Paludiculture Newsletter 2|2024

General information and news on peatlands and climate

Underestimated and threatened: Peatlands in the Brazilian Cerrado

Peatland research in Brasil (Picture: Ianna Souza).

Brazil is huge, but the community of peatland researchers is small. Felix Beer, PhD student at Greifswald University, has recorded the distribution and condition of peatlands in the Cerrado in central Brazil. Here is his field report from an area 7 times the size of Germany.

Save the Date for RRR2025

Wet landscape. Save the date for RRR2025.

The 4th international RRR conference on "Renewable Resources from Wet and Rewetted Peatlands" will take place in Greifswald from September 23rd to 26th, 2025, and will bring together experts from various disciplines to exchange knowledge and experience and discuss pressing issues in paludiculture.

First comprehensive climate assessment by the European Environment Agency

Cover European Climate Risk Assessment (Foto: António Tedim).

The climate crisis on 400 pages: The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published its first comprehensive assessment of the climate in the EU. It is intended to support decisions on environmental and climate policy in the EU. With 36 identified climate risks, eight of which require immediate action, the report provides a gloomy outlook.

New: Global Wetland Centre in Denmark

Logo Global Wetland Center.

Docked at the University of Copenhagen and supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, a new Global Wetland Center will initially contribute to peatland research over the next six years.

MoorMaidens at the Mapathon

Logo Mapathon.

Working together to create a map of Europe's peatlands was the aim of an Open Data Mapathon organized by the University of Galway at the beginning of April 2024. The MoorMaidens from the Greifswald Mire Center were looking for freely available data for mapping peatlands in Germany.

A project presented

MoorPV

Photovoltaics on peatlands (Picture: Stephan Busse).

Generating renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the same time - that sounds like a win-win. The new MoorPV project at the University of Greifswald is investigating whether photovoltaics on rewetted peatland areas can benefit both the energy industry and nature without any side effects.

News from other paludiculture projects

Rapidly growing demand for paludiculture - now!

Paludiculture landscape. Alliance of Pioneers.

14 well-known companies want to integrate biomass from rewetted peatlands into their production and have joined forces in the PaludiAllianz. The aim is to strengthen the customer side of the paludiculture market and show that wet cultivation can be economical on a large scale.

BLuMo - Water is the key

Bog caterpillar harvesting (Picture: Sebastian Petri).

The demonstration area in the BLuMo project in Brandenburg is 750 hectares in size. The Brandenburg State Office for the Environment and the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy are testing paludiculture and want to process the raw materials obtained into useful products.

MoorAgentur MV: Protecting peatlands, promoting paludiculture

Logo MoorAgentur MV.

The MoorAgentur in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which opened on May 2nd 2024, is the first of its kind in Germany. Funded by the German Ministry of Environment and hosted by the Landgesellschaft M-V, the MoorAgentur is intended to support the implementation of rewetting and paludiculture.

Events

All current events are compiled in our online calendar.

Literature

Adriani, D., Yazid, M., Riswani, Damayanthy, D., Choi, E., Yang, H. 2024: Livelihood Alternatives in Restored Peatland Areas in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Land, 13, 643. DOI: 10.3390/land13050643

Eickenscheidt, T., Bockermann, C., Bodenmüller, D., Großkinsky, T., Gutermuth, S., Hafner, M., Hartmann, H., Hartung, C., Heuwinkel, H., Kapfer, M., Krimmer, J., Krus, M., Kuchler, C., Kuptz, D., Lohr, D., Mack, R., Mäck, U., Mann, S., Meinken, E., Moning, C., Rist, E., Schön, C., Schröder, T., Schumann, A., Theuerkorn, W., Zollfrank, C., & Drösler, M. 2023: MOORuse - Paludikulturen für Niedermoorböden in Bayern - Etablierung, Klimarelevanz & Umwelteffekte, Verwertungsmöglichkeiten und Wirtschaftlichkeit, Abschlussbericht, 254 p. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10778063.

Hammerich, J., Schulz, C., Probst, R., Lüdicke, T., & Luthardt, V. 2024: Carbon content and other soil properties of near-surface peats before and after peatland restoration. PeerJ. Apr 18;12. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17113

Heindorf, C., Schüler, S., & Plieninger, T. 2024: Poetic inquiry to explore the relational values of a transforming peat landscape. People and Nature, 00, 1–17. DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10629

Mander, Ü., Espenberg, M., Melling, L., Kull,, A. 2024: Peatland restoration pathways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and retain peat carbon. Biogeochemistry 167, 523–543. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-023-01103-1

Wichmann, S., Nordt, A. 2024: Unlocking the potential of peatlands and paludiculture to achieve Germany’s climate targets: obstacles and major fields of action. Frontiers in Climate 6, 1380625: 1-20. DOI: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1380625

Close menu