Türkenfeld - “There was a lot of manual work to be done.
Most of the spruce trees were felled with chainsaws and pulled out of the forest with winches.
Then large quantities of bushes had to be removed and the old drainage ditch closed, ”reported Pius Keller, Chairman of the Landscape Management Association (LPV) Fürstenfeldbruck.
In addition, the LPV designed several information boards that were set up on the adventure trail.
Last week, finally, the work in the Türkenfeld community forest was completed;
the renatured moor and the newly designed nature trail were presented to the public at an on-site meeting.
Leftover from the Ice Age
Wisps of the will, ghosts or bog corpses naturally did not come to light on the tour of the renovated wooden plank path in the Türkenfelder Moor.
"There is actually nothing sinister about peatlands", explained Cornelia Siuda, who works on behalf of the government for the renaturation of the Upper Bavarian peatlands.
"In Türkenfeld, too, like all the moors in the district, it is a holdover from the Ice Age," says the moor expert.
Around 10,000 years ago, when the Ammersee-Loisach glacier retreated northwards, the ice masses left behind, among other things, kettle-like dead ice holes as they melted.
Due to the regular precipitation or rising groundwater, these were transformed into moist swampy landscapes and provided the habitat for a large number of animal and plant species.
Drainage of the moors bad for the climate
In earlier decades, however, hardly any thought was given to the biodiversity and protection of these moors. "After the First World War, these bogs were systematically drained to make them usable," regretted Siuda. The peat, which in Türkenfeld extends to a depth of around 4,400 square meters on a forest area of around five meters, was cut after it was drained and used as heating material. A drainage ditch was supposed to divert the water in a targeted manner. Fast-growing spruce trees were also planted to draw additional water from the soil and serve as firewood. What nobody considered back then: If swamp areas are drained and the deeper layers of peat aerated, the carbon bound there is released in the form of climate-damaging gases."Drained peatlands contribute around five percent to greenhouse gas emissions in the Free State," explained Siuda during the tour. "That is why the preservation of existing moors and the restoration of former moors are an important contribution to climate protection."
Anniversary project of the LPV
In this sense, the moor renaturation and the creation of the nature trail at the Türkenfelder Toteiskessel were funded by the Free State.
The Sparkassenstiftung Fürstenfeldbruck, the municipality of Türkenfeld and the fruit and horticultural association also contributed financially.
The LPV, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, even declared the work on the Türkenfelder Toteiskessel as its anniversary project.
In the near future he will probably have to lend a hand there again and cut down more trees.
Because a renewed drying out of the moor should absolutely be prevented.
After all, rare animal and plant species have already settled in the restored wetland.
Jutta Thiel
List of rubric lists: © Jutta Thiel
