Jennetal, Nature reserve in Ebringen, Germany

Jennetal is a valley cut into the southwestern slope of the Schönberg above Ebringen, at 340–450 m, and also the name of the 22.6-hectare nature reserve it contains. The reserve covers a mosaic of dry meadows, dry forests, hedges, dry-stone walls and stone ridges from abandoned vineyards. Its shallow, carbonate-rich soils over Tertiary conglomerate and limestone sandstone support sessile and downy oaks, service trees and around 30 orchid species.

The protected area was established in 1937 when Erwin Sumser initiated efforts to preserve the land and protect its natural character. The area was subsequently transferred to the state of Baden-Württemberg in 1960 and has remained under public protection since then.

The fenced core zone is called Sumsergarten after the physician Erwin Sumser, who bought the land from 1931 and stopped farming it. Volunteer nature conservation wardens open it to the public during the flowering seasons, but only on weekends and public holidays; from 1962 to 1991 the area was closed entirely because plants were dug up and visitors disturbed the site.

The fenced core zone, the Sumsergarten, is open to the public only on weekends and holidays during the flowering seasons, when volunteer nature wardens unlock it. The wider reserve was fully closed from 1962 to 1991 and reopened in 1991; the terrain lies at 340–450 m on the southwestern slope above Ebringen.

The area provides shelter for approximately 33 breeding bird species that find protected habitats here. This bird population demonstrates the reserve's importance as a refuge for wildlife.