Summary
The "Vereinigte Mulde Eilenburg – Bad Düben" nature reserve is located in northern Saxony, in the district of Nordsachsen, between the towns of Eilenburg and Bad Düben. It encompasses a roughly 15-kilometer stretch of the Vereinigte Mulde river and its floodplain. At approximately 1,450 hectares, it is one of the larger floodplain conservation areas in Saxony and lies entirely within the "Vereinigte Mulde und Muldeauen" FFH area of the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas.
The area protects a largely natural river landscape with floodplain forests, extensively used grassland, oxbow lakes, and gravel and sandbanks, and is therefore of great importance for the network of habitats in the Mulde floodplain. It was designated a nature reserve in the 1990s to preserve and develop the typical river and floodplain landscape of the Central German Lowland Basin in the long term.
Description
The nature reserve is characterized by the meandering course of the Vereinigte Mulde river, with its regularly flooded floodplains, side channels, and oxbow lakes, which serve as spawning grounds and refuges for numerous fish and amphibian species. Extensive riparian forests of softwoods, including willows and poplars, and hardwoods, including oaks, elms, and ash, can be found along the river, complemented by alder and ash woodlands in the wet depressions.
Between the wooded areas lie extensive, sometimes nutrient-poor, lowland meadows, damp tall-herb communities, and seasonally wet grasslands, which have developed through traditional uses such as mowing and grazing and provide habitat for many endangered plant and insect species. Gravel and sandbars, as well as steep bank sections, are important habitats for specialized floodplain bird species, while structurally diverse wooded edges, individual trees, and hedgerows support the interconnected network of habitats between the river, floodplain, and adjacent agricultural landscape.
