The moorland near Papenburg is a raised bog complex embedded in the lowland landscape of the Hunte and Leda. It includes the moors Klostermoor, Wildes Moor, Westermoor, Esterweger Dose and Leegmoor (Timpemoor). They are separated from each other by old settlement areas from which the raised bogs were cultivated. The row settlements in the west and the fen settlements in the north of the landscape are characteristic. The large peat extraction areas still bear witness to the former raised bog character. However, large areas of the former moor are now under grassland or even arable land use, and only small remaining areas still contain original, now degenerated raised bogs. On the southern edge of the landscape lies a geest island typical of the Hunte-Leda lowland. At 39 m above sea level, the wooded Esterweger Busch is the highest elevation in the region. The Daimler-Chrysler AG automobile test track was built in the Wild Moor near Papenburg, meaning that an area of almost 3000 hectares has been lost for possible moorland restoration. The landscape also includes the areas of the Overlediger Land, which are mainly used as grassland and extend over a flat geest island.
In the central moor areas, there is still extensive peat farming. Large areas of the former raised bog areas on the edge are used intensively for agriculture as grassland or arable land.
Despite the extensive peat extraction, a total of over 7000 hectares of moorland are still classified as valuable from a nature conservation point of view. Four larger moor complexes in this area have been registered as FFH areas. The remaining raised bog areas have local, regional and in some cases national importance as bird breeding areas. The largest protected area in the landscape is the EU bird sanctuary "Esterweger Dose". The grassland areas of the Leegmore are largely protected. In addition to these areas, the high nature conservation potential of the areas currently being extracted must be taken into account.
Translated by Google •
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