Nsg Lippeaue

Summary

Lippeaue is a vital nature reserve along the Lippe River. It protects diverse floodplain landscapes with oxbows, wetlands, and alluvial forests. Home to kingfishers, white storks, amphibians, and bats within a dynamic biotope network.

Description

The Lippeaue is a significant nature reserve stretching along the Lippe River and its adjoining floodplain landscape. It features a dynamic riparian environment with numerous natural structures like broad meanders, oxbow lakes, ditches, and streams. The area primarily consists of grassland, interspersed with hedges, bushes, and riparian woodlands. Characteristic are the oxbows with their diverse reed, floating-leaf, and submerged vegetation, forming valuable habitats. Steep bank erosions provide nesting opportunities for kingfishers and sand martins. This protected area aims to preserve and develop rare and endangered animal and plant species. It serves as an important breeding, resting, and overwintering ground for water-bound bird species such as the white stork, common sandpiper, and garganey. Amphibians like the European tree frog, fish like the European bullhead and brook lamprey, and various bat species also find refuge here. In sub-areas like the Hellinghauser Wiesen, Taurus cattle and Koniks graze, shaping the landscape and contributing to biodiversity. Numerous renaturation measures have restored natural flooding dynamics and moist grasslands, making the area a regionally significant biotope network.