Sustainable development is characterized by taking into account the needs of present and future generations. This leads to conflicts of use, which are also reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Conflicts of use are also evident locally, including access to limited resources such as land (soil), finance (money), water and other natural resources. Sustainable development must be above self-interest and consider all people.
The Dürrwiesen meadows and the retention areas of the Rombach fulfill an important function as a biotope. Not only the lake, but also the renaturalized stream courses and meadows are important for biodiversity and provide a habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants. In spring, the wet areas are home to various amphibians such as the grass frog, the common toad and the alpine newt. Different species of ducks and geese can be observed on the water areas. In the riparian area and in the adjacent meadows, which are only mowed every one or two years, a wide variety of insect species reproduce.
To create species richness and biodiversity, it is important that individual areas remain undisturbed.
Therefore, stay on the trails, leash dogs, and clean up debris.
In addition to their function as a retention basin, the Dürrwiesen offer Aalen's residents a space to experience nature. In such a green zone, one can go for a walk, seek recreation or admire flora and fauna. But please: Stay on the trails, leash dogs and clean up debris.
With the Dürrwiesen flood retention basin, the city of Aalen will be protected against a so-called 100-year´s -flood in the future. The dry basin can hold 125,000 cubic meters of water, which can be selectively discharged into the river Aal at a maximum rate of 20 cubic meters per second at the outlet structure. The Dürrwiesen area also functions as a fresh air corridor.
Renaturation is the restoration of near-natural habitats from cultivated, used ground surfaces. The term is particularly common for the near-natural conversion of previously engineered waterways.
For local residents, rivers and streams that have been restored to near-natural conditions pose less risk of flooding. In addition, the quality of life increases wherever the most diverse possible habitat for animals and plants is created, which also plays an important role in the decomposition of environmentally harmful substances such as wastewater or fertilizers.
A biotope is the habitat of certain living organisms. The word comes from the Greek words for "life" and "place." Among scientists, biotope describes all things in a habitat that are not themselves living. These things include, for example, the temperature of the air and water, precipitation, or the texture of the soil. These things influence which animals, plants and fungi can live in a biotope.
All the animals, plants, and fungi in a biotope are collectively called a "biocenosis." Biotope and biocenosis together make an ecosystem. This is what biologists call a community of living things that influence each other.
Examples of biotopes are lakes, rivers or individual sections of them, swamps, bogs, dry or wet meadows, bluffs, forests and many other areas. Within a forest, however, even a single dead tree stump can be considered a biotope.
