Forest pond at "Russenschlag" near Bobeck is revitalized

Source: Ostthüringer Zeitung (December 18th, 2018); by Frank Kalla, https://www.otz.de/leben/natur-umwelt/waldteich-am-russenschlag-bei-bobeck-wird-revitalisiert-id224959831.html

Forest pond at "Russenschlag" near Bobeck is revitalized

New habitat for frog and dragonfly: On behalf of the Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport, the pond at Russenschlag in the Ascherhütte forest district is currently being revitalized.

Large tree stumps lie along the shore area, if it weren't for the frost of the past few days, you would be standing pretty deep in the mud around the pond at "Russenschlag" in the Bobeck district.

Since mid-November, employees of the company SB GrünBau, which has a branch in Erfurt, have been working on behalf of the Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport to turn the former pond at "Russenschlag" back into a biotope for frogs, newts, dragonflies and other creatures. Only fish are undesirable in the old, new body of water. "But they wouldn't cope so well with the acidic water either," says Marcus Barfod, deputy head of the Jena-Holzland forestry office. Thüringenforst is the owner of the pond, which is located in the middle of the state forest.

Created in GDR times, the approximately 2,000-square-meter body of water caused the forestry office increasing concern. The pond was filled with mud, the dam was leaking, and the so-called "monk" (water drainage device) was dilapidated, especially due to decades of needle penetration by the surrounding pine trees.

When the State Office for Construction and Transport suggested to the forestry office that the pond be renaturalized as part of compensatory measures for the A9 highway expansion, they didn't say no at "Thüringenforst".

"After all, the upgrading of the watercourse not only benefits flora and fauna, but people also stand to gain," says Barfod.

To ensure that amphibians in particular feel more comfortable in the water body in the future, the bank areas of the pond, which is up to 1.80 meters deep, were flattened and tree stumps were introduced there. "When the root stumps are partly in the water, they make an excellent spawning area," Barfod explained. Such rootwads have also been anchored inside the pond, he said. Where the pond has its outlet via the new monk, a wetland was created, and in the back of the pond they had some birch trees cut down to preserve the slightly boggy area. "There are some peat mosses here," explained the deputy forestry chief.

About 100,000 euros had been invested in the compensatory measure, explained Dirk Busch from the Highways Department of the State Office for Construction and Transport when asked. Together with Virginia Brettin from the IGS engineering office in Weimar, Busch had gained an overview of the work on site. "We are very satisfied with the result."

Marcus Barfod is also very satisfied. Thus, the pond at the "Russenschlag" will not remain an isolated example in the forestry office. "Next year, it will be the turn of the Falcon Pond and the Forester Ponds."

 

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