The Kiehnmoor is a

nature 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 ...

in Germany. It was designated as a nature reserve in 1992. It has an area of of which lie in

Celle district Celle () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen, Gifhorn, Hanover and Heidekreis. Geography The district is located in the southernmost parts of the L ...

and in

Uelzen district Uelzen () is a districts of Germany, district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn, Celle (district), Celle, Heidekreis, Lüneburg (district), Lüneb ...

. The nature conservation authorities of these districts are responsible for the reserve. A large part of the area is wet meadow, that in places is intensively farmed. However the majority of the area has been left in its natural state. A small sand heath forms part of the reserve. Its southern perimeter borders immediately on the larger heathland area of the

Südheide Nature Park The Südheide Nature Park ("Southern Heath Nature Park", German: ''Naturpark Südheide'') is a large protected area of forest and heathland in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany. It has been designated as a protected nature ...

. The ''

Heidschnucke The Heidschnucke is a group of three types of moorland sheep from northern Germany. Like a number of other types from Scandinavia and Great Britain, they are Northern European short-tailed sheep. The three breeds of Heidschnucke (in order of popu ...

n'', moorland sheep characteristic of the region, are reared here. North of the Kiehnmoor and immediately adjacent to it is the valley of a partially dammed stream, the ''Gerdau'', and the Brambosteler Moor nature reserve. To the southeast the reserve borders on the Unterlüß Firing Range (''Schießplatz Unterlüß''), belonging to the firm of

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange. History Rheinmetall was founded in 1889. Banker and investor Lorenz Zuckermandel L ...

, and the ''Große Heide'' ("Large Heath") near

Unterlüß Unterlüß is a village and former municipality in the district of Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany. It became part of the municipality of Südheide on 1 January 2015. It is about 30 km north-east of Celle and 25 km south-west of Uelzen. ...

, that is closed to the public. Kiehnmoor, too, is totally out-of-bounds. This whole area is very secluded. Rare birds have settled here including the crane and the

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

. Even the

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

may be found here. Due to its seclusion, the good supply of nutrients and the space, the relatively natural stands of wood (partly alder and birch fen woods) create an important habitat for

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

, a species which is very susceptible to disturbance and is threatened by extinction. Together with neighbouring and the largely contiguous areas of the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

and

Bergen-Hohne Training Area Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: ''NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen'' or ''Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne'') is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers a ...

s, the Großes Moor bei Becklingen, the marshes near

Sittensen Sittensen is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km northeast of Rotenburg, and 45 km southwest of Hamburg. Sittensen belonged - as to its government - to the Prince-Ar ...

,Bundesamt für Naturschutz (Moore bei Sittensen)
the

Ostenholz Moor Ostenholz Moor (German: ''Ostenholzer Moor'') is a raised bog on the Lüneburg Heath in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the village of Ostenholz and is not far from Meißendorf. The bog is almost entirely within the Bergen- ...

and the

Meißendorf Lakes Meißendorf is a village and ''Ortschaft'' (municipal division) of the municipality of Winsen an der Aller in the Lower Saxon district of Celle in northern Germany.Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

is home to the largest single colony of black grouse on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balti ...

. Image:Birkenbruchwald2.jpg, Birch fen wood, Kiehnmoor and Brambosteler Moor Image:Erlenbruchwald.jpg, Alder fen wood, Kiehnmoor and Brambosteler Moor

References

External links

From the NLWKN: Overview and map
{{Nature reserves in the county of Celle Lüneburg Heath Nature reserves in Lower Saxony Bogs of Lower Saxony Celle (district) Uelzen (district)

References

Further reading

External links