Welcome to the project that combines conservation and technology

Since 2017, the Heinz Sielmann Foundation and the German Research Center for Geosciences Potsdam engage in the exploration on how nature conservation, landscape management and biodiversity research can contribute to the preservation and peaceful development of former military areas on the disused military training ground of Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide. Used by the Russian army up to the 1990s, one of the largest contiguous heath landscapes in Europe can be found there today.

To this end, the project NaTec KRH – “Nature Conservation and Technology in the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide” – is developing new knowledge about natural processes and interactions, as well as about the use of innovative technologies for the maintenance of cultural landscapes that are valuable for nature conservation. All tasks are carried out in close cooperation with local stakeholders.

Parts of the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide are regularly recorded via satellites from space and by aircraft and drones until 2023. At the same time, the occurring species and habitats will be mapped in the field and correlated with the aerial photographs. Like all open land habitats, this landscape is dependent on regular maintenance so that the heather plants (Calluna vulgaris) are not displaced by more competitive species until a forest eventually develops. In this context, the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide does not stand alone, but was selected as an exemplary test area for the use of remote sensing in the monitoring of open land habitats of the Pleistocene lowlands in Central Europe.

Our research results and applied conservation practices are regularly communicated through this platform and in other publications. We are open to active collaboration with other stakeholders and look forward to feedback. We cordially invite everyone to contact us and, possibly, to exchange ideas with us on site.

images by Carsten Neumann