Half-open pasture landscape

A training area is being turned into a half-open pasture landscape

Galloway cattle take care of the half-open pasture landscape

Where recently soldiers sweated their way through training courses, loud commands were heard, and salvos from rifles rang out, around 30 to 40 Galloway cattle graze the pastures. The idea to implement an extensive pasture creation project with Galloway cattle at the edge of the new town district, Ottenbeck, was introduced in the discussion concerning the necessary replacement plans for construction management in Ottenbeck. The implementation of this project proved to be feasible on the 150 ha training grounds. In this way the great value of environmental preservation and recreation can be protected and even improved.

Of special value is the "untouched" landscape mosaic of small biotopes such as heath islands, dunes, damp bushes, and small bodies of water. Since for decades the only activities here included training and mowing, but not fertilising, rare habitats and equally rare flora and fauna have developed here. The neglected grasslands and prairies, which offer little in the way of nutritional resources, form the nutritional basis for a variety of insect fauna such as grasshoppers and beetles. These insects, however, comprise a rich nutritional basis for rare birds such as red-backed shrikes, whinchats and stonechats, which also breed in the half-open countryside.
The "untouched" landscape, which contributes to the special attractiveness of this countryside as a recreational area, has begun to change since the Bundeswehr stopped using it as a training centre. While wood biotopes develop further, biotope types which depend on utilization are in continual decline. Grasslands which were previously created and kept clear by tanks are now being overtaken by grass and tall forbs; the extensive grass areas are becoming bushy, and small waterways are drying up. The diversity of the area will disappear unless nature-preserving measures are taken.

The pasturing project is meant to keep this process in check in a way that is more preserving, more natural and less expensive than would be by means of large-scale swaths. In addition, century-old agricultrual practices which date back to the middle ages, would be reintroduced as a new feature of the agricultural landscape.

Several meetings were held with all the participants -- the city, the nation, forestry and environmental preservation authorities -- before the project was initiated. In January of 2002, the planning of the Ottenbeck pasturing project was finally commissioned. In April, two farmers with Galloway herds were taken on as tenants, and in July 2002 the expansion of the necessary infrastructure was started. 7 km of pasture fences were constructed, two pasture areas each with a surface areas of ca. 60 ha were prepared for a herd of 30 animals. The pastures, which are split by a hiking trail, are connected to each other by means of a "cattle passageway". Pedestrians and forest officials can cross the passageway through gates.

The cattle inventory was held in August of 2002. Twenty-six heifers immediately began to explore the area. First they grazed in the already completed eastern grazing area. The roaming, lying, and eating habits of the animals will lead to a variety of small-scale structures on the grounds. Wood groups will be kept at bay as the young saplings will be continually eaten.
Biologists and countryside ecologists will supplement the pasturing project with a three-year scientific investigation. We will then know whether our objectives for environmental preservation proved successful and how things should be managed from that point onward.

The infrastructure measures for the recreational area of Ottenbeck are in their last stages. Hiking trails are being completed, hedges and bushes are being planted on the border of the area, and information signs and benches are being built.

The promise of success of our environmental preservation project has attracted increasing interest throughout Lower Saxony.
Further information can be obtained from the City of Stade's Planning Office (04141-401-327 / 401-335).

Half-open pasture landscape in Ottenbeck

A training area is being turned into a half-open pasture landscape

You can download an informative flyer below. (in German)

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