Why insects love water buffalo
Excursion: Grazing of nature conservation areas with water buffalo and the effects on insects and birdlife - on 13 August, 5 p.m., Euba
On Tuesday, 13 August, from 5 pm, interested parties are invited to an excursion organised by the City of Chemnitz Environmental Agency on the topic of landscape conservation through grazing with water buffalo. The meeting point is the car park opposite the Euba dam. The excursion location, the former ammunition depot on Eubaer Straße, is about 15 minutes' walk away. Participation is free of charge. The tour takes about two hours.
Grazing with water buffalo in Chemnitz? Some people are familiar with water buffalo from Asia, where they are used to plough rice fields. In this country, water buffaloes are rarely used, but due to their claw position they are primarily used for biotope maintenance in wetland/swamp areas.
The excursion aims to show how landscape management through extensive, nature-friendly grazing has a positive effect on the character of the area and how insects and birds benefit from it. It will also show how agriculture and nature conservation can work together. Farmer Tim Winkler and Antje Rehnert from Büschelhof Eibenberg, Benjamin Franke from the Young Nature Guards/BUND e. V. and Jens Börner from the Lower Nature Conservation Authority at the City of Chemnitz Environmental Agency will each report from their perspective and will be happy to answer questions on the topic.
Since 2022, the former military property of the CIS armed forces on Eubaer Straße near the Euba reservoir has been extensively grazed by a farm, Büschelhof Eibenberg, in cooperation with the Chemnitz Nature Conservation Station/Environmental Agency with water buffalo and Scottish Highland cattle. The aim is to preserve semi-open biotopes and cut back overgrown bushes in order to preserve the habitat of rare plants, animals and fungi.
Open and semi-open landscapes such as this area can be preserved and promoted more effectively and cost-effectively by grazing than by mechanical measures. This is because, unlike with mowing, the grazing animals graze the areas selectively piece by piece due to the low stocking density. This creates a high-quality mosaic in the landscape in terms of nature conservation, which also always provides sufficient residual stocks for native insects. Robust breeds such as the water buffalo also utilise inferior forage such as reeds, bulrushes and the dominant land-grass and are therefore particularly well suited to maintaining this area.