Under the title “Biodiversity on the doorstep”, the adult education center (VHS) Taufkirchen invites you to a tour of the Hachinger Bach north of Potzham this Thursday, August 21 – through one of the last wet meadow areas in the district. In an interview, lecturer Michael Wagner from the nature conservation authority in the Munich district office reveals what makes this area so special. And everything there crawls and crawls, grows and proliferates.
SZ: Mr. Wagner, when it comes to biodiversity, many people think more of the tropical rainforest than of a wet meadow in Taufkirchen…
Michael Wagner: The landscape on our doorstep is also rich in species. Of course, this cannot keep up with the rainforest in Brazil, because in our latitudes the diversity has decreased significantly as a result of several ice ages. But there are still areas in which the habitat diversity is very high and where you can find a correspondingly large number of plant and animal species.
Michael Wagner leads through one of the last wet meadow areas in the district of Munich.
(Photo: Michael Wagner/Munich district office)
But aren’t such areas in the countryside rather than in an urban environment like in Taufkirchen?
No, that has now changed due to developments in agriculture towards large machines, large fields, the use of pesticides and fertilizers and the elimination of hedges and field borders. Today, the diversity of species in urban areas is often greater than in rural areas – especially when it comes to insect diversity.
And what makes the area in Taufkirchen west of Tölzer Straße and on both sides of the Hachinger Bach so special?
There is one of the last wet meadow areas in the district of Munich. It’s sort of a relic that’s left – also because the site is difficult to manage. Rare plant species that are typical of such wet meadows can be found there today. And as a result, a large variety of insects.
For example?
For example, Hartman’s sedge, a species of sour grass, which is highly endangered throughout Bavaria, grows there. Or the meadow knotweed, which we used to call toothbrushes as children because of its pink flowers. The fringed fritillary, which is highly endangered here, lays its eggs on this plant – and only there. Because the caterpillars of this butterfly only eat meadow knotweed.
Does that mean that without the plant there are no fringed fritillaries?
Exactly, and that is the case with a number of insects. For example, in Bavaria we have 520 different wild bee species. And much of it is tied to a single plant species or plant family. If it no longer grows in an area, then the corresponding bee species cannot survive there either.
The fringed fritillary lives on the Hachinger Bach.
(Photo: Michael Wagner/Munich district office)
Is that also the message you want to convey on the tour of the Taufkirchner wet meadow area?
Yes, I would like people to realize that biodiversity is not only an issue in tropical rainforests, but also in our country. We have little treasure chests here, and they need to be preserved. After all, our existence also depends on biodiversity – many people are not even aware of this. 80 percent of our food would be lost or produce significantly lower yields if there were no animal pollination. Then it would look pretty poor on our plates.
The tour “Biodiversity on the doorstep” is on Thursday, July 21, at 4 p.m. Meeting point is the bridge at the corner of Ritter-Hilprandstrasse and Pöttinger Path. The fee is four euros. Registration and further information are available from the VHS Taufkirchen on telephone number 089-6145140 or www.vhs-taufkirchen.de.