Galenbecker See
The Galenbecker lake in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern is located in the district of Mecklenburg Lake District. Its northern and eastern shores bordering the district Vorpommern - Greifswald. It is divided by a peninsula, the Devil's Bridge, into two approximately equal-sized pool. These are the Upper Lake in the northwest and the underwater world in the southeast. The lake is located north of the homonymous municipality Galenbeck and south of the Friedlander Great Meadow. It has an approximate length of 4.2 kilometers and a width of two kilometers at an average depth of only 75 cm.
History and Water Resources
The Galenbecker lake was formed by the last ice age than larger Toteisform in the area of today's Friedlander Great Meadow. Beck sands of Haffstausees were deposited in the subsequent period and a shallow lake was created, the silted up in the subsequent period from the edge. Even in the 18th century, the areas show in the Schmettauschen Map of 1780 forest free. Towards the end of the 18th century began Kultuvierungsmaßnahmen with the aim to operate agricultural use and to reduce peat. The Galenbecker lake was drained over the white trench and the Zarow towards the Szczecin Lagoon. Wetlands presented an idea that these were covered with purple moor grass.
The body of water was used during the Second World War as a training ground for bomber pilots. In 1965 the lake was set up as a so-called " intensive carp waters". As a result, the " aegagrophila sauteri " disappeared and the lake was heavily eutrophicated by the interaction of various factors. Main sources of nitrogen and phosphorus were mainly feeders and entries from the air, to a lesser extent also the feces roosting waterfowl. At the same time played because of the shallow water lakes internal feedback solving processes from the contaminated sediments play an important role. As a result, the water was heavily clouded in almost every growing season and the underwater flora disappeared almost entirely a result of the regular feeding of grain and the subversive activities of the fish in the sediment. The fishing impact is relatively low today. For years, no more carp stocking takes place. Through self- reproduction of the carp only income of about 3 kg / ha * a can be obtained at present. Regularly a white fish removal is carried out with the seine.
An increasing towards the end of the 20th century problem was the drainage of grassland around the lake. The removal of water led to degradation and shrinkage processes in the Niedermoortorfen that make up the lakeshore. The result was a slow but steady decline in the lake level by lowering the riparian zones of the water. In heavy water inflow (winter, spring) these phenomena resulted primarily on the north shore, sometimes also in the east to the overflow of the lake shore in the grave system of the adjacent grassland and incurred as a result of drainage forests. In summer the water and the mirror of the already very shallow lake lacked lowered considerably.
Plant and animal world
The occurring until the 1970s in the lake stoneworts were mostly disappeared in the 1990s, apparently a consequence of the regular strong algal blooms in the now mostly polytrophic waters. The lake was formerly known primarily for its wild swan stock, later as an internationally significant Kranichrast space and sleeping space of several thousand seeds and Bless geese. Over time, a number of rare plant species was found, for example, the Mehlprimel as glacial relict in the areas adjacent to the lake fen meadows and several types of orchids. Notable breeding birds were in the last decades, Eagle, Crane, Bluethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, beard and Beutelmeise and the kingfisher. The for larger shallow lakes with good reeds stock typical grebes, ducks, gulls and terns, however, came only in small numbers before or were completely absent, a consequence of the steady deterioration of suitable food supply for these species and other habitat characteristics. The otter is in the area that also.
The impact of the redevelopment project (see below) of the lake are significant. In particular, several species of birds benefited from and were able to multiply their holdings (eg, grebes, swans, ducks ), some species were added (eg, Red-necked Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Black-headed Gull and Whiskered Tern ) new. It is important to note that not only the quality of the actual lake has improved, but that now there are two waters as a result of measures with different properties.
Conservation and restoration
The lake and its shores are since September 5, 1938 due to its great biodiversity of one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany. In 1993, the reserve was enlarged by the inclusion of the nearby moors on 1885 acres. The area had to state, however, be classified as poor, since disappeared through use intensification in adjacent moorland, especially continuing strong drainage, formerly frequent significant species (see above).
For July 31, 1978 appointed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Since the 1990s, a renovation project for the conservation of the lake and valuable components of a nature reserve belonging moorland was prepared. In 2005 began the first construction, in the meantime, the structural part of the project is implemented.
The project will initially target the stabilization of the northern and eastern shore zone of Lake Galenbecker by subsequent to the lake " Vernässungszone " with an " artificial shoreline " in the form of a shallow dam. The natural lakeshores consist of fen and were so badly damaged by the many years of drainage, that the stock of the lake was threatened by a leakage in the drainage ditches adjacent surfaces. Although the water level is lower than in the lake in the Vernässungszone, a constant penetration of lake frontage can be achieved by this reservoir, with sufficient water levels can also be expected with peat growth and sustainable stabilization. In addition, the Vernässungszone provide highly structured, multifaceted and shaped by considerable dynamism waters and moorland. The extraordinary rainfall surpluses in 2010 and 2011 as well as the attempts in 2012, the conclusions to reduce burden falling on the installed systems, show that the control of the reorganization process will continue to remain a challenge.
To improve the quality of the lake itself, the project can contribute only in part, by the quality of the water in the mill ( main tributary ) is increased gradually by controlling the inflow and nutrient retention. In addition, renovations would take place in the watershed. The impact on the water quality of the lake are nonetheless significant. Since 2008, long enough clear water stages are reached in the spring, allowing the development of aquatic plants. Now cover tight annually stocks of Chara ( Characeae ) and other species of submerged macrophytes the bottom of the water. They provide food for herbivorous birds that breed here and rest in large numbers, especially Mute Swan and Bless Rail and various ducks. The habitat formed by the submerged plants ( phytal ) is, however, important for many more animal species, because its composed of numerous invertebrate species living world is the basis for the reproduction of typical of eutrophic clear-water lakes, fish species and for many thousands of ducks of several species (especially Gadwall, Pochard and Tufted Duck ), spend here every year for several months.
The areas around the lake are owned by the Foundation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and are classified as FFH and bird sanctuary under EU law.