The Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve is a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

. The Middle Elbe reserve is a 430 square kilometre protected reserve, and is the largest protected region in Saxony-Anhal

It extends along the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

, between

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

in the east, via

Dessau-Roßlau Dessau-Roßlau () is a '' kreisfreie Stadt'' (urban district) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Elbe and Mulde. The town was formed by merger of the towns of Dessau and Roßlau in the course of t ...

, to

Gommern Gommern () is a town in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately southeast of Magdeburg. On January 1, 2005, the municipalities Dannigkow, Dornburg, Karith, Ladeburg, Leitzkau, Menz, Nedlitz, Vehli ...

in the northwest. This beautiful region of fluvial topography is one of the main attractions for tourism in Saxony-Anhalt, particularly for bicycle tourism.

History

The history of the Reserve originates with the Anhalt Environmental Protection Law of 1923. Over the next six years, this initial protected reserve was expanded. The "Saalberge" and "Möster Birken" regions were added in 1926. In 1927, conservation areas for the Elbe beaver and the "Wassernuß" plant (Trapa natans) were added. In 1929, areas between Aken and Tochheim were put under protection. These areas were the predecessors of the Steckby-Lödderitzer Forst conservation area. The Steckby-Lödderitzer Forst was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

in 1979, and in 1988 it was extended by wide areas around Dessau and

Wörlitz is a town and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it has been part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, east of Dessau. The historic pa ...

. With the addition of further areas of water meadows, it became the ''Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe'' in 1990.

Features

The Reserve contains the largest interconnected water meadow area of Middle Europe. It involves the

river and

Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde ( ...

and includes the Elbe

floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Gou ...

as a unique biotope which serves as shelter for many endangered species. In 2005 Dr.

Frank Dziock Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cu ...

discovered a new insect species

Brachyopa silviae ''Brachyopa silviae'' is a European species of hoverflies. Distribution Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

. Of the genus

Brachyopa ''Brachyopa'' is a Holarctic genus of hoverfly, hoverflies whose grey and brown colouration is unusual for this family and these flies can easily be overlooked amongst members of other fly families. The larvae can be found under the bark of dead ...

, only 13 species are known in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. The reserve also includes Wörlitz Park, the oldest landscape park on the European Continen

Since March 20, 2006 the official name is: Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. *

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ...

: 430 km² *

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

** over 1.000

botanical Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

** 250

avian Avian may refer to: *Birds or Aves, winged animals * Avian (given name) (russian: Авиа́н, link=no), a male forename Aviation *Avro Avian, a series of light aircraft made by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s * Avian Limited, a hang glider manufactu ...

species ** 130

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfam ...

species ** 50

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

species

External links

Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe
{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Germany Protected areas of Saxony-Anhalt Central European mixed forests