Reed as a Renewable Resource; Greifswald; Feburary 14.-16. 2013
Paludiculture
Potential in North East Germany
Christian Schröder University of Greifswald
Foto: W. Thiel Natural versus drained peatland
Mire = growing peatland peat-formation carbon storage surface raise
water table
Drained peatland
peat degradation CO2-Emissions subsidence
water table Nabu 2012 Peatlands of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania
ca. 300.000 ha 13% of the total area 95% are drained Peatland Drainage
peat degradation subsidence increase of drainage costs management problems
-1 -1 25tons CO2 eqha a Annual CO2 emissions in Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania 7
Used 6 For Forestry 5
4
equ per year per equ - 2 Used
3 For t CO t
6 6 Agriculture 2
1 Semi- 0 natural
Emissions in 10 in Emissions Public energy Industry Traffic Small Emissions and remote customers from heating supply peatlands MLUV 2009
Agricultural used peatlands show highest emissions Estimation of GHG-Emissions from peatlands
70
60
1
- 50 CO2 yr
CH4 1
- 40 GWP
30
äq ha äq
emissions -
- 20 2
10 t CO t GHG 0 -10 -20 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 water table[cm] Rewetting of peatlands
Loss of agricultural land Use wet peatlands !
Paludiculture Paludiculture
„palus“ – lat.: swamp, marsh
Sustainable land use of peatlands
Production of biomass Preservation of the peatbody Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions Maintain ecosystem services
Peatland conservation by sustainable land use Nature conservation vs. paludiculture
rewetting
frequency of harvesting
water managment
planting fertilisation
intensity of land use Nature conservation Paludiculture management Use of Biomass
Raw material for industrial use
Harvesting
Energy generation Paludibiomass as a raw material
Foto: W. Wichtmann Photo: S. Wichmann
Photo: www.typhatechnik.com Photo: S. Wichmann Photo: S. Wichmann Paludibiomass as a biofuel
Foto: W. Wichtmann
Foto: S. Wichmann Foto: L. Lachmann Foto: C. Schröder Paludiculture Potential for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Paludiculture Potential for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
GIS-analysis for Greifswald 30 km radius
37.000 ha (16%) peatlands
expert guess: 7.000 ha for paludiculture
56.000 t biomass (8 t ha-1)
19% suitable for paludiculture
Dahms 2010 Paludiculture - Potential for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Reduction of GHG emissions
300.000 ha peatlands 19% 57.000 ha paludiculture
Rewetting Substitution of fossil fuel -1 -1 -1 25t CO2 eq ha a 456.000t biomasse (8 t ha ) -1 -1 10t CO2 eq ha a 188.000t fuel oil
-1 -1 855.000 t CO2 eq a 570.000 t CO2 eq a
-1 Reduction of ~ 1.4 Mio t a CO2 eq a
Conclusion
Sustainable „wet“ peatland agriculture is needed
Utilisation of biomass from wet peatland is possible
Paludiculture on fen peat can provide large amount of biomass for different purposes
Paludiculture can reduce green house gas emissions from peatland
www.paludiculture.com