Augustdorf Dune Field

The Ölbachtal with Augustdorfer Dünenfeld is a 169 hectare nature reserve in the Senne in North Rhine-Westphalia. A section known as Ölbachtal with the object identifier GT-027 belongs to Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock in the Gütersloh district.The protected area between Stukenbrock and Augustdorf and adjoining the Senne troop training area is characterized by the box valley of the Ölbach near its source, its dry valley adjoining the headwaters as well as extensive pine forests and isolated open heathland and sandy nutrient-poor grassland areas.A special scenic feature of the upper Senne are the dune fields, which are significantly pronounced in the protected area, which are among the oldest inland dunes in north-west Germany and can also be found in the neighboring nature reserves Moosheide and "Trockentaler, Kastentäler und Dünen des Obere Westerholter Baches". The dune crests, which are up to twelve meters high, were mainly caused by wind drifts in the Vistula glacial period, where the Sennesand was whirled up due to a lack of protective vegetation and deposited elsewhere. However, younger dunes were also created by human influences, such as forest clearing, the creation of fields and the plagging of heathland.Sourceb: Wikipedia