The Hanoverian Moor Geest (german: Hannoversche Moorgeest) is a gently rolling landscape between

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and Nienburg in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

covering an area of around . It belongs to the

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 ...

regions of northwest Germany, which cover the geest terrain formed during the

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

and which stretch from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to the eastern border of Lower Saxony. The geest tract on the Hanoverian Moor Geest consists of a

ground moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

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 ...

with a height of 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 ...

that is dominated by bog. Its natural boundaries are the Aller

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 ...

to the north and the

Burgdorf-Peine Geest The Burgdorf-Peine Geest (german: Burgdorf-Peiner Geest) is a geest landscape, dominated by end and ground moraines, between Hanover and Brunswick in North Germany, with an area of about . Its natural borders are the Aller depression in the north ...

to the east. This geest terrain, with its small villages, has a distinctly rural character. The exception is the town of

Neustadt am Rübenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge ( nds, Niestadt) is a town in the district of Hannover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. At , it is the 9th largest settlement in Germany by area (following Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne), though only about 45,000 inhabitants ...

. Within the region's borders lies the Steinhuder Meer, a lake in area, in a shallow basin. Originally this inland water was three times the size as can be seen from its boggy fringes to the west and southwest. Much of the rest of the area used to consist of raised bogs. These were, however, frequently harvested for

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

and cultivated for agricultural purposes. Most of the bogs that have been preserved have been much reduced in size, such as the Altwarmbüchen Moor, the Bissendorf Moor, the Helstorf Moor, the Schwarzes Moor, the Totes Moor and the Otternhagen Moor. Peat-cutting has resulted in artificial arable fields that have a boggy character. This makes their agricultural use quite limited. The forests consist mainly of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

trees used by the

forestry industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furn ...

Deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

woods occur occasionally on the

end moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

s. The depressions are extensively used by farmers for

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

. Whilst most of the bogs are under

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

protection today, the Totes Moor near Neustadt .

Conservation project

From 2006 to 2016, the

Hanover Region Hanover Region (german: Region Hannover) is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg. T ...

ran a nature conservation project, the ''Hannoversche Moorgeest'', under which the four moors of the moor geest are to be permanently protected: Bissendorf Moor, Helstorf Moor, Otternhagen Moor and the Black Moor. Since August 2011, the moor information centre, MOORiZ, of the Hanover Region has been located in Resse. On an area of around 350 m², a permanent exhibition is presented with the focus on the moors - and here in particular on the Hanoverian Moor Geest. Lectures, meetings and readings can be held in a lecture room, primarily on the subject of moors and nature, but also from other cultural areas. Interested groups and organizations are given the opportunity to present themselves in the MOORiZ.''Presse Box''
retrieved 9 November 2010.

References

External links

* ttp://www.hannover.de/region/moorgeest/dhmoor/index.html Description at hannover.de {{coord, 52.4861, N, 9.7686, E, source:wikidata, display=title Hanover (region) Regions of Lower Saxony Geest