22/07/2024 The aim of the three-year TyphaSubstrat project - harvesting and utilising cattail as an alternative substrate material for press pot soil in vegetable growing - was to develop a peat-reduced press pot soil with up to 50% less peat. At the final event on 5 September in Darmstadt, the project participants will present their results. These show: 50% peat reduction in pressed potting soil is possible! Presentations and dialogue in the morning at the Forschungsring e.V. in Darmstadt will be complemented by a tour of the practical tests in a vegetable nursery and a young plant farm near Mannheim. Detailed information on registration and the programme can be found here.

TyphaSubstrat focuses on cattail in a mixture with other peat substitute components such as sphagnum, green waste compost and wood for press pots, on which lettuce and vegetables are grown commercially. In addition, special technology for harvesting cattail was further developed in the project, and cattail raw material was analysed with regard to substrate properties, including pesticides and herbicides. By reducing the use of peat and utilising paludiculture biomass, TyphaSubstrat makes a dual contribution to the transformation towards climate-neutral use of wet peatlands (paludiculture) and demonstrates possibilities for sustainable substrate production. The proven suitability of cattail biomass as an alternative substrate offers the industry a new renewable raw material that can be produced regionally. A step towards a long-term secure and climate-friendly raw material supply and a contribution to peatland protection. TyphaSubstrat is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture via the Agency for Renewable Resources (Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.).

27/06/2024 Climate, water, biodiversity - how this is connected in peatlands and floodplains, what condition it is in and how it can be improved - is now summarized in Climate - Water Balance - Biodiversity: For an integrative use of moors and floodplains, the statement published today by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. "Nowhere in Central Europe is biodiversity as high as in these wetlands," says Leopoldina member Prof. Dr. Klement Tockner, Director General of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. Near-natural peatlands and floodplains are also essential for preventing flood disasters and reducing CO₂ emissions. The statement with supplementary digital dossier emphasizes the need to rewet peatlands and restore floodplains. Both are already enshrined as climate and biodiversity goals, for the EU for example in the Nature Restoration Law recently adopted by the EU Environment Council and worldwide in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The latter provides for the protection and restoration of at least 30% of the world's land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030. The statement now presents options for action to achieve national and international commitments in climate, water and biodiversity protection and still be able to use these areas economically. This includes protecting intact peatlands, switching to paludiculture, rewarding ecosystem services and including the measures in CO₂ emissions trading. Twelve scientists from the fields of ecology, biology, hydrology, sociology, agricultural engineering, environmental economics and law were involved - including Dr. Franziska Tanneberger and Prof. Jürgen Kreyling, two scientists from the Greifswald Mire Centre.