In the valley widening of the Moselle at the border triangle of Germany, Luxembourg and France lies the 100-hectare gravel pit mosaic of the Moselle floodplain. Gravel has been mined for decades in the
intensively utilised agricultural landscape, which means that the area is constantly changing. The newly created gravel pits are filling up with water and moulting
into valuable habitats for wildlife after just a few years.
many animals and plants, as can already be seen in the example of some young NABU ponds.
Some of the gravel extraction waters with their different stages of succession lie adjacent to alternating hair-grass-smooth oat meadows. The richly structured standing waters
with floating leaf and underwater plants, together with small and very small bodies of water, provide habitats for numerous endangered species.
species such as the yellow-bellied toad and the ornamental moss dragonfly.
habitat. The Moselle floodplain is also an important
resting place for migratory birds between Scandinavia and Africa, but
also home to 189 bird species (78 of which are breeding birds), a
a waterfowl refuge of international importance. The steep walls of the former gravel pits provide excellent breeding grounds for sand martins and kingfishers. For what is actually
Saarland, which is naturally poor in still waters, the various
types of larger gravel ponds are therefore particularly valuable.
Source: NABU
