Elbe
Biosphere Reserve
Coordinating structures / Administrative authorities
The Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve extends across 5 federal states (Bundesländer) of Germany.
The coordinating structure is therefore divided into administrative authorities in each of the 5 federal states.
Contact information
- Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve Administration, state Sachsen-Anhalt – Guido PUHLMANN;
- Administration of the Brandenburg Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve, state Brandenburg – Dr. Heike ELLNER;
- Administration of the Lower Saxony Elbe Valley Biosphere Reserve, state Niedersachsen – Prof. Dr. Johannes PRÜTER;
- Schaalsee-Elbe Biosphere Reserve Authority, state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – Klaus JARMATZ;
- State Office of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, state Schleswig-Holstein – Jens BASFELD.
Main features and specificities
The largest inland, trans-federal state Biosphere Reserve in Germany.
It represents one of the last remaining, near-natural river landscapes in Central Europe.
The Elbe river landscape is a long, narrow, continuous corridor which extends across diverse natural and cultural landscapes.
It extends along a 400-km-long section over five German federal states (Bundesländer), each with its own administration.
Cultural and social particularities linked to rivers
The landscape offers a rich cultural history including such gems as the World Heritage ”Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz”.
Flood protection and dike construction are other elements of its cultural history.
Main problems and concerns
- morphological deterioration of river beds
- sediment pollution
- biodiversity loss
- loss of flooding areas, riparian forests and traditional pasture land
- loss of diversity of habitat structures due to the intensification of agriculture
- conflicts between water and land use
- invasive species
Main know-how, skills and specialties
- Establishing, leading and caring for dialogue processes with other river specific governmental institutions (e.g. Waterways and Shipping Administration, flood protection agency) and economic / private
Current scientific research topics and actions
- Improvement and partial restoration of natural morphodynamics in the Elbe River and several tributary streams
- Improvement of cross-linking between the river and floodplains (wetlands, oxbows)
- Increase in floodplain territory, also used for rerouting dike lines
- Adaption of uses of rivers and floodplains (e.g. to minimize wildlife disturbing factors)
- Effects of climate change on floodplain ecosystems and land use
Related Posts
Middle Elbe large-scale nature conservation project
A significant contribution to the sustainable development of the biosphere reserve is made by federally funded large-scale conservation projects, some of which are ongoing, and some of which have already been completed.The objective of the Middle Elbe large-scale...