Mainz Sand Dunes

The Mainz Sand Dunes are a small geological and botanical supra-region and important nature preserve in Mainz, Germany. Within this protected area rare plants and animals can be found. Some of the species represented here, such as the Purple Golden-drop, grow only here and in small numbers.

The sand dunes developed after the last ice age and the first resettlement of grassland plants occurred approximately 12,000 years ago. The dry sandy soils are poor of nutrients but relict flora from the glaciation grasslands grow favorably. These plants are found otherwise only in southeast-European, inner-Asiatic areas and in the Mediterranean respectively. The effective surface of the protected landscape is rather small at 1.27 square kilometers.