The 42.2 km long Felda rises in the Hohen Vogelsberg and flows into the Ohm in Nieder-Gemünden. The river is a flowing water with flooding aquatic vegetation; it meanders through the valley in a largely natural bed. With its stands of alder and ash trees lining the stream, it forms a natural stream floodplain system that is rare today. Here you can find plant communities tied to wetlands, such as sedge species and marsh marigold meadows. To maintain the floodplain grassland, this is done once or twice
mown annually, adapted to the respective plant communities. If the water quality is good, in addition to brown trout, other fish species include minnow, loach and the two FFH species bullhead and brown lamprey. This environment offers good habitats and food sources for the gray wagtail, the dipper and several species of bats. Also represented is the black stork, a typical forest dweller and indicator of low-disturbance, old-growth forest ecosystems. To search for food, it uses a variety of wetlands, e.g. streams rich in fish, ponds and natural floodplain areas. The Feldatal is an important resting area for migratory birds.
Photo Felda: © Dunja Wernedorf