The Lausitz: How Germany's Coal Mines Turned Wild Again | Metamorphoses (4/5)

The Lausitz region south-east of Berlin was one of Germany’s largest lignite districts. For decades, vast areas were excavated here; now most of the open-cast mines have closed down. At first sight the former pits and spoil heaps look barren and hostile to life – but it’s precisely here that animals and plants, which elsewhere have hardly any habitats left, are establishing themselves and thriving.
Insects, birds and amphibians, for instance, have brought many wasteland sites back to life. Wolves, cranes and sea eagles are taking over new nature reserves containing sandy deserts, wetlands, forest and heath. Some of the animals are all-rounders, who benefit from the wide expanses of the landscape – as well as from not being disturbed by human beings in the protected zones. Other species are dependent on open habitats and for them the rapidly spreading vegetation can be become a threat. Nature conservationists are faced with new challenges. Where can they allow natural evolution to take place and where must they take countermeasures to prevent rare biotopes from becoming overgrown? Open habitats like heathland are being managed so that birds like the European nightjar can breed there.
The film documents a unique venture: the evolution and shaping of a new species-rich landscape. The focus is on conservationists, who share a passion for tracing the development of a diverse plant and animal kingdom – a natural world that not so long ago hardly anyone could have predicted emerging here.

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Chapters
▷ 00:00 - Introduction
▷ 00:52 - From Coal Mines to Nature's Comeback
▷ 03:43 - The Lausitz - An Experiment in Nature
▷ 05:16 - Life Returns: Praying Mantises and New Beginnings
▷ 07:41 - Rebirth of the Landscape - Nature Heals Itself
▷ 09:37 - From Desert Sands to Living Ecosystems
▷ 12:51 - Cranes and Wetlands - Water Brings Life
▷ 14:34 - When the Ground Collapses - Nature Strikes Back
▷ 20:06 - Beavers and Wolves Reclaim the Land
▷ 23:20 - When Nature Evolves Too Fast
▷ 25:40 - People, Tourism, and the Future of the Lausitz
▷ 29:32 - From Mines to Lakes - Europe`s Largest Lake District
▷ 33:01 - Wolves, Deer, and the Circle of Life
▷ 40:16 - Should Humans Intervene in Nature's Course?
▷ 45:00 - The Fight to Preserve Heathland and Rare Species
▷ 50:05 - The Wolves' Kingdom - A New Wild Germany
▷ 51:29 - Credits

#documentary #animals #wildlife #sustainability #wolves #lausitz #germany #saveourplanet #biodiversity #animalbehavior #animalplanet

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In some regions intensively used by man, new habitats are being created – full of amazing beauty and diversity.
This series takes us to regions that have undergone – and are still undergoing – radical change. In some places, where flora and fauna were once eradicated to make room for agriculture, industry and the extraction of raw materials, nature is coming back into its own. Landscapes are blooming with new life – because old industries have been closed down and people are recognizing the value of the natural world.
On the Great Lakes in North America, in the rainforest of Costa Rica and in the Lausitz region of eastern Germany highly polluted rivers, vast areas given over to monocultures and soaring slag heaps are being transformed into species-rich marvels of nature. Biologists are creating wetlands out of brownfield sites, conservationists are turning cattle pastures into tropical forest and districts devastated by lignite mining are producing refuges for rare species.
The individual, self-contained episodes document a range of compelling projects, which demonstrate that even destruction can provide a new beginning for nature. And that we can all help to save the biodiversity of our planet for the future.
With lavishly filmed sequences and emotional storylines, the documentary series “Metamorphoses – The Return of the Wilderness” makes a powerful appeal to the mind, the heart and the eye.


Original title: The Lausitz - An Experiment in Nature | Metamorphoses - The Return of the Wilderness (4/5)
A film by Michael R. Gärtner & Sebastian Koerner
© 2022, Licensed by Albatross

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