitors to understand the meaning and purpose of the designation of protected areas.

literature

• Office for applied ecology and forest planning: Basic data acquisition for FFH area no. 4824-302 "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" . Prepared on behalf of the Kassel Regional Council. Kassel, November 2003, amended March 2004.
• Sigrid Kortenhaus: Action plan as part of the management plan according to § 5 HAGBNatschG to determine the measures according to § 15 HAGBNatschG in the FFH area "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach." Created on behalf of the Kassel regional council. Kassel, February 2012.
• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, ISBN 3-932583-13-2 .

Web links

Commons : Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Profile of FFH area 4824-301 "Reichenbacher Kalkberge" on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on November 23, 2018.
2. ↑ Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, p. 48.
3. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on November 30, 2018.
4. ↑ Quoted from the ordinance on the nature reserve "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" of July 20, 1983 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, No. 32/1983 of August 8, 1983, p. 1627 f.
5. ^ Ordinance on the "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" nature reserve of March 23, 1990 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, No. 15/1999 of April 9, 1990, p. 660 f.
6. ↑ "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" in the world database for protected areas ; accessed on November 30, 2018.
7. ^ Ordinance on the Natura 2000 areas in Hessen in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hessen. Part I - No. 4, dated January 16, 2008.
8. ↑ List of habitats occurring in Germany in Appendix I of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive ; accessed on November 29, 2018.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Basic data acquisition for the FFH area "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" ; accessed on November 25, 2018.
10. ↑ Action plan as part of the management plan in the FFH area "Weißbachtal bei Reichenbach" ; accessed on November 25, 2018.