The

Schalkenmehren Schalkenmehren is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Daun, w ...

er Maar is a maar roughly 3 kilometres southeast of the town of

Daun Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...

in the Eifel in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. It is one of the Daun Maars (''Dauner Maare'') or Daun Maar Group and is a double maar, comprising a western maar lake and an eastern dry maar. Both were formed around 10,500 years ago as the result of a phreatomagmatic explosion. The lake in the western part of the maar varies between 500 and 575 metres in diameter and is up to 21 metres deep. The height of the maar above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

is 420 metres (average elevation of the water surface). It fills the more recent of the 2 maar basins. The eastern part of the maar is occupied by a

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrot ...

. Botanically, three different zones can be distinguished: the shore area, the raised bog and the slopes of the maar basin. In the shore area, as well as the reeds there are communities of

yellow iris ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

, white water-lily, yellow loosestrife,

purple loosestrife ''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Pr ...

and club-rush. The slopes of the maar basin are dominated by a mix of

dry grassland The key characteristic of dry grasslands is that they have low-growing plants, causing the area to be quite open. They also have a mottled structure, which leads to a biome with sunny or semi-shaded areas. On top of that, their soil is relatively ...

and

woodland edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to hu ...

vegetation. In addition to Breckland thyme and oregano, there is restharrow,

hare's-foot clover ''Trifolium arvense'', commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone, ...

hop trefoil ''Trifolium campestre'', commonly known as hop trefoil, field clover and low hop clover, is a species of flowering plant native to Europe and western Asia, growing in dry, sandy grassland habitats, fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wastelands ...

narrow-leaved everlasting pea ''Lathyrus sylvestris'', the flat pea or narrow-leaved everlasting-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia. The narrow-leaved everlasting-pea forms a mat of herb ...

musk mallow Musk mallow or musk-mallow may refer to the following plants from the family Malvaceae: *'' Abelmoschus moschatus'', native to India *'' Malva alcea'', native to southern and eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, also known as the Greater Musk-mallo ...

, clustered bellflower,

downy hemp-nettle ''Galeopsis segetum'', commonly known as downy hemp-nettle, is a species of flowering plant in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It grows as a weed in arable ground throughout Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a co ...

fox and cubs ''Pilosella aurantiaca'' (fox-and-cubs, orange hawk bit, devil's paintbrush, grim-the-collier) is a perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe, where it is protected in sever ...

brown knapweed ''Centaurea jacea'', brown knapweed or brownray knapweed, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants in the genus '' Centaurea'' native to dry meadows and open woodland throughout Europe. It grows to tall, and flowers mainly from June to Septem ...

greater knapweed ''Centaurea scabiosa'', or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus '' Centaurea''. It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads. Greater knapweed is found growing in dry grasslands, hedgerows and cliffs on lime-rich soil. Up ...

small scabious ''Scabiosa columbaria'', called the small scabious or dwarf pincushion flower, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the genus '' Scabiosa'', native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia, from Sweden to Angola. In the garden it is a short-l ...

, woodruff and large communities of rosebay willow-herb. Neophytes that may be seen include garden lupins and large-flowered mountain trumpets.

Literature

* Werner D’hein: ''Natur- und Kulturführer Vulkanlandeifel. Mit 26 Stationen der "Deutschen Vulkanstraße".'' Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2006.

External links

Informationen über die Maare
{{Coord, 50, 10, 10, N, 6, 51, 29, E, type:waterbody_region:DE-RP, display=title Maars of the Eifel Vulkaneifel Nature reserves in Rhineland-Palatinate Lakes of Rhineland-Palatinate

See also

Literature

External links