Werra old arm near Schwebda

Werra old arm near Schwebda IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
View from the south of the northern part of the oxbow lake.
location	Schwebda , municipality of Meinhard in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse .
surface	7.89 hectares
Identifier	1636015
WDPA ID	319314
Natura 2000 ID	4826-304
Geographical location	51 ° 11 '  N , 10 ° 6'  E Coordinates: 51 ° 11 '30 "  N , 10 ° 6' 6"  E
Sea level	from 162  m to 163  m
Setup date	March 1987
particularities	Special protection as a nature reserve , Natura 2000 area and part of the "Auenverbund Werra" nature reserve .

The Werra oxbow lake near Schwebda is a former river bend in the Eschweg basin , which was separated from the main stream in the 19th century by an artificial straightening of the Werra . In order to protect the area, which has become a habitat for a large number of bird species, the approximately eight hectare area was declared a nature reserve and flora-fauna habitat area .

Geographical location

The oxbow lake is in the district of Schwebda , a district of the Meinhard community in the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse . The protected area begins at the end of the village and is bordered in the south by the banks of the Werra. In the east, arable land borders the protected area. To the west is the leisure and recreation area of ​​the Werratalsee .

The protected area belongs to the Geo-Naturpark Frau-Holle-Land and is naturally allocated to the “Schwebda-Jestädter Werraaue” in the “Lower Werraland” , which belongs to the main unit group “ Osthessisches Bergland ”.

Protected position

With the designation as a nature reserve in March 1987, the typical vegetation of an oxbow lake with its distinctive reed zone was to be secured as a biotope for endangered bird species. The nature reserve with a size of 7.89 hectares has the national identification number 1636015 and the WDPA code 319314. With the same area boundaries and conservation goals, the oxbow lake was part of Natura 2000 in 2008 as a fauna-flora-habitat area with the number 4826-304 , a Europe-wide network of protected areas.

The oxbow lake is also part of the "Auenverbund Werra" landscape protection area, which was designated in 1992 and extends with several sub-areas and a total area of ​​around 4000 hectares along the Werra in the districts of Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Werra-Meißner. The aim is the preservation and restoration of near-natural sections, the protection should serve the communities along the waters, which are characterized by high and low tide.

nature

The eastern part of the oxbow lake.

A straightening of the Werra is thanks to the presence of the oxbow lake. In 1849 the horseshoe-shaped river bend was cut off from the main stream. Over time, the oxbow lake has developed into a resting, feeding and breeding ground for a large number of endangered and threatened bird species.

With a size of 7.89 hectares, a length of about 1.5 km and the small width of six to eight meters, which only extends up to 150 m in the eastern part, the area is one of the smaller protected areas in the district. A dirt road coming from Schwebda and crossing the oxbow lake also divides the area into two halves. In addition to reed beds and open water areas, the oxbow lake has a distinctive older tree population. Alder trees , poplars , tree willows and willow bushes line the banks . This forest is assigned to habitat type 91 E0 * "Alder, ash and softwood alluvial forests". It is a priority habitat that is threatened with disappearing from the EU perspective and for which there is a special responsibility for its conservation.

The water areas with their characteristic vegetation belong to the habitat type 3150 "eutrophic lakes" . The backwater, which is formed from ponds, reed beds and silting areas, is in a favorable state of conservation and is viewed as valuable from a floristic and ornithological perspective. The ornithological importance of the Werra valley arm was a major reason for its designation as a nature reserve. In the appraisal of protection worthiness, teal , marsh harrier , pond warbler and water rail are mentioned as valuable bird species.

The protected area lies in the flood area of the Werra. However, floods have become less frequent and mostly of less intensity. This also sank the average water level of the oxbow lake, which gradually silted up. On the inside, in the southern area, an old flood basin , which was not included in the protected area, crosses the agricultural areas.

Tourist development

A cycling and hiking trail passes between the northwestern area of ​​the oxbow lake and the Werratalsee. The inner arch of the U-shaped oxbow is reached via a dirt road.

literature

• Lothar and Sieglinde Nitsche, Marcus Schmidt: Nature reserves in Hessen , Volume 3, cognitio Verlag, Niedenstein 2005, ISBN 3-932583-13-2 .
• Hjalmar Thiel: Basic data acquisition for FFH area no. 4826-304 "Werra-Altarm bei Schwebda" . Prepared on behalf of the Kassel Regional Council, Upper Nature Conservation Authority. Rosdorf, November 2007.

Web links

Commons : Werra-Altarm near Schwebda  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on November 8, 2018.
2. ↑ Ordinance on the “Werra Altarm near Schwebda” nature reserve of February 27, 1987 in the State Gazette for the State of Hesse, No. 12/1987 of March 23, 1987, p. 659 f.
3. ↑ Werra-Altarm near Schwebda in the world database for protected areas; accessed on November 8, 2018.
4. ^ 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.
5. ↑ Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Guideline on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on November 8, 2018.
6. ↑ "Auenverbund Werra" in the world database for protected areas; accessed on November 8, 2018.
7. ^ The ordinance on the landscape protection area "Auenverbund Werra" on the website of the Kassel Regional Council; accessed on November 8, 2018.
8. ↑ List of habitats occurring in Germany in Appendix I of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive; accessed on November 8, 2018.
9. ↑ Basic data collection for FFH area No. 4826-304 "Werra-Altarm near Schwebda"; accessed on November 7, 2018.