Paludiculture Newsletter 1|2024

At the field day on a five-hectare cattail cultivation area near Amsterdam, the Dutch company Wellink, also a partner in the TyphaSubstrat project, presented the machines it has currently developed for use in cattail harvesting.

These included a track-based Loglogic Softrak 140, equipped with a front-mounted double forage harvester and tiltable crop bunker, a remote-controlled implement carrier from Irus Deltrack, carrying a rake-swather combination, and an Ibex G2 single-axle bar mower. An Irus double-track with mower-broom combination was also on display.

All of the special machines presented were able to drive over the peatland surface, which was still partially covered by winter precipitation, without any significant damage to the soil or plants. The Loglogic Softrak 140 is designed for large-scale use and impresses with its high area output and simultaneous removal of the biomass in the ride-on bunker. An advantage is the new development of a hydraulically operated high tipper, which allows mowed and chopped crop to be tipped directly onto a truck without intermediate storage and contamination. The Softrak 140 is already being used successfully for harvesting stalk-type paludicultures as well as peat moss. The crucial point now is to be able to harvest leaf mass and seed bulbs of cattail separately. Wellink therefore wants to further develop the front mower.

The Ibex bar mower for mowing can also be combined with the subsequent Irus belt rake for combining and transporting the mowed crop for smaller areas. The field day clearly showed that there are now advanced harvesting systems for both small and large areas that can make it easier to switch to wet peatland use.

The TyphaSubstrat project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the project executor is the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR).

Irus belt rake swathing cattail crops (left) and harvesting cattails with the Ibex G2 single-axle bar mower and the Loglogic Softrak 140.

Pictures: Jens-Uwe Holthuis

The project Sensing Peat embraces the relation of artistic knowledge and peatland protection from a transdisciplinary perspective. It strongly builds on the Venice Agreement on protecting global peatlands locally. The art and research network includes local and global artists, activists, groups and initiatives who see themselves as guardians of their peatlands and the ecological, social, political and cultural values associated with them. It is a project of Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, and is supported by the Andrea von Braun Foundation. The new Sensing Peat website provides information on the network’s events, exhibitions, workshops, forums and community members.

Mosquitoes need high humidity. They depend on water for their reproduction, in which their eggs develop into larvae and then pupae. Peatlands offer both. A mosquito bite is not only unpleasant, it can also transmit pathogens. Three Ms in a miserable combination that causes skepticism or rejection of rewetting. The University of Greifswald and the Friedrich Löffler Institute are currently investigating whether this is actually the case in the Valley of the river Peene. CuliMoor is the name of the joint project, made up of the Latin name 'culicidae' for the family of mosquitoes and - obviously - peatland. On natural and rewetted peatlands as well as agricultural and settlement areas, it investigates where exactly mosquitoes are found, which species there are and which pathogens they carry.

To this end, the scientists collected mosquitoes in all life stages. In 2023, they set up 15 traps in the lower Peene Valley in settlements, on drained and wet peatland area and on areas close to water to create a representative picture of the study area.

They were able to catch around 19,000 mosquitoes and assign them to 23 species.

An initial evaluation shows that four species occurred particularly frequently: the common house mosquito Culex pipiens s. l. and three species of the genus Aedes, namely Ae. flavescens, Ae. caspius s. l. and, with by far the most individuals, Ae. cinereus s. l. (s. l. stands for sensu lato and means that it is not a single species, but a species complex of morphologically and genetically very similar animals). Most individuals entered the traps between the end of August and the end of September.

Previous findings indicate that the different mosquito species prefer certain areas within the study area. Which habitat the individual species prefer allows conclusions to be drawn about how and to what extent they can endanger humans. A mosquito in a human settlement area poses a greater potential health risk than a mosquito in a wet area. Ae. cinereus s. l. was most frequently detected in traps on peatlands. Ae. vexans, on the other hand, seems to avoid peatlands. Culex pipiens s. l. was, as expected, distributed in all traps, but apparently prefers human settlements, as does Ae. annulipes s. l..

In order to check whether pathogens are circulating in the mosquito populations in the lower Peene Valley, the mosquitoes caught will be tested in the course of the study. The researchers also want to determine which host the female insects prefer to feed on, as this also helps to assess the potential risk. Many mosquito species are very host-specific, meaning they feed almost exclusively on one host group, such as birds. These so-called ornitophilic species are less dangerous to humans. The probability of being bitten by such a mosquito is lower.

Meteorological and hydrological data should complete the picture of the mosquito fauna in the (rewetted) peatlands and adjacent areas and ultimately enable a well-founded risk assessment. This is an important contribution to making rewetting projects as compatible as possible for people and animals living nearby.

CuliMoor was launched just over a year ago and will run until the beginning of 2026. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Anklamer Stadtbruch study area. Picture: Patrick Gutjahr

The PaludiZentrale project combines the power for more economic paludiculture potential from four recently launched model and demonstration projects (MuDs) on peatland protection and the utilization of biomass from rewetted areas. Carried out jointly by the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig, the University of Greifswald and the Succow Foundation, it coordinates the uniform collection and networking of scientific data. It evaluates results across the board and develops proposals for political and economic framework conditions as well as recommendations for practical implementation and also takes care of knowledge transfer.

The researchers will support the new model and demonstration projects in raising the water level at least close to the surface on raised and fenland areas and cultivating paludicultures. Another task is to advance the utilization of peatland biomass in practice. The three projects "Management and biomass utilization of wet fens in Brandenburg (WetNetBB)" are dedicated to this, "Living Lab Teufelsmoor - climate- and nature conservation-oriented wet management of peatland soils with innovative utilization of biomass in the district of Osterholz (LiLa Teufel)" and "Sustainable production and utilization of cattail on fenland sites in Lower Saxony (RoNNi)" are dedicated to the cultivation of reeds and cattail and the wet meadows on fen areas for use in building materials or as an energy source, for example. The project "Sphagnum paludiculture as a sustainable agricultural use of bog soils (MOOSland)" focuses on the large-scale implementation of peat moss paludiculture and the use of biomass as a peat substitute in horticulture.

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is supporting the ten-year project with funding from the Climate Transformation Fund (KTF); the project executor is the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR).

Over 80 percent of Germany's bogs are located in Lower Saxony. Peat, the most important raw material for horticultural substrates and soils, is currently extracted from around 6,000 hectares of these areas. This is why the peat and substrate industry is primarily located in this federal state. However, for climate protection reasons, the use of peat should be minimized and renewable raw materials used instead. At the same time, the plants typical of bogs, peat mosses, are also an excellent substitute for peat as biomass. Goes together like paludi and culture? Exactly! That's why the University of Greifswald wants to bring the cultivation of peat mosses to a new level in the new ten-year MOOSland model and demonstration project with seven partners from Lower Saxony. Two existing pilot areas, in total around 20 hectares, will be optimized and expanded by at least seven hectares. The project is also using agricultural structure analysis and stakeholder participation to develop obstacles and solutions for large-scale implementation so that peat moss can also be cultivated on a large scale on other areas.

In order to improve the marketing of peat moss as a raw material for substrates, MOOSland is aiming to develop a RAL quality label, which other common raw materials in the substrate sector also have. In addition, suitable substrate mixtures are being developed and tested in the MOOSland project.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the project executor is the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR).

Nationwide, one million hectares of agriculturally used, drained peatlands can be rewetted and their potential for climate protection and the economy can be increased - according to the results of a study commissioned by the toMOORow initiative. In the best case, almost the entire area can be used for climate-friendly wet farming of peatlands (paludiculture). In the sectors examined, a market share of 15% would have to be achieved for biomass produced on peatlands. The industries for paper and packaging, construction and insulation materials, energy and plastics in particular can use paludi-biomass. The use of renewable raw materials offers great potential in the event of raw material shortages (e.g. wood), replaces fossil resources and thus improves the carbon footprint of companies. At the same time, regional and therefore reliable supply chains are used, which enable savings in transport. The biomass from peatlands is suitable for a wide range of new products and has great potential for both the circular economy and the credible sustainability positioning of companies. “Preliminary study on the creation of scalable value chains for the use of Paludi biomass” is the name of the current publication of the toMOORow initiative, which was launched by the Michael Otto Environmental Foundation and the Succow Foundation. The study examined four scenarios and shows that paludiculture would be possible on an industry-relevant scale and at the same time profitable for owners, producers and users and a big plus for climate protection.

Launched last year, the MoorNet project database now comprises 129 projects. 23 funding programs and 285 institutions involved in peatland protection are listed there and can be searched according to various criteria. The platform also aims to support peatland conservation stakeholders in Germany by providing further training opportunities and information on events. It thus makes an essential contribution to the implementation of the National Peatland Protection Strategy, which was adopted by the German government at the end of 2022.

This places importance on peatland conservation, aims to raise public awareness of it and anchor the importance of peatland landscapes there. All peatlands with a high significance for nature conservation and climate protection are to be rewetted and permanently secured by 2035. Value chains with innovative products and services are to be established on degraded areas used for agriculture and forestry. The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) are implementing the strategy and are planning effective incentives for farmers so that they can manage rewetted peatland in new ways and voluntarily promote restoration.

Funding is provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.