Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

Projects Species and Climate Protection in Lowland Forests Lowland forests in floodplains are among the most biologically diverse natural hab­ itats in Germany. The flooding of borde- ring rivers ensures changing conditions in habitat; temporal and spatial circumstan- ces change frequently. Trees, like shrubs and other plants, benefit. The diversity in flora lays the foundation for highly varied fauna. The Harter Aue is a peninsula in the na- ture reserve Fulder Aue-Ilmen Aue near Ingelheim am Rhein. For several decades the land was farmed, but now much of it lies fallow. Some parcels were purchased and woods typical of lowland forests were planted. The new plantings weathered their first tough test when the Rhine flooded in June 2013. The rapidly growing trees serve as CO 2 sinks. Data on CO 2 depletion and a study by the Technical University Munich report that five tons of CO 2 are removed from the atmosphere and taken up by plants for every hectare reforested with English oak and Aue wild bushes. That makes projects like the new lowland forest near Ingelheim so important for both biological diversity and climate protection – and good reason for Werner & Mertz support of this NABU project. 89