Rotes Luch (literally "Red Glade") is a reclaimed (i.e. drained) fen area, known locally as a '' luch'', and extends to a width of about over a length of approximately from southwest to northeast. It is located in the southwestern corner of the nature reserve Märkische Schweiz (german: Naturpark Märkische Schweiz) of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Geography

The Red Glade is the highest part of the glacial trough building a passage between the

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

(german: Urstromtal) at

Erkner Erkner () is a town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the south-eastern edge of the German capital city Berlin. Geography The town is located between the lakes Dämeritzsee, a part of the river Spree, and Flakense ...

and the Oder river valley (german: Oderbruch) respectively the

Eberswalde Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German State ( Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005), geograph ...

near Neutrebbin. This depression, also known as Buckow Groove (german: Buckower Rinne), separates the northwestern

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

of the

Barnim Barnim () is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) Poland, the district of Märkisch-Oderland, the city state of Berlin and the districts of Oberhavel and Uckermark. History The name "Barnim" emer ...

( de) from the southeastern upland area of the Land Lebus. The high embankment of the Eastern Railway crosses the area from west to east. The headwaters of the small stream Stobber are located here. Due to the

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a sing ...

between

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

that runs along the railway embankment, there is the peculiar situation that the stream flows in two different directions. This phenomenon is called "pseudo-

bifurcation Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to: Science and technology * Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems ** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow * River bifurcation, the f ...

Flora and fauna

The

continental biogeographic region The Continental Biogeographic Region is a biogeographic region of Europe that extend in a broad band from east to west through the center of the continent. Extent The Continental Region extends from central France to the Ural Mountains. The south ...

of the Nature Park and Landscape Protection Area Rotes Luch including the Nature Reserve Tiergarten covers a surface of and provides

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

types as are * Dry, frequently open grasslands on calciferous sand * Semi-natural dry grasslands and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ma ...

facies In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formatio ...

Facies (landscape): an elementary part of landscape, a territory with characteristics of own lithogenetic base,

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squa ...

, soil, flora, and fauna. on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) *

Alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

fens * Sub-Atlantic and medio-European oak or oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpinion betuli ( de) * Alluvial forests with black alder (

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations ...

) and European ash (

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albo ...

). Important

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

sites are reported on dry grassland, and marsh marigold (

Caltha palustris ''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flo ...

) on wetland. The

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

report mentioned fishes as there are the

spined loach The spined loach (''Cobitis taenia'') is a common freshwater fish in Europe. It is sometimes known as spotted weather loach, not to be confused with the "typical" weather loaches of the genus '' Misgurnus''. This is the type species of the spiny ...

(Cobitis taenia), the European weather loach (

Misgurnus fossilis The weatherfish (''Misgurnus fossilis'') is a species of true loach that has a wide range in Europe and some parts of Asia. It is an omnivorous scavenger bottom feeder, using its sensitive barbels to find edible items. The diet mostly consists of ...

) and the European bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus amarus). Observed mammals are the

European beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum. At the turn of the 20th century, only about 1,200 beavers survi ...

(Castor fiber) and the

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of ...

(Lutra lutra).

Human interference

Since the early 20th century large areas of the landscape had been used as a landfill, mostly with rubbish from

transported on the route of the Eastern Railway. With the proclamation of the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park in 1990 a new phase of land use began where the compatibility between nature and human use should be significantly improved. From 1956 to 1993 the

Nachrichtenregiment 14 The Nachrichenregiment 14 (NR-14) „Harro Schulze-Boysen“ was a signal regiment-sized unit of the National People's Army (NVA) Air Forces of the National People's Army of the former East Germany (GDR). The primary task of that unit consist ...

of the NPA Air Force was stationed in the Red Glade.

Activities

The upper part of Rotes Luch is touched by the

E11 European long distance path The E11 European long distance path or E11 path is one of the European long-distance paths, running 4700 km (about 2900 miles) west-east from The Hague in the Netherlands through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia. It sta ...

. The section of this hiking trail that comes from Buckow follows the north-western edge of the glade to the railway line before it turns west toward

Strausberg Strausberg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of about 27,000 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland. History Strausberg was founded ''circa'' 1240, and in 1333 its fir ...

Notes and references

External links

{{commons Wetlands of Germany Bogs of Brandenburg