The Großes Moor (literally "Great Bog") near

Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially import ...

is part of the Northwest German

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 (ombro ...

region, which stretches from the Netherlands to the eastern border of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

on the sandy areas (

geest Geest (, , ) is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outw ...

) left behind by 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 g ...

. The moor has a total area of about , of which around are raised bog and some are

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

. The

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

layer is up to almost thick in places. Individual parts of the moor have their own names like ''Stüder Moor, Hestenmoor or Weißes Moor''.

Location

The Großes Moor lies north of the town of Gifhorn. To the east it is bordered by the

Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (; ), is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Germany, and it provides ...

. To the south is the village of Triangel, to the west the moor extends as far as Wesendorf. To the north is the village of Schönewörde. The former fen colony (''Moorkolonie'') of Neudorf-Platendorf extends from the south into the Großes Moor and its six-kilometre-long () main street is the longest straight village high street in Lower Saxony.

Use

Until the end of the 17th century only the areas around the edge of the moor were used as cattle meadows and for peat extraction. Until about 1870 the central and northern parts were left almost undisturbed. Later, work began on the construction of drainage canals and the industrial cutting of peat, which reached its zenith after 1945. In the 1960s there were about 14 peatworks, which extracted around 60,000 tonnes of fuel peat and 150,000 tonnes of fertiliser peat per annum. In Westerbeck (Gemeinde

Sassenburg Sassenburg is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Gifhorn, and 15 km northwest of Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg ...

) there is only one peatworks left today that cuts peat on an industrial scale. In summer 2003, under the guidance of

NABU Nabu (, ) is the Babylonian patron god of literacy, scribes, wisdom, and the rational arts. He is associated with the classical planet Mercury in Babylonian astronomy. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian means 'announcer' or 'authorised pe ...

, the Gifhorn district organisation began a large mammal pasture creation project. On an area of initially back-bred

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of t ...

(ancient cattle) and Konik ponies (primitive Polish horses) have been settled. The existing grasslands were partly given over to grazing by Moorschnucke sheep and extensively mowed.

Flora and fauna

In 1984 part of the region - an area of - was placed under conservation. It is one of the largest

nature reserves in Lower Saxony There are 764 nature reserves in the state of Lower Saxony in north Germany, covering a total area of as at 31 December 2008. These reserves currently form about 4.72% of the land area in the state, including the coastal waters out to . In addit ...

. An area of has been designated for the protection of the white-faced darter as a

special area of conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

; a further was designated as a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

for birds. By stopping the artificial drainage a refuge for plants and animals that thrive in wet areas is being created. In addition the regeneration of raised bog is being encouraged. This has produced areas of moor grass, cross-leaved heath and

cottongrass ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found in the cool temperate, alpine, and Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, primarily in the mi ...

. In the Großes Moor there was once the great population of

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in m ...

in Germany. In 1963 there were still 850 black grouse, in 1982 only 20 were left and since then they have become extinct in the area. In the Großes Moor there used to be around 150 animal species and 40 types of vascular plant, that are endangered in Lower Saxony of which eleven are threatened with extinction. These include the adder, crane,

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non-bird migrati ...

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. ''Gallinago'' snipe have a nearly ...

shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera. The family name, and that of the larger genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known ...

and stonechat.

Nature trails

Two nature trails start in Westerbeck, a village within the municipality of

. These run outside the nature reserve in the southern part of the Großes Moor. One is a long cycle path and the other a long walking trail. The region can also be visited using the Moor Railway.Maps of the nature trails
/ref>

1975 forest fire catastrophe

On 8 August 1975

stubble burning Stubble burning is the practice of intentionally setting fire to the straw stubble that remains after grains, such as rice and wheat, have been harvested. The technique is used to quickly and cheaply clear fields. It is still widespread today. ...

near the village of Stüde got out of control. The

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

spread very quickly and jumped over the

, thus setting the Großes Moor on fire. On the first day of the fire a fire engine was overwhelmed by a rolling barrage near Neudorf-Platendorf. Two firefighters suffered serious burns. At the same time other fires broke out on the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), 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 and is ...

, which led to a fire disaster and became known in the national news as the " fire on the Lüneburg Heath". Not until 9 days later, on 17 August 1975, was the fire in the forests finally extinguished. The peat fire on the Großes Moor continued to smoulder underground for weeks afterwards.

Gallery

File:Grosses Moor Moorbahn Westerbeck.jpg, Peat-laden moor railway trucks near Westerbeck File:Grosses Moor Torfbetrieb.jpg, Peat working operation in Westerbeck on the edge of the Großes Moor File:Grosse Moor Wiesenfläche.jpg, Area from which peat was cut; today pastureland. Background: Neudorf-Platendorf File:Grosses Moor Graben Entwässerung.jpg, Drainage ditches in the moor File:Grosses Moor Landstrasse.jpg, Road through the moor

References

Literature

* Höhn, Gerhard: ''Europäische Arbeitstagung: Birkwildschutz heute. Perspektiven für den nachhaltigen Schutz des Birkwilds in mitteleuropäischen Lebensräumen./ Wild u. Hund'', No. 13, 42-46, Nassau. * Herbold, Detlev: ''Von der Vision über die Idee zum Projekt.'' Nds. Jäger 11, 46-47, Hanover. * Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Ökologie -Abteilung Naturschutz-: Schutz, Pflege und Entwicklung des Grünlandes in Niedersachsen. ''Effizienz der Maßnahmen des Naturschutzes.'' ervielf. maschr. Ms. 177 pp., 17 ill., 29 tab., ildesheim * Fischer, Mathias: ''Zur Heuschreckenfauna (Insecta: Saltatoria) im Großen Moor bei Gifhorn (SO-Niedersachsen).'' Braunschw. Naturkundl. Schrr. 6, H. 2, 281-291, 2 ill., 1 tab., Brunswick. * Koch, J.; Wehner, H.: ''Polyzyklische Aromatische Kohlenwasserstoffe (PAK) in Torfen: Mikroskopische, brennstoffchemische und chromatographische Untersuchungen an einem Torfprofil aus dem Großen Moor'' Gifhorn, TK 3429 Wesendorf./ ervielf. maschr. Ms., o. S. BGR, Hanover. * Melter, Johannes; Schreiber, Matthias: ''Wichtige Brut- und Rastvogelgebiete in Niedersachsen. Eine kommentierte Gebiets- und Artenliste als Grundlage für die Umsetzung der Europäischen Vogelschutzrichtlinie.'' Vogelkdl. Berr. Nieders., Vol. 32, Spec. edn., 320 pp., 9 ill., 6 tab., Goslar. * Oldekop, Werner; Melchert, Friedmund; Hermenau, Bernd: ''50 Jahre Limikolenbeobachtung in der Umgebung Braunschweigs.'' Milvus Braunschweig 19, 1-35, 38 Abb., Brunswick. * Hermenau, Bernd; Velten, Peter: ''Bestandsschätzung ausgewählter Brutvogelarten im NSG "Großes Moor" bei Gifhorn in den Jahren 1994 bis 2001.'' Milvus Brunswick 20, 7-17, 5 ill., Brunswick.

External links

Description of the Großes Moor nature reserve with overview map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosses Moor Lüneburg Heath Nature reserves in Lower Saxony Bogs of Lower Saxony Gifhorn (district)