User:Chirokidz/Spreewald Biosphere Reserve



The Spreewald Biosphere Reserve is a 475 km2 area of wetlands and woods located 100 km south of Berlin. It consists of a 1575 km network of natural and artificial waterways on the Spree River, wet meadows, small fields, and semi-natural lowland forests. It was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1991.

Biosphere Reserve Guidelines
Biosphere reserves are model areas for sustainable use and development, in which a ballance is made between the preservation of biodiversity and requirements of communities for economic development. Because of this, Biosphere Reserves are more than just conservation areas. Success is dependent on the combined leadership of all of the groups involved and a strong understanding of the relationship between man and nature. The Seville Strategy, adopted in 1995 as the basis for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program, serves as a guideline for all Biosphere Reserves.

Formation
Approximately 10,000 years ago, as temperatures rose again after the ice age, the area of present day Spreewald formed an inland delta. Because the land was often flooed, fallen leaves partiallay decomposed in the absence of air and formed the kind of peat typical of the Spreewald wetland soil.

With the roots of the trees, the eroding power of the water was slowed down so much that the main watercourses were forced into other beds.