A narrow floodplain stretch of the Wipper river protecting alder gallery forest, wet meadows, and a biodiverse stream corridor.
Wupperaue bei Gogarten
Wupperaue bei Gogarten is a small nature reserve in the municipality of Marienheide in the Oberbergischer Kreis of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The reserve protects a roughly 7 hectare section of the Wipper river valley, running northwest from below the Marienheide wastewater treatment plant to the ford near Gogarten, with the B 256 federal road forming its southwestern boundary. Established in 2005, it forms part of the larger Natura 2000 site known as Wupper und Wipper bei Wipperfürth.
The protected area centers on a near-natural stretch of the Wipper, with steep banks, gravel bars, dead wood, and an almost continuous fringe of alder riparian woodland. Wet meadows, moist and wet grassland fallows, and willow shrub complexes line the valley, while small conifer stands are gradually being removed to restore the floodplain character.
The reserve is valued above all as a habitat for highly sensitive river species. It is noted as a habitat of international and regional importance as a stepping stone within the broader biotope network, where water crowfoot, kingfisher, bullhead, and brook lamprey all find suitable conditions along the river and its banks.