PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Ems, the little sister of larger rivers such as the Rhine, Elbe and Oder, has also felt the effects of engineering "improvements". In the 1930s in particular, large stretches of what was once a meandering lowland river were straightened, leading to deepening erosion of the riverbed. Constructions across it broke its continuity and bank protection works obstructed the river's natural dynamics. The upper stretch of the Ems runs through the gently undulating, hilly northern Münsterland region to the town of Rheine where it cuts through land dominated by farming. Despite this pressure on the natural fabric of the river, typical riparian features have been preserved in some places. Remnants of floodplain ecosystems such as softwood forests and old meanders, and the valuable plant communities they harbour, such as floating aquatic vegetation and reedbeds, can still be found. Since the Ems ceased to be a Federal waterway in October 1998, it was now possible to restore it to a semi-natural condition and revitalise its natural dynamics. An Ems floodplain protection concept (EASK) for the entire course of the Ems in North Rhine-Westphalia had been drawn up. This is a large-scale, ongoing river reclamation scheme aimed at recreating a continuous extended aquatic and amphibian habitat. The LIFE-Nature project would implement some of these ambitious plans.
OBJECTIVES
By completely restoring the natural flow of the Ems over 91 kilometres between the towns of Rheine and Warendorf, for example by altering various constructions spanning the riverbed, the LIFE project has end the river's segmentation, removing all obstacles in the river continuum, and re-establishing connections to side channels and tributaries. Thus the lamprey (Lampetra planeri) and bullhead (Cottus gobio) could again have the run of the Ems and its tributaries. Some stretches of the river have been lengthened by re-connecting former side channels and meanders. Allowing natural dynamics to return, with more possibilites for floods in the natural floodplain area along the river and with erosion-sedimentation processes passing through the reconnected meanders and acting on the river banks, has lead to typical features like temporary ponds forming, the hydrological balance improving and the floodplain's potential as a habitat for resting birds increasing. Erosion will enable steep banks to form for the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) to settle. Characteristic floodplain vegetation will also be given opportunities for natural development; for instance softwood alluvial forests would be expanded again by waterlogging. To accompany these measures, further projects have been carried out parallel to LIFE to promote the extensive use of the entire floodplain and improve water quality.
RESULTS
The river and alluvial plains improvement took place over a total distance of 91 km along the river Ems. Within this segment, several measures took place which are summarized under 4 main aims: - Lengthening of the water course, reconnection of oxbows and initiation of river dynamics: Four former meanders or side channels were permanently reconnected and so lengthen the natural water course of the river Ems. - Improvement of the river continuum between the towns of Warendorf and Rheine was achieved by the bypass built around the weir at Telgte, as well as seven technical actions in which 7 disruptions to the watercourse like small weirs or collapsed bridges were removed or reconstructed in a more amenable form for migrating fish (e.g. as ramps). The bypass in Telgte is impressive, as it provides a fish step construction bridging a weir height of 2,40 m in a very limited space within an urban environment. Good cooperation was built up with a local angling association at Telgte, which helped with the monitoring of the success of the fish bypass. - Improvement of the alluvial plains structure was done through eight engineering works. Nearly 1000 meters of unnatural solid embankments were removed. The river will continue the work started by LIFE through its own natural dynamic and develop natural structures and erosion-sedimentation processes along these banks and in its bed. - Improvement of the tributaries, creeks and major agricultural drains was started by the LIFE project and will be continued after the project: in total 6 confluences of tributaries, creeks and drains with the Ems were opened and redesigned in a more natural way, so that they are now open for migration. In one case, at the subsite Frankenbach, a 150 m long road was raised to allow future use of this traffic connection in cases of high water level in the river Ems, after the LIFE project had removed the dam and embankments. 6 ha land needed to be purchased in order to be able to carry out the relevant technical actions. The relevant segment of the river Ems is now, after the project, in a much more natural state than before and can now serve as a much more suitable habitat for several fish species such as Cottus gobio and Lampetra planeri. Also birds like Crex crex, Dryocopus martius, Circus aeruginosus and Alcedo atthis and others will profit from the actions. Among habitats, all alluvial forest types will benefit, as well as freshwater habitats like natural eutrophic lakes and floating Ranunculus vegetation. The natural flooding regime on alluvial plains has been re-established. An ‘Emsrat’ (Ems Council) has been established, in which representatives from relevant authorities from both German Länder through which the Ems flows, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Niedersachen, are meeting and discussing further measures along the Ems to coordinate actions and exchange experiences and approaches. This Council will also combine all efforts to implement the Water Framework Directive in a Länder cross-boundary approach. Although this panel is not directly related to the LIFE project, being established independently, the LIFE project has given the beneficiary a lot of experience, which will be put to the panel. Furthermore, a new LIFE project for the Ems (Naturnahe Flussdynamik an der niedersächsischen Ems, LIFE 2003/NAT/D/0006), covering the segment in Niedersachsen to the north of the project area, will expand the work. The maintenance and control of the constructions on site will be done by the beneficiary and related organisations like the Biologische Station. The land purchased will be leased out to local farmers with nature conservation obligations in the lease contract. As the project has completed the foreseen investment actions, no major work has to be done on the sites covered by LIFE besides regular low key maintenance and control checks.