News
2025
PaludiProductCatalogue
Be part of it!
11/07/2025 The catalogue aims to provide an overview of products, prototypes, and services related to the use of wet or rewetted peatlands. The focus is on highlighting the diversity and innovative strength of the companies involved. The Paludi Product Catalogue is a joint initiative by the partners of the PaludiNetz network but is also open to contributions from outside the network.
To reach the widest possible international audience, the catalogue will be published in both German and English. It will be distributed free of charge in printed form and may also be made available online (depending on the platform). Participation is voluntary and free of charge. The participating companies are responsible for the content they submit. The first edition of the catalogue at the RRR Conference in Greifswald this September.
A prerequisite for inclusion is that submissions are clearly related to the utilisation of wet or rewetted peatlands. The catalogue does not cover management practices or biomass processing technologies. For this area, the project PaludiZentrale is planning a separate platform coming up soon: PaludiScout.de.
If you would like to place a product in the catalogue, you may find the submission form in German or in English or contact the catalogue’s team via email to produktkatalog@greifswaldmoor.de. The team can also help with translations.
Environmental minister Schneider at GMC
At inaugural visit to MV
04/07/2025 On 3rd of July 2025, Federal Minister Carsten Schneider of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) had a stopover at the Greifswald Mire Centre during his first official inaugural trip through Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The message was clear: peatlands must remain at the top of the agenda in today's environmental policy.
Franziska Tanneberger, winner of the German Environmental Award 2024, and colleagues demonstrated at various places in and around Greifswald how science on peatlands can be used as a basis for political decisions and how business models can be developed from sustainable peatland use and be scaled up. At the Karrendorf meadows, Schneider could observe field research of the DFG-funded WETSCAPES project of the University of Greifswald on the ground and also the peatland protection of the Succow Foundation, which owns the nature conservation areas there.
At Greifswald itself, the GMC peatland experts took the VIP-visitor to the mesocosm facility, which monitors plant growth in 108 mini bogs, to the clone collection with 200 reed and 500 peat moss clones, as well as to the peatland library with more than 50,000 publications. They showed the database on peatlands worldwide and at the Michael Succow Foundation first paludiculture products from an an alliance of several companies. This all made clear:
The Greifswald Mire Centre‘s work has not only raised public awareness over the last 10 years, but has also attracted the interest of large business groups. Germany thus has the opportunity to expand its pioneering role in climate protection through rewetting and paludiculture. Environmental Minister Schneider was impressed: "The University of Greifswald’s peatland research is a unique selling point! MV Environment and Agriculture Minister Dr Till Backhaus also supports the long-term preservation and expansion of this in a non-university research institution.
New: Guidelines for Peatland Protection
This is how it's done in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein!
03/07/2025 To ensure that rewetting and restoration efforts don’t get bogged down in lengthy planning, approval, or implementation phases, two brand-new guidelines have just been published for Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein—with contributions from the Greifswald Mire Centre.
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Published by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the Guidance for Planning, Financing and Approval provides an overview of the key steps involved in the planning, funding, and approval of peatland protection projects and associated measures. With over 545,000 hectares of carbon-rich peat soils, Lower Saxony has the highest peatland area of any German federal state. However, the majority has been drained for agriculture, forestry, or peat extraction. Clearly, there’s a lot to be done. Particularly helpful are the included tips on how to accelerate and simplify projects, along with an overview of funding programs and key contacts in the region.
If land is available, data on the site exists, nature conservation requirements must be considered, or questions arise - such as potential pollution from World War II - these and more are addressed by the equivalent guideline for Germany’s northernmost state: the Guidance for Planning and Approval of Peatland Protection Projects in Schleswig-Holstein, published in the series of the Greifswald Mire Centre. Covering 129,800 hectares, Schleswig-Holstein's peatlands have mostly been drained - causing negative impacts on biodiversity, climate, and the water cycle.
Both publications are aimed at public authorities, municipalities, foundations, associations, agricultural enterprises, and private individuals.
The guidance for Lower Saxony was developed in a collaboration between the MoorNet and MoKKa projects by the Michael Succow Foundation and DUENE e.V. (both partners of the Greifswald Mire Centre), the Ecologic Institute, and the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN). The Schleswig-Holstein guideline was created as part of the MoKKa project by GMC partners Succow Foundation and the University of Greifswald, in cooperation with the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of Schleswig-Holstein (MEKUN).
Mire defence tech for Europe
New GMC paper on peatlands & security
27/06/2025 Peatlands not only help in the fight against climate change, they also provide natural defence in military conflicts. In view of the current war between Russia and Ukraine, this new information paper from the Greifswald Mire Centre advocates the rewetting of peatlands, particularly in border regions, as a measure for Europe's security and defence capability. The paper recommends establishing an EU fund of €250-500 million to finance the rewetting of 100,000 ha as a measure within the EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF).
The paper sees further advantages: Rewetting would fulfill a component of the EU Nature Restoration Law. Issuing emission certificates for rewetting peatlands would arouse the economy’s interest and get it involved. Simultaneously, ecological benefits such as the protection of biodiversity or water filtration and retention can be achieved.
In 1500, farmers of Dithmarsch defeated the Danish army in the ‘Hemmingstedter Moor’. Napoleon's armies were literally bogged down in the peatlands of Russia. Peatlands & defence are not a new topic, as these examples show. For the authors of the information paper, however, it is particularly urgent now to rethink defence and to bring rewetting also for military purposes into current political discussions.
Notably, the media has started to spotlight this topic, such as Yale Environment 360's article "How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion" or the Dutch radio programme Vroege Vogels.
Sensational little discovery
Hartman's sedge is back!
25/06/2025 Students of the unique master’s program “Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation” at the University of Greifswald made remarkable botanical discoveries during a field internship focused on peatland research. They rediscovered Hartman’s Sedge (Carex hartmaniorum), which had been considered extinct in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since 1968, in the Ladebow Moor — the last known location of this species in the region.
The find was unexpected: while conducting a vegetation survey on a meadow, the students closely examined a 4 m² plot. This thorough analysis led to the discovery of Hartman’s Sedge, which likely would have been overlooked during a more superficial inspection of the area. To verify their findings, the students consulted several botanical experts, who confirmed the identification.
Hartman’s Sedge is a perennial plant that reaches heights of 30 to 70 cm and has slender, gray to dark green leaves. Its flowering period spans from May to June, with male and female flowers differing in appearance. The species is typically found in habitats with alternating wet and waterlogged conditions and forms loose turfs in nutrient-poor wet meadows and fens. Unfortunately, many of its natural habitats are severely threatened by drainage and intensive land use, making the protection of these ecosystems critically important.
A key factor in preserving Hartman’s Sedge is the management of nutrient-poor, seasonally wet meadows through low-intensity use. Ideally, this includes late mowing and the removal of cut material to prevent nutrient buildup. Revitalizing fallow meadows can also benefit the species by reducing competition from shrubs and other aggressive plant species.
The rediscovered site in Ladebow Moor has been professionally managed for several years using a single annual mowing regime, demonstrating that appropriate water management and land use practices are vital for the conservation of rare plant species. By integrating agricultural use with peatland and nature conservation, valuable plant communities can be preserved and even restored.
The rediscovery of Hartman’s Sedge highlights the importance of research and sustainable land management in conservation practice and offers hope for future success in the rediscovery and preservation of endangered plant species.