BMBF-Förderschwerpunkt "Sustainable Landmanagement"

Objectives

VIP – Vorpommern Initiative Paludikultur elaborated the concept of wet peatland management, ran a pilot study in Western Pomerania (North-East Germany) and supported the project scientifically. Hereby we could adjust the concept and develop fundamentals for an implementation of paludiculture worldwide.
Western Pomerania should be developed into a world-wide Paludiculture model region.

Initial situation

Conventional land use of peatlands requires a drawdown. This drainage causes several problems:

•  emission of greenhouse gases,
•  nutrient flux,
•  loss of biodiversity,
•  soil degradation and increasing difficulties in land use.

The current peatland agriculture is not site adapted. It is characterized by land-use abandonment (grassland surplus) on the one hand and intensification of land use (e.g. ploughing or maize growing) on the other hand.
The consequence is an aggravation of the problems:

• Income loss
• Increase of output
• Lack of local acceptance for rewetting
  
  

Paludiculture

Paludiculture (latin „palus“ – swamp) – being wet peatland agriculture in degraded peatlands – relieves our climate and environment, produces renewable resources without competing with food production and creates new sources of income in structurally weak areas.Paludiculture means:

• use of aerial biomass (reeds, bulrush(br.)/cattail(am.), sedges,…) for fossil fuels and raw material
• application of site-adapted harvesters
• including regional economic cycles
• synergies in protecting the environment, nature and the climate

Paludiculture is an approach worldwide adaptable to solve global climate and socioeconomic issues. It opens up new perspectives for man and mire.