PRIMA

PRIMA

PRIMA

PRIMA

PRIMA

PRIMA

Paludi-PRIMA - Putting Paludiculture into Practice: Integration – Management – Cultivation

Paludi-PRIMA

Putting Paludiculture into Practice: Integration – Management – Cultivation

Background

In Germany, drained peatlands are responsible for 37% of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, although they represent only 7% of agricultural land. In addition to emissions, conventional farming leads to soil degradation, subsidence and rising drainage costs. To prevent long-term abandonment and complete loss of productive agricultural land, alternative forms of cultivation are being developed for fen soils at water levels close to the surface: Paludiculture. The joint project Paludi-PRIMA investigates Reed and Cattail as native plant species that are adapted to water-saturated soils, enable peat conservation and have a high value creation potential based on the material use of the biomass.

Project goals

Paludi-PRIMA intends to contribute to putting paludiculture into practice on degraded fen sites. To this end, the project tasks cover a broad spectrum, ranging from basic scientific research to a field trial on approx. 8 hectares and to the elaboration of recommendations for farmers, authorities and politicians. The following questions will be addressed:

  • Which species or genotypes of Cattail (Typha angustifolia, Typha latifolia) and Reed (Phragmites australis) are suitable for different site conditions and utilisation lines?
  • What influence does site selection and management (water level, nutrient availability and harvest regime) have on productivity and biomass quality?
  • What are the costs of switching to paludiculture (site preparation, planting, management, harvesting, drying and storage)?
  • How can the economic viability of paludicultures be assessed in dependence of biomass quality and utilisation options
  • How can paludiculture be integrated into agricultural policy, approval (water and nature conservation law) and planning processes?

Work packages

  • WP 1: Project Coordination, Knowledge Transfer, Transferability
  • WP 2: Genotyping of Reed
  • WP 3: Cultivation and Harvest
  • WP 4: Management
  • WP 5: Biomass Quality
  • WP 6: Economics of Paludiculture

Consortium

  • Working Group Peatland Studies and Palaeoecology, University of Greifswald, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology (WP 1/3/5)
  • Working Group General and Special Botany, University of Greifswald, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology (WP 2)
  • Working Group Experimental Plant Ecology, University of Greifswald, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology (WP 4)
  • Working Group Landscape Economics, University of Greifswald, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology (WP 6)
  • Institute of Plant Production and business management, State Research Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (WP 1/6)

Publications

Final project report of PaludiPRIMA (German only)

Changes in genotype composition and morphology at an experimental site of
common reed (Phragmites australis) over a quarter of a century.
[2023] Wetlands 43:90
Kuprina K., Seeber E., Rudyk A., Wichmann S., Schnittler M., Bog M.
 
Choose wisely: Great variation among genotypes of promising paludiculture crop
Phragmites australis.
[2023] Plants 12:1045
Haldan K., Kuprina K., Haase MI., Kieckhäfer F., Schade L., Schmoldt J., Schock LS., Stein M., Wille A.,
Schnittler M, Kreyling J.
 
Typha for paludiculture -Suitable water table and nutrient conditions
for potential biomass utilization explored in mesocosm gradient experiments.
[2022] Ecology and Evolution 12:9191
Haldan K., Köhn N., Hornig A., Wichmann S., Kreyling J.
 
Genetic diversity of common reed in the southern Baltic Sea region – Is there an
influence of disturbance?
[2022] Aquatic Botany 177:103471
Kuprina K., Seeber E., Schnittler M., Landeau R., Lambertini C., Bog M.
 
Common Reed for Thatching in Northern Germany: Estimating the Market Potential of Reed of Regional Origin.
[2020] Resources 9 (12): 146
Becker, L., Wichmann, S., Beckmann V.

Media

Paludi-PRIMA participated at the International Paludiculture Conference RRR2021 (09.-11.03.2021). All presentations are available online, sorted by author: Haldan, Köhn, Kuprina, Rudyk, Vogel, Wichmann

The RRR2021 Excursion to the Paludi-PRIMA pilot site also available on Youtube: