Tag Archives: Nature reserve

From protected area to blasting zone: Rump & Salzmann swaps nature conservation signs for forest warning signs – a commentary

By | July 24, 2026
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At the foot of the Blossenberg: R&S replaces nature reserve signs with warning signs about falling branches. Credits: pugnalom

It happened without much fanfare: One by one, the signs in the gypsum karst landscape nature reserve near Ührde disappeared – signs that, among other things, prohibited visitors from disturbing plants and animals or leaving the paths – and just as quietly, the mining company Rump & Salzmann replaced them with signs warning of falling branches. Mind you: These are still… Read more »

Shredded hedgerows in the nature reserve: Göttingen district disregards its own conservation obligations

By | March 3, 2026
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Destruction instead of care: Use of flail mowers in the Gipskarst nature reserve: Credits: Pugnalom

Crime scene: gypsum karst landscape nature reserve near Ührde. Once again, approximately 600 meters of hedgerow vegetation were cut with a flail mower, this time along a hiking trail across the Rötzel stream. The use of flail mowers on hedgerow vegetation in a nature reserve is hardly justifiable from either a technical or ethical standpoint, because it destroys precisely those structures that protected areas are meant to preserve. Where branches and shoots are cut across the entire area… Read more »

Global species extinction: Research analyzes “dark diversity” + background

By | April 4, 2025
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Credits: Merlin Schäfer

Natural vegetation, particularly in regions heavily impacted by human activity, often lacks many species that might be found in their original habitat. This so-called "dark biodiversity" was analyzed globally in a new study led by the University of Tartu (Estonia) and published in "Nature." Scientists from the University of Potsdam contributed to the study… Read more »

Comment: Mismanagement in the nature reserve gypsum karst landscape Hainholz/Göttingen district

By | February 14, 2025
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Credits: pugnalom

The management of hedgerows in the Hainholz gypsum karst landscape nature reserve raises significant ecological concerns, particularly due to the practice of mowing. This method causes deep wounds in the shrubs, facilitating the entry of pathogens such as fungi and significantly reducing the plants' vitality. Furthermore, the age structure of the shrubs remains unchanged and deteriorates over the years, as no… Read more »