Completed projects

Collaboration in the project: Indra Starke-Ottich, Andreas Malten, Georg Zizka, with further research results from Andreas C. Lange, Lydia Pichotta, Fabian Schrauth, Stefan Tischendorf and Daniela Warzecha

From 2016 to 2021, the BfN-funded joint project “Cities dare wilderness” was carried out. The biodiversity of two very different areas in the city, Monte Scherbelino and Nordpark Bonames, was investigated. Detailed information on the project can be found under the following links:

• General project description (in German)
• Investigations by the working group for biodiversity mapping (in German)

Collaboration in the project: Andreas Malten, Dirk Bönsel, Indra Starke-Ottich and Georg Zizka

As part of the project funded by the “Stiftung Flughafen Frankfurt/Main für die Region”, studies were carried out between 2010 and 2013 on the biotope types, fauna and flora in the inner areas of the motorway interchange “Frankfurter Kreuz”. The immediately adjacent areas of the “Frankfurt Airport North” junction were also included, so that the study area covered a total of 31 hectares.

“Frankfurter Kreuz” is the junction with the highest traffic volume in Central Europe. It was extensively rebuilt between 1995 and 2000 and changed again a few years later due to construction work on the S-Bahn line to the Gateway Gardens business park. The inner areas of the interchange are practically untouched between maintenance work, so that plants and animals can develop there relatively undisturbed, provided they can tolerate the noise, vibrations and exhaust fumes.

319 species of ferns and flowering plants were recorded in the study area. This corresponds to over 22 % of all plant species occurring in Frankfurt at that time in an area covering only 0.12 % of the city. Nine species were classified as endangered according to the German and Hessian Red Lists, while a further eleven were classified as “near threatened”. In addition, four species are subject to legal protection under the Federal Species Protection Regulations and the Federal Nature Conservation Act.

Most of the species of conservation value were concentrated in the remnants of therophyte-rich sandy grasslands with transitions to heathland and bristle grassland as well as nutrient-poor grasslands in acidic locations in the north of the study area. However, at 0.19 % and 0.89 % respectively, both habitats made up only a very small part of the area. They are considered to be highly endangered in Germany and are protected by law; the nutrient-poor grasslands in acidic locations are also an FFH habitat type.

Maintenance measures to ensure that these areas remain open in the long term are therefore particularly important, especially as all sub-areas are at risk of scrub encroachment from adjacent fallow land and woodland. In particular, it was recommended to prevent an encroachment of brambles into the sandy grasslands. The preservation of the nutrient-poor grasslands is also important for the rare and in some cases highly endangered spider and ground beetle species, which are also concentrated in these habitats.

As expected, bird species were underrepresented in the study area, as they react more strongly to the disturbance caused by traffic noise than other animal groups. With 16 breeding bird species, there were only about half as many species at “Frankfurter Kreuz” as would have been expected in an area of the same size without a motorway. However, the breeding birds included notable species such as Red-backed Shrike, Whitethroat and Rattling warbler. The Red-backed Shrike in particular also benefited from the preservation of open sandy areas and rough grassland, as it hunts its prey on the ground in such areas. On the other hand, it needs shrubs and especially thorn bushes, which were also present at Frankfurter Kreuz.

In addition, 16 species were recorded as guest birds. Many of them breed in the adjacent forest areas and benefit from the habitat mosaic in the inner areas of “Frankfurter Kreuz”. It was also concluded from this that large-scale scrub encroachment should be avoided at all costs. For this purpose, mowing once or twice a year was recommended, whereby it is very important to remove the dried mown material. This should minimize further nutrient input into the large areas of ruderal meadows in the long term and thus have a positive impact on the composition of the flora and subsequently also the fauna in these areas.

As expected, neophytes and neozoa were also detected. The areas close to the lanes represented a special habitat in which neophytic plant species were frequently found. In this area, the suction effect of passing vehicles, strongly fluctuating availability of water, pollution, but also the deposition of dust on leaves and other plant parts played a role. The use of road salt in winter had a particular influence. This favours plant species growing in coastal regions that are adapted to salt patches. As a result, salt-tolerant species are spreading inland along the highways, “Frankfurter Kreuz” is no exception.

Thermophilic animal species that have only immigrated in recent decades have also been detected. However, these also occur elsewhere in the Rhine-Main region, so that despite the extreme volume of traffic, no special position of the Frankfurt intersection with regard to the introduction or immigration of neozoa could be determined.

Downloads (all Documents in German)

• List of ferns and flowering plants recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• Map of biotope types at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• List of bird species recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• List of diurnal butterflies recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• List of grasshoppers recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• List of ground beetles recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• List of spiders and weavers recorded at Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2013)
• Final report on Frankfurter Kreuz (as at 2017)
• Location of vegetation surveys (Map 2)
• Occurrence of endangered, protected and noteworthy plant species (Map 3)

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the “Stiftung Flughafen Frankfurt/Main für die Region” for funding the project.

Collaboration in the project: Dirk Bönsel, Andreas Malten, Sabine Wagner, Georg Zizka

and

Micheline Middeke, Thomas Reuter, David Schale and Katja Trumpler

As part of the “Frankfurt 21” urban development project, the Senckenberg Research Institute was commissioned by the Environmental Office of the City of Frankfurt to carry out a study on the diversity of species and habitats on the former railroad grounds of the main station and freight yard.

The study, which has been in print since 2000, documented and described the flora, fauna and biotope types of the station aprons. The animals, plants and habitats were classified and evaluated from a nature conservation perspective. Furthermore, possible effects of the urban development project were discussed and objectives and proposed measures for further planning were derived on the basis of the species inventory. The assessment of the areas on the basis of the surveys showed that large areas were of high or very high importance for species and biotope protection.

The flora was characterised by a high species diversity with 448 vascular plants. It consisted primarily  of elements that have migrated from natural raw soil sites such as gravel banks, rocky, grassy and sandy meadows, but also from fields or ruderal meadows. In addition, numerous neophytes were found, many of which were introduced by freight traffic. 12 species of flowering plants were in one of the categories of the Red Lists of the Federal Republic of Germany and Hesse. These include, for
example, Grey Hair-Grass (Corynephorus canescens), Immortelle (Helichrysum arenarium), Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis) and Spring Vetch (Vicia lathyroides). 

With regard to the fauna, the species groups of birds, reptiles, butterflies, grasshoppers, ground beetles and spiders were examined. A total of 44 bird species, 2 species of reptiles, 18 species of butterflies and damselflies, 19 species of grasshoppers, 61 species of ground beetles, 145 species of spiders and weavers were recorded on both station areas. The freight yard site was found to be of particular importance for species conservation due to the presence of the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis), a species strictly protected by the EU Habitats Directive. Previously, this lizard species, whose nearest known occurrences are in the Upper and Middle Rhine Valley, was not known to be found in the Frankfurt city area.

The grasshopper fauna of the railroad facilities, which was species-rich, deserves special mention. The highly endangered Blue-winged Grasshopper (Sphingonotus caerulans), which is dependent on sparsely vegetated gravel and sandy areas, was documented in correspondingly high numbers thanks to good living conditions over large areas. Ground beetles and spiders were also well represented, with numerous species, some of which are highly endangered, recorded in the Red Lists. Three spider species were recorded here for the first time in Hesse.

Collaboration in the project: Andreas Malten, Dirk Bönsel, Matthias Fehlow and Prof. Dr. Georg Zizka

and

Uwe Barth, Dr. Karsten Böger, Ulrich Brenner, Marianne Demuth-Birkert, Markus Dietz, Manfred Grenz, Jorge Encarnação, Andreas König, Marko König, Dr. Josef Kreuziger, Kurt Möbus, Johannes Lang, Sabine Schach, Sandra Schweizer, Olaf Simon, Rudolf Twelbeck, Christoph Vogt, Sabine Wagner, Marion Weber, Christel Wedra and Petra Zub

In 2000, the Senckenberg Research Institute was commissioned to carry out basic floristic and faunistic surveys in the area of three possible expansion options for the Rhine-Main Airport. In addition to an area-wide biotope type mapping based on the biotope key of the City of Frankfurt, investigations were carried out on the floristic species inventory and vegetation. The extensive faunistic surveys focused on the animal groups of large, medium-sized and small mammals, bats, birds, reptiles, amphibians, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, wood beetles, ground beetles, spiders and weaver beetles.

The results of the three intensively studied forest areas around the airport (Schwanheim, Kelsterbach and Mörfelden study areas) are presented in a seven-part report with numerous maps entitled “Erfassung von Flora, Fauna und Biotoptypen im Umfeld des Flughafens Frankfurt am Main” and are made available to the public here as pdf files.

The study area also included the entire Frankfurt municipal forest south of the Main. There, for example, a total of 38 water bodies and water systems were mapped in more detail to investigate the amphibian and dragonfly populations.

The very large populations of the nationally highly endangered Agile Frog (Rana dalmatina) in the eastern city forest were particularly noteworthy. Only a few specimens of this species had previously been recorded there, but populations of more than 1500 spawning females were counted during the surveys in spring 2000 and 2001. In contrast, the Green-eyed Hawker (Anaciaeshna isosceles), which was also found at a pond in the eastern city forest in 2000, was very rare.

Among other things, the results clearly showed the problems of water bodies in urban areas. Many ponds had large populations of exotic fish species, as well as large numbers of non-native turtles. Successful reproduction of native amphibians was hardly possible in these bodies of water. The results could therefore be used to plan measures for the ecological enhancement of these standing waters.

Overall, the investigations confirmed the high diversity, especially in the old deciduous forest stands of the municipal forest. Eleven bat species were found in the Frankfurt city forest, some of them in very large populations. The two species Bechstein’s Bat (Myotis bechsteini) and Greater Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis myotis), which are endangered throughout Europe, were found with individuals in the Schwanheim forest.

Complete index (All documents in German)

Complete table of contents pdf-format, 112 KB

Part I Basics pdf-format, 3,72 MB

Part II Schwanheim study area pdf-format, 1.56 MB

Part III Kelsterbach study area pdf-format, 1.45 MB

Part IV Mörfelden study area pdf-format, 1.87 MB

Part V Species and biotopes pdf-format, 5.03 MB

Part VI Appendix of tables pdf-format, 2.01 MB

Part VII Map appendix jpg-format, 582 KB

All maps are listed in the table of contents. As these maps contain many locations of rare, protected and/or endangered and sensitive animal and plant species, we have to refrain from making them generally accessible at this point. If you can demonstrate a legitimate interest, please contact the Biotope Mapping Working Group to inspect the maps.

As an example, only two assessment maps resulting from the surveys are presented here:

VII.2.2.3 Bats Assessment pdf-format, 4.47 MB

VII.2.8.2 Wood beetle assessment pdf-format, 4.48 MB

Collaboration in the project: Andreas Malten, Dirk Bönsel, Georg Zizka

and

Markus Dietz, Matthias Fehlow, Manfred Grenz, Petra Schmidt, Olaf Simon, Sabine Wagner and Petra Zub

In 2004, the Senckenberg Research Institute was commissioned to carry out basic floristic and faunistic surveys on the grounds of the Frankfurt Airport. In addition to a comprehensive floristic mapping of the site, an exemplary documentation of the vegetation was carried out. For this purpose, a total of 30 vegetation surveys were carried out in the area of CargoCity South, the parallel runway system and the US airbase, which were then sorted in tabular form according to their floristic similarity. In addition, extensive surveys were carried out on the animal groups bats, birds, reptiles, butterflies, moths, ground beetles, grasshoppers, spiders and weavers. The results of the study are presented under the title “Erfassung von Flora, Fauna und Vegetation auf dem Flughafen Frankfurt am Main”.