Hydrogeomorphic types of glacially created kettle holes in North-East Germany

Abstract

Kettle holes are glacially created, small, shallow, depressional wetlands collecting their water from internal or closed catchments in young moraine landscapes. Their water body is defined by having a maximum of 1 ha in extent. Mostly they undergo a wet-dry circle. In North-East Germany, kettle holes are widely spread, mostly on arable land. They are characterised by large differences in hydroperiod (HP), size, shape and edge steepness. They also have a high potential for both, geomorphic structural diversity and biological species diversity. However, kettle holes are subject to pollution, drainage and structural reduction that result from intensive land use practices. Although kettle holes in Germany are protected by law, protection strategies are not specific enough with respect to the variability of kettle holes, especially of HP. Therefore, the study objective was to characterise hydrogeomorphic (HGM) kettle hole types to create a basis for a decision support system with regard to the selection of the type dependent conservation and management measures. In three agricultural landscapes in North-East Germany, geomorphological and hydrological variables of 268 kettle holes (HP, shore overflow tendency, depth, area, form, shore width and slope) as well as those of their catchments (area, wetland to catchment area ratio, relief) were investigated from 1993 to 2003. By statistical analysis of datasets of 144 kettle holes, 10 HGM kettle hole types were defined. The basic types are “silted fen type” and “open-water type”. Basic subtypes of the latter type are “storage type”, “shore overflow type” and “puddle type”. Differences in spreading of kettle hole types in dependency on landscape relief were found.