Preinvestigation

Before we started conducting any measures, considerable preinvestigations have been executed. In addition to prepare a management plan which serves as a guideline for conducting the single measures, hydrological examinations provide the basis for the measure concept.

Knowing the hydrology is an important requirement for successful protection and development measures of moors. The detailed planning of water logging in these areas is based on this data. An installed net of measuring points allows a detailed success control.

[Translate to Englisch:] Thomson-Messwehr — In Thomson-weirs the water drain is regularly recorded. The white tube contains a data logger.

In order to measure the inflow and drain 26 ground measure points and 3 Thomson- weirs have been built. Thomson-weirs help measuring the water drain from the area. The ground measure points contain data loggers which record continuously the water level; these are read regularly.

Data logger — Dr. Meyer of the Engineering company Heydt & Peters demonstrates fetching the data logger from its measurement point

[Translate to Englisch:] Auslesen Messsonde — Data of water level is transferred on site to a computer

Measures

The targets of the Life+ project Eggemoors shall be achieved mainly by two nature conservation measures:

- Removal of grove that has grown during the last few years in order to limit the evaporation

- Seal of drainage ditches and pans in order to prevent water drain from the areas

In addition to the direct influence on the hydrologic balance and the bog habitats with their corresponding species we also expect a positive effect on climate protection. An intact bog can save more than 5 tons carbon dioxide per year per hectare, whereas a decomposing, dysfunctional bog emits much stored carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in a very short time.

Grove removal

[Translate to Englisch:] Eisernes Pferd — Demonstration of the "iron horse" owned by the Regionalforstamt Hochstift - it is used to pull felled spruce and pine out of the moore

Groves withdraw much water from bogs by evaporating it by their leaves. In order to minimize the water loss of a bog the grown groves have to be removed. In part area “Schwarzes Bruch” forest workers from “Regionalforstamt Hochstift” remove pines and spruce trees which have been growing there during the last decades. The trees are logged and removed from the area. Roots that have been cut deeply enough in the ground do usually not sprout again.

[Translate to Englisch:] Bagger — The felled willow trees are removed by a forwarder

In part area “Eselsbett” willow trees have been growing for decades and have become entangled so that removal by manual measures are not an option. In addition, the roots cannot be removed manually which is an issue because willow roots can – unlike spruce and pine – sprout again if not removed properly. Therefore the project members decided to remove the willows in this part area by machine. In winter 2015/2016 a great part of the willows have been removed by an excavator and transported out of the area by a forwarder.