Animals - No all-clear for the fire salamander
Animal protectors give no warning for the Fire Salamander. "Despite it raining more than in the dry years since 2018, the Fire Salamander is still on the dry land," says the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) in Saxony. The renaturalization of waters and water retention in the landscape are imperative. The combination of low precipitation in the past years, locally low groundwater levels, and intense drainage of the land, for example through agricultural drainage, sealing, and stream regulation, caused rivers to dry up repeatedly.
"During our regular monitoring walks, we observe that the condition of the rivers fluctuates greatly. A week can have enough water for a river, and a week later it can almost be dry again," reported Lorenz Laux, project manager in the Fire Salamander Project of BUND Sachsen. These observations correspond with the results of the Drought Monitor of the Umweltforschungszentrum. Large parts of Saxony are being attributed severe to exceptional drought.
According to BUND, Fire Salamanders depend on clean, structurally rich rivers as their habitat. In quiet water sections, the larvae of the Fire Salamander are currently growing up in the water before they go to land in the metamorphosis. "Early and rapid drying up of individual water sections significantly reduces the reproduction of Fire Salamanders. If the water level drops significantly, the larvae are forced to go to land earlier, although they are not yet so far in their development. This reduces their chances of survival," explained Laux.
The BUND also draws attention to another connection: "Due to the temperature increase caused by climate change, the vegetation period has already extended by about fifteen days, which increases the water consumption of plants. Rising temperatures and higher evaporation lead to the fact that only a smaller proportion of precipitation is available for groundwater recharge through infiltration." The BUND therefore demands a turnaround in water management: "Local rainwater must be kept locally. This can be contributed to by structurally rich stream beds, natural forest areas, wet meadows and moors."
Since 2021, BUND Sachsen has been concerned with the Fire Salamander. The black-yellow spotted Amphibian is strongly endangered in the Free State. The Fire Salamander lives here in the mountain ranges between Vogtland and the Saxon Switzerland. In free nature, living Fire Salamanders can be up to 20 years old.
- Animal rights activists in Dresden have expressed concern about the Fire Salamander, a species that BUND Saxony has been actively monitoring and protecting due to its endangered status in the Free State.
- Despite the increased rainfall since 2018, the Fire Salamander continues to struggle on dry land, a situation BUND Saxony attributes to factors such as low precipitation, low groundwater levels, and intensive land drainage.
- In response to the challenges facing Fire Salamanders, BUND is advocating for the renaturalization of waters and water retention in the landscape, emphasizing the importance of clean, structurally rich rivers as essential habitat for these amphibians.
- As climate change influences local ecosystems, animal rights activists and organizations like BUND are calling for a shift in water management strategies, emphasizing the importance of keeping local rainwater locally, through measures like structurally rich stream beds, natural forest areas, wet meadows, and moors.
- The Fire Salamander, a species found in Saxony's mountain ranges between Vogtland and the Saxon Switzerland, depends on a healthy and sustainable environment to survive, making it an essential focus for both animal rights activists and environmental conservation organizations.
