Paludiculture Promotes Biodiversity, New Chances in Life for Endangered Species

The great raft spider is only found around lakes and in peatland areas. It is on a list of endangered species in Germany. © Hubert Höfer
The great raft spider is only found around lakes and in peatland areas. It is on a list of endangered species in Germany. © Hubert Höfer
Harvested reeds on the experimental area for bulrush cultivation, © Tobias Dahms
Harvested reeds on the experimental area for bulrush cultivation, © Tobias Dahms

So far, there is hardly any data on how biodiversity reacts to paludiculture. A new study published in October 2023 by the journal Scientific Reports sheds light on this issue. The multi-taxon study led by scholars from the Institutes of Botany and Landscape Ecology and Zoology at the University of Greifswald - partners in the Greifswald Mire Centre - shows that paludiculture can support the conservation of biodiversity in rewetted fens.

The scholars analysed the diversity of vegetation, breeding birds and arthropods at six rewetted peatland sites dominated by sedge or bulrushes. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeast Germany, the researchers analysed areas that were either unharvested, or farmed at low or high-intensity. It was found that the cultivated sites had a high plant diversity as well as some rare and endangered arthropods and breeding birds. This means that they can provide valuable habitats for species, even if productive cultivation of the land continues and these areas no longer reflect the historical state of peatlands.

A large proportion of the fens have lost some of their biodiversity due to drainage for intensive land use. Degradation and eutrophication were frequent consequences. This led to a loss of biodiversity that didn’t even recover when farmers stopped using such sites. This makes the recovery of biodiversity on land that is managed with sustainable wet agriculture (paludiculture) all the more positive. The scientists from the Institute of Zoology and the Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology at the University of Greifswald found a total of 78 plant species, 18 breeding bird species, 55 ground beetle species and 73 spider species. 32 of these species are on the Rote Liste (list of endangered species), such as the pond money spider, the meadow pipit and the sandpiper. Trees and shrubs that cover peatland areas with bushes and hinder the development of typical peatland species were hardly found in the surveyed areas. 

The study is part of the PRINCESS project, funded by the European BiodivERsA programme and published in English under the title "Paludiculture can support biodiversity conservation in rewetted fen peatlands" (DOI 10.1038/s41598-023-44481-0).

Further Information
To the article

Paludiculture can support biodiversity conservation in rewetted fen peatlands (nature.com)


PRINCESS – Moorwissen.de

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Contacts at the University of Greifswald

Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology
Chair of Experimental Plant Ecology
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kreyling
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4131

juergen.kreylinguni-greifswaldde

PD Dr. Franziska Tanneberger
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4137

tanneuni-greifswaldde

Zoological Institute and Museum
Prof. Dr. Peter Michalik
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4099

michalikuni-greifswaldde

 

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