Renaturierung des Tagebaus Schöningen mit verschiedenen Megaherbivoren in Form von unterschiedlichen Landschafts- und Klimawandelszenarien

Abstract

This paper examines a renaturation of the former Schöningen opencast lignite mine into a wilderness area. Megaherbivores are to be used to maintain an open landscape. Types of animals selected are based on their use in helping to emulate a prehistoric landscape. In order to establish a wilderness area with consideration to the carrying capacity of the landscape, the WoodPaM simulation programme was employed to help adjust for climate change and grazing scenarios. The results show that the intensity of grazing as well as the influence of climate change have a strong impact on the development of the landscape. Human intervention is excluded in the simulation in order to tie the findings into the debate on wilderness in Germany and to recreate a prehistoric landscape. Animal species simulated were bison (Bos bonasus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama) and horse (Equus przewalski) with numbers ranging from 28 (0.05 LSU per hectare) to 105 (0.2 LSU per hectare) individuals. Drought stress due to climate change is considered to be the limiting factor for plant growth. Even small changes in grazing intensity alter growth in the tree and field layers. In summary, the model calculations in WoodPaM reflect the real landscape as accurately as possible, but individual points in a complex ecosystem cannot be simulated. The results provide starting points for the future handling of the Schöningen opencast mine and can possibly be transferred to other opencast mines.