Unique nature reserve!
The Sippenauer Moor is only a few kilometers south of Kelheim and the Danube, but for the members of the Regensburg Botanical Society, a view of the nature reserve is like an excursion into the Bavarian foothills. Why?
Sippenauer Moor near Saal an der Donau The nature reserve is a so-called lime spring moor. This type of bog is widespread in Bavaria, especially on the edge of the Alps and is populated by numerous rare and specialized plants and animals, e.g. B. the flour primrose (Primula farinosa), a species of the lime-rich fens, it is to be regarded as an endangered species in Bavaria mainly because of the progressive destruction of their habitats. The striped spring damsel (Cordulegaster bidentata), which is threatened with extinction in Bavaria, is only found here in the district. The larvae of the dragonfly live predatory in spring areas and small flowing waters for up to five years before they hatch as a flightable dragonfly. The Sippenauer Moor is therefore of supraregional importance because these species have an isolated northern outpost here in Bavaria.
An additional specialty of the nature reserve is the sulphurous karst water, the intense smell of which can be found in the naming: "sippen" means something like "smell bad, stink".
The sulfur content in spring water can be explained as follows: the groundwater runs through layers of lignite in which, through inorganic decomposition, hydrogen sulfide and elemental sulfur are formed and then dissolved in the water.
Sulfur-free water also emerges in the immediate vicinity of the two sulfur springs, which suggests two aquifers.