News

2023

Biodiversity profits from paludi-power

New paper in Scientific Reports of Nature

13.12.2023 Data is scarce on how biodiversity is responding to paludiculture. But a new study recently published in Scientific Reports of Nature sheds light on it. A multi-taxon study co-authored by scientists of Greifswald University, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, found that paludiculture can support biodiversity conservation in rewetted fen peatlands (DOI 10.1038/s41598-023-44481-0).
The scientists had investigated vegetation, breeding bird and arthropod diversity at six rewetted fen sites dominated by Carex or Typha species in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany, either unharvested, low- or high-intensity managed. Biodiversity was estimated across the range of Hill numbers using the iNEXT package, and species were checked for Red List status. It became evident that managed sites had high plant diversity, as well as Red Listed arthropods and breeding birds. Thus, they can provide valuable habitat for species even while productive management of the land continues and although these areas are not reflecting historic fen conditions.

New poster exhibition

More "ruMooren"

10/25/2023 What is a bog and where exactly is it? What do these bogs emit and is that bad? Can peatlands really help us? The compact, mobile poster exhibition at the Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC) provides questions and answers. From October 24th to November 29th it can be seen in the foyer of the Hans Fallada City Library in Greifswald with seven posters based on the texts and with graphics from the Mooratlas, compiled in the MoKKa project. It can then be shown at other locations upon request.

Great Mire Excursion Day

Free of charge, featuring diverse venues, on Sep 8

05/09/2023 On September 8, 2023, a rewetted peatland area and paludiculture can be experienced at the Great Mire Excursion Day on a 10 ha cultivation area for cattail from 11 am - 5 pm.

For peat must be wet, but how and how much? And what comes after that? These are the questions addressed by the joint projects Paludi-PROGRESS, MoKKa, PRINCESS and other peatland and paludiculture projects at the Greifswald Mire Centre, together with various partners. At different stops of our walking tour, we will provide information about our work and you can ask your questions about the following topics, engaging in an exchange with scientists:

  • Peatlands, their climate impact and the concept of paludiculture
  • Cultivation, biomass quality and economic aspects of reed and cattail cultures
  • Biodiversity, peat condition and greenhouse gas measurements in cattail cultivation
  • Water and nutrient balance in cattail cultivation
  • Drones, measurement technology and wireless sensors
  • Utilization of paludiculture biomass

You will be able to observe how greenhouse gas emissions are measured, to travel back in time through the layers of a peat profile, test how it feels to live in a tiny house made of paludiculture materials and, of course, admire the picturesque moor landscape.

Registration for groups of 5 people or more: josephine.neubert@uni-greifswald.de.
Catering: Food will be provided (against payment).
Recommendation: We advise sturdy shoes and weatherproof clothing.
Directions and map of the area (in German): Access to the polder Teichweide from halfway between Neukalen and Lelkendorf, close to the former railway station Lelkendorf. It is possible to park there. The walking distance from the parking lot to the test area is about 1.2 km.

The Excursion Day will be held with the participation of the State Research Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, the Voigt Farm and the Baltic Sea Foundation.

Call for abstracts

for paludiculture session at DAFA conference by 17.09.2023

24/08/2023 From 11th to 14th March 2024, the German Agricultural Research Alliance (DAFA) will host the conference “Agricultural Research on Climate Change” in Potsdam. The Greifswald Mire Centre, together with the Thünen Institute for Agricultural Climate Protection, is hosting the session “Paludiculture: practice-oriented research of project examples in Germany”. In this session, current practice-oriented research on paludiculture will be presented and discussed using various project examples. Various research topics will be addressed: GHG emissions, hydrology & soil, biodiversity, cultivation & management, utilization & marketing, business administration and socio-economics. We welcome contributions from as many paludiculture research projects as possible. Abstracts can be submitted until September 17, 2023.

Three times top ten

Peatland projects priced in UN Decade

23/08/2023 In the UN Decade Project of the Year 2023 competition, there are three projects with GMC participation in the top 10 - a recognition of the importance of peatlands in the climate and biodiversity crisis, but also of the efforts to protect and preserve them.

toMOORow , the initiative with a forward-looking name from the Michael Otto Environmental Foundation and the Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, is committed to wet bogs and sustainable management on peatlands. Its aim is to use the diverse peatland properties for climate and biodiversity protection and also for the economy. In practical terms, it waters areas in Brandenburg, activates companies to utilize paludi biomass and is committed to the necessary political framework. The Karrendorfer Wiesen, an area owned by the Succow Foundation, received one of the ten places as an example of successful restoration. The coastal flood peatland offers 350 hectares of rare salt grassland, where natural coastal and flood dynamics prevail and rare animal and plant species occur, especially limicols and other water birds, while at the same time carbon is stored in the peat.

MoorFutures is also in the top 10. It refers to innovative certificates for the restoration of peatlands. One MoorFutures represents one ton of avoided carbon dioxide from peatlands, and private individuals and companies can use it to actively make a contribution to combating the climate crisis. They were developed in cooperation with scientists from the GMC and the Ministry of the Environment of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The United Nations has declared the years 2021 to 2030 as the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems. They assume that the next ten years will be crucial in the fight against climate change and global species extinction. Restoring damaged ecosystems is central to this. That's why the United Nations wants to use this UN Decade to mobilize people around the world to recognize the benefits of ecosystems and work to restore them. They also want to create the necessary political will to restore ecosystems. In Germany, the Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) honor current, representative projects for the restoration, preservation or maintenance of ecosystems. The projects mentioned are among the top 10 in the “Mires and Wetlands” competition round.