PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Many tourists enjoy the wide variety of habitats on the western side of Lake Constance: alkaline marshes, waterlogged litter meadows, shallows, extensive reedbeds and remnants of hardwood and softwood floodplain forest. They host the endemic Lake Constance forget-me-not (Myosotis rehsteineri), the rare large blue butterflies Maculinea teleius and Maculinea nausithous, and large numbers of aquatic birds (40 000 to 50 000) and waders. This is because the Untersee, one of the western fingers of Lake Constance, has one of the lake's longest unbroken semi-natural stretches of shoreline, about 20 kilometres long. The site has a long nature conservation tradition, with the designation of seven nature protection areas between 1938 and 1997, covering a total area of approximately 1,000 ha. More recently the designation of most of the area as pSCIs or SPAs reflected its EU importance. Protected status by itself would not be enough to make good the damage which had been inflicted through lakeside overdevelopment, intensive farming and drainage. When the LIFE project started in 1999, the Untersee's diversity and natural balance were still menaced by intrusive leisure activities and hunting.
OBJECTIVES
To restore calm to the Untersee, the project aimed at eliminating sources of disturbance by closing and relocating car parks, moorings and bathing areas. Hunting concessions would not be renewed. The semi-natural shoreline habitats would be expanded. Litter and wet meadows would be restored and maintained, and intensive grassland and arable land converted into Molinion litter meadows. The remnants of floodplain forests would be reinvigorated. The Radolfzeller Aach river was to be restored to its natural course by re-connecting former meanders. This LIFE-Nature project, partly based on the results of an earlier LIFE-Environment project in the vicinity, would also developed a habitat network and interlink protected areas. It was broadly based, being supported by a range of bodies: three municipal authorities, the local water authority and forestry service, the historic monuments agency and the NGO NABU.
RESULTS
The project successfully reached all the foreseen objectives, although some proved more difficult to reach than originally foreseen. The river Aach was reconnected with two of its former meanders and riparian forest was established through different schemes of planting or natural succession. The successful land purchase (45 ha) allowed several measures to be carried out by local farmers, subcontractors or the NABU in litter meadows ("Streuwiesen"), such as initial clearing and preparation of recurring management (on 36 ha). The endemic Lake Constance forget-me-not (Myosotis rehsteineri) has been secured on two beach sections, through re-routing of public access and planting of Myosotis seedlings. Several hunting districs modified their regulations, emphasising the nature conservation value of their areas and taking more account of waterfowl. Regulations for anglers were also negotiated. Other actions included: - work to thin a forest in favour of ground-level flowering plants; - relocating a parking lot; - installing extensive grassland use for the benefit of curlew; - reopening a creek; - the removal of a concrete embankment to re-create a natural lakeshore. Visitor information, guidance and direction away from sensitive zones, was a delicate but urgently needed measure for a popular tourist destination like Lake Constance. A nature trail was laid out informing visitors about the natural values, historical farming practices and prehistoric settlements. Information panels, brochures and a CD Rom informed about actions on site. Platforms were erected to allow views of the lake, despite the natural tall reed barriers. For the benefit of boat owners, buoy anchorages which caused less damage to submerged vegetation were tested.The project successfully reached all the foreseen objectives, although some proved more difficult to reach than originally foreseen. The river Aach was reconnected with two of its former meanders and riparian forest was established through different schemes of planting or natural succession. The successful land purchase (45 ha) allowed several measures to be carried out by local farmers, subcontractors or the NABU in litter meadows ("Streuwiesen"), such as initial clearing and preparation of recurring management (on 36 ha). The endemic Lake Constance forget-me-not (Myosotis rehsteineri) has been secured on two beach sections, through re-routing of public access and planting of Myosotis seedlings. Several hunting districs modified their regulations, emphasising the nature conservation value of their areas and taking more account of waterfowl. Regulations for anglers were also negotiated. Other actions included: - work to thin a forest in favour of ground-level flowering plants; - relocating a parking lot; - installing extensive grassland use for the benefit of curlew; - reopening a creek; - the removal of a concrete embankment to re-create a natural lakeshore. Visitor information, guidance and direction away from sensitive zones, was a delicate but urgently needed measure for a popular tourist destination like Lake Constance. A nature trail was laid out informing visitors about the natural values, historical farming practices and prehistoric settlements. Information panels, brochures and a CD Rom informed about actions on site. Platforms were erected to allow views of the lake, despite the natural tall reed barriers. For the benefit of boat owners, buoy anchorages which caused less damage to submerged vegetation were tested.
