News
2025
by Helena Plochberger
Mire for Minister

Current research presented
01/04/2025 We were able to present the current status of research and databases to Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (BMUV) during her visit at the Greifswald Mire Center.
Mire research plays an important role in the research strategy of the University of Greifswald, explained Vice-Rector Peter Michalik in his opening speech. The minister was interested in the measurements of plant biomass and greenhouse gases in the mesocosm facility, the reed collection and the oldest book in the bog library explained by Franziska Tanneberger, Gerald Jurasinski, Sebastian van der Linden and Hans Joosten, but she was also particularly impressed by our peat mosses, which Greta Gaudig showed her.
Paludiculture, biodiversity and peat formation were among the other topics part of the exchange - as well as the outlook for future research, as it will take place in the Collaborative Research Center of the German Research Foundation (DFG) WETSCAPES 2.0. Therefore, the GMC representatives were very pleased that the Minister was accompanied by Nathalie Niederdrenk and Ulf Hauke from the Department of Soil and Mire Protection.
by Helena Plochberger
Ground-breaking ceremony & Sernitz

Rewetting has started
01/04/2025 A symbolic ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of the establishment of a wet meadow paludiculture by the toMOORow initiative - wet mires for a sustainable future. The peat meadows in the Sernitz Mire serve as a model project: drainage ditches are now being filled in, sills are being built in the flow to retain water and a sustainable use through paludiculture covering an area of around 80 hectares will then be established with local farmers. The measures help to keep water in the landscape, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1,200 tons of CO₂ equivalents per year and enable the reintroduction of typical peatland plant and animal species.
The initiative is thus continuing years of work to restore natural conditions in the Sernitz Moor in the “Schorfheide-Chorin” biosphere reserve as part of the LIFE project “Lesser Spotted Eagle”. In consultation with local residents and land users, measures for water retention were developed, pastures for water buffalo were established and a mire experience trail was designed, to name just a few examples of the successful project.
The Federal Ministers Steffi Lemke and Cem Özdemir attended the launch, as they see the activities in the Sernitz as a strong signal for sustainable peatland use by the toMOORow initiative of the Succow Foundation, partner in the Greifswald Mire Center, and the Michael Otto Environmental Foundation.
by Helena Plochberger
Kicking off WETSCAPES 2.0

with people on a 2-day event
01/04/2025 WETSCAPES 2.0, a large, interdisciplinary science consortium dedicated to researching rewetted fens started today with a 2-day meeting at Rostock University of more than 50 scientists from diverse fields, including 22 Principal Investigators (PIs) leading various subprojects, along with many Early Career Researchers (ECR).
Their diversity highlighted just how complex and ambitious this research programme funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is, aiming to investigate approximately 100 screening sites, 5 core sites, and two landscape-level experiments in rewetted peatlands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This federal state has rewetted already more than 10% of its peatland area and is frontrunning in developing solutions for wet peatland use (paludiculture, carbon credits, nature tourism, peatland photovoltaics). Now, the CRC will add a massive effort in fundamental research in rewetted fens.
The kick-off included a trip to one of the planned screening sites, where installed the first of our 1,000 sensors used for the project’s data collection! For some of us, it was the first visit of a North-German fen. They are almost everywhere and look often like 'normal' grassland!
Besides the funding of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - German Research Foundation, the Transregio Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 410 is additionally supported by Universität Greifswald Universität Rostock, Leibniz Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei (IGB), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
by NK
Books n‘ Bogs

Long open Night of Libraries on April 4th at the Peatland Library
21/03/2025 Peatland pope Prof. Hans Joosten invites all interested - no, not to the peatland - but to a library where inspiration drips from the walls and thousands of books in all genres and languages are available on one topic only - peatlands. In its new home, the former lecture hall of the “Alte Chemie” in the courtyard of Greifswald's Soldmannstraße 16, the renovation work has been completed. Boxes and boxes of books are currently moving into the listed building and filling the shelves of the barrier-free, high-ceilinged room with two galleries. With a collection of 50,000 publications, the special collection on moors is an important part of the Greifswald Moor Centrum and is of international significance. Statics, financing, contaminated sites - there were and still are many challenges to overcome on the way from the vision of a library to its realization.
On April 4th, the Long Night of Libraries, Hans Joosten will give a guided tour of the 1905 wing of the building in German from 9 p.m. and talk about its history, the extensive decontamination and the new boggy contents.
Afterwards, there will be English samples from “Books n' Bogs”, a project by the collective re-peat earth. International, young and creative, its members are committed to restoring and conserving peatlands and raising public awareness of their importance. For the book project, they documented the relationship between people and bogs around the Irish town of Abbeyleix. They are also driving forward the “Mapping Peatland Justice” project in the Greifswald Peatland Library and are using the occassion to discuss it with visitors. In English and (almost) open end.
Free of charge, but with registration at: bibliothek@greifswaldmoor.de
by Helena Plochberger
Newly translated into English!

Guide to Implementing Paludiculture
20/03/2025 Our Guide to Implementing Paludiculture is now available in English - good news for people in sustainable agriculture and climate initiatives, in eco-aware businesses and other!
If you're looking to manage peatlands sustainably but unsure of where to begin, this comprehensive guide is your go-to resource. From assessing site suitability to navigating permits and optimizing biomass utilization, we've compiled practical insights to support your efforts.
This newly translated and formatted version is part of our GMC publication series, making it even more accessible for all stakeholders involved in sustainable land management. It is based on the original publication Leitfaden für die Umsetzung von Paludikultur, released in 2022.
by NK
MoorPower
Solar on peatland feasible?

17/03/2025 Competition for land in Germany is fierce, but is it possible to combine uses such as photovoltaics and the rewetting of peatland? The newly launched MoorPower project is taking a close look at the general feasibility of solar pan elson peatland with simultaneous rewetting. It is also investigating whether this concept makes rewetting more attractive for farmers.
Since the beginning of 2023, the German government has been promoting the construction of solar systems on peatland that was previously drained for agriculture if it is permanently rewetted. The concept is new. So far, there is only one PV system on rewetted peatland known in Germany and none abroad. TThus, there is considerable need for testing and research in order to be able to assess possibilities and effects.
“It is important to develop only drained and heavily degraded peatlands, i.e. peatlands currently used for agriculture, for the dual use of carbon storage in peat and the production of renewable energy via photovoltaics. It must be prevented that peatlands are used for the installation of photovoltaic systems without being rewetted, because then the greenhouse gas emissions from the peatlands would continue,” said Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kreyling from the University of Greifswald. “Peatlands and peat soils of nature conservation value within legally protected areas are excluded.”
And this is what the research looks like in practice: On an experimental site in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the scientists are building system designs on a total of six hectares of fen that is still used for agriculture, with different mounting heights, solar module types and foundations. They then combine each PV system variant with three different water levels and examine their ecological impact. The project team is testing different materials, coatings and methods for the foundations of the special PV systems on a material test area in Baden-Württemberg. As shade from the solar modules can have an impact on the growth of typical peatland plants, they are also investigating this in pot experiments. The scientists at the Thünen-Institute are analyzing the impact of peatland PV on the greenhouse gas balance on a practical scale on around 200 hectares of rewetted peatland with photovoltaics in Lower Saxony.
Research for MoorPower is jointly conducted by the Universities of Greifswald and Hohenheim Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.
by NK
RRR2025 conference
Call for abstracts

26/02/2025 The call for abstracts for the RRR2025 conference from 23rd-26th September in Greifswald has been extended. The new deadline is: 14th March 2025. We invite you to submit an abstract for oral or poster presentation or for a workshop on the key topics on the conference platform. There will also be excursions, side events and a paludiculture exhibition.
The 4th RRR conference on Renewable Resources from Wet and Rewetted Peatlands offers a platform to explore current questions on rewetting and paludiculture and many others, fostering dialogue between science and practice. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the event aims to encourage knowledge exchange, build networks, and develop and strengthen practical, forward-looking solutions. Keynote speakers are Dr. Christian Fritz from RU Nijmegen (NL) and Dr. Kate Flood from NUI Galway (IRL).
More information on rrr2025.com.
by Helena Plochberger
For World Wetlands Day:
New European Wetland Map!
02/02/2025 Just in time for World Wetlands Day a new European Wetland Map shows Europe's peatlands, floodplains and coastal wetlands more comprehensively than ever before in one map. Compiled from about 200 data sources, this map informs policy makers, land users and anyone interested in wetlands not only about their distribution and types, but also, for example, about potential areas at risk of flooding. Users can freely download the European Wetland Map, published in a collaboration with the projects ALFAwetlands, WET HORIZONS and Building a European Peatlands Alliance, for their own analyses. A vector dataset on the geographical distribution of the wetlands considered is available on a country basis in an ArcGIS geodatabase as well as a country-specific high resolution Geo-TIFF collection (grid size: 1 arcsecond).
Background: The World Wetlands Day (WWD)
This day has been drawing attention to the importance of wetlands, including peatlands, on February 2nd every year since 1997. The Ramsar Convention, the international agreement for the protection of wetlands, was adopted on February 2nd in 1971. Since 2021 the WWD has been recognized as an international day by the United Nations. Therefore, their restoration and protection is important. Due to pollution, drainage and agriculture, fires and overfishing, wetlands, which include peatlands, are under threat worldwide or have already been destroyed. Yet they are guarantors of biodiversity and climate protection. Among other things, wetlands offer people protection from drought and flooding, purify water and regulate the microclimate. In Germany, 95% of former wetlands have been drained and are no longer recognizable as such today.
by NK
New: Policy brief & country fact sheets
How and where policy can make a difference
21/01/2025 A new policy brief, published in English, French, German and Dutch, sheds light on how EU policy can contribute to the restoration of degraded peatland ecosystems. In particular, it takes a close look at the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) which sets legally binding restoration targets for the Member States of the European Union. Country fact sheets for Austria, Belgium and Germany supplement the policy brief. They analyze the restoration targets according to NRR Art. 11.4 on peatlands currently used for agriculture. and provide important information for national strategies and decision-makers to promote the implementation of the restoration goals. The policy brief highlights the enormous importance of wetlands - especially peatlands - for climate and biodiversity protection and stresses the urgency of their restoration.
The policy brief and country fact sheets were produced in cooperation with the ALFAwetlands and WET HORIZONS projects. As case studies, the country profiles present the Living Labs of the ALFAwetlands project: the Zwarte Beek valley in Belgium, Lake Neusiedl on the Austrian-Hungarian border and the Upper Peene Valley in Germany.
Image: Distribution of organic soils in Germany and schematic representation of the restoration objectives in accordance with the Restoration Ordinance Art. 11.4 at present

by Helena Plochberger
Paludi-green Week

Tips for visitors
16/01/2025 Paludiculture is a topic at the International Green Week from January 17th to 26th in Berlin. Where and when? - We have compiled some tips here: Paludi products and cores from peatlands, peat and peat substitutes are presented all week at the exhibition stand of Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) in Hall 27 (Stand 215). Explanations and information is given by staff of the PaludiZentrale project and the PaludiNetz, in which ten paludiculture projects have joined forces. Scientists and practitionerrs from Greifswald Mire Center, FNR and Thünen Institute will be on hand at the booth and ready to answer questions on paludiculture.
At the opening day, January 17th, there will be a panel talk on the topic of peatland protection through peatland use from 13:30-14:00 at the booth of Kaufland in Hall 3.2 (Stand 211). Information will be provided by the PaludiAllianz project of Michael Otto Environmental Foundation, University of Greifswald and Succow Foundation.
One day later, on January 18th, the new MOOReturn paludiculture project will officially receive its funding decision from Claudia Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, on the stage in Hall 23a. Visitors will learn how the project, which involves the University of Greifswald and the Succow Foundation, both partners in the Greifswald Mire Centre, aims to promote paludiculture in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
On January 22nd at 11:30 a.m., the WetNetBB project will host a panel discussion on the topic of “Peatlands with a future”, also on stage in Hall 23a, with a focus on paludiculture in the federal state of Brandenburg.
Background: The International Green Week is the world's largest trade fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, which takes place annually in Berlin. It offers a platform for experts from agriculture, the food industry and the environmental economy to exchange information on innovations, sustainable solutions and trends. Visitors can find out about the latest developments in the fields of food, agriculture and environmental technology and gain exciting insights into the future of the industry.
by Helena Plochberger
New project: MOOReturn
Saving 3,400 tons of CO₂ per year
10/01/2025 From January 2025, the project MOOReturn will combine the large-scale rewetting of peatland with the cultivation, material and energy recovery and marketing of paludiculture raw materials on a total area of 200 hectares.
With estimated CO2 savings of 3,400 tons per year, “MOOReturn” will make a significant contribution to the goals of the National Peatland Protection Strategy and the federal-state target agreement on peatland protection.
Along the Upper Peene in the vicinity of the town of Malchin (Mecklenburg Lake District), the focus is on peatland revitalization, water level optimization and biomass harvesting on various peatland areas. In addition, new possibilities for pulping and material recycling as paper or packaging material, fiberboard and building materials as well as chemical raw materials are to be tested and immediately included in the BMEL-funded project “toMOORow - Alliance of Pioneers”. The degressive thermal utilization supports the development of progressive material utilization at the beginning and enables the participating companies to increase their own contribution. Residual materials are to be marketed as by-products (e.g. fertilizer granulate production).
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is funding the “MOOReturn” project in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 4.3 million euros until 2027. Under the leadership of the German Biomass Research Center (DBFZ), a total of nine partners from science, administration and industry are involved. The Universities of Greifswald and Rostock are providing scientific support for GHG measurements and flora/fauna surveys in MOOReturn. The University of Bonn is investigating material recycling. The company Werner GmbH, the company Agrotherm, moor managers and the mayor of Malchin, the 'Wasserwerk der Zukunft' and the Michael Succow Foundation are also involved. Regional agriculture is supporting the project.
by Helena Plochberger
Become a peatland specialist!

New qualification program
06/01/2025 For a new five-year qualification and practical program to become a peatland specialist, 10 Bachelor's and Master's graduates are being looked for. With a curriculum and a certificate from the University of Greifswald and the Landeslehrstätte für Naturschutz, the programme aims to counteract the current shortage of specialists for peatland revitalization and help meet the increasing demand for specialists.
Over the 5-year term, it offers:
- Paid positions (E13/E9A/B)
- Training and work placements at the LUNG with a focus on rewetting projects
- Insight into the practical implementation of nature conservation projects and climate protection measures
- Prospects for the future in an innovative and interdisciplinary field
The program starts in April 2025, applications are still possible until January 13. Further information and application for graduates with a Bachelor's degree and graduates with a Master's degree.
by NK
Dreaming of wet peatlands

Peatland jobs for Christmas!
20/12/2024 Dear peatland friends,
we at the GMC are “Dreaming of a wet peatland” (or many) constantly and, of course, at Christmas, too. Not dreaming only, but working hard to make it come true. That’s why – so close to Christmas – we let the bells ring for our current job announcements, 21 in total. If they were gifts, they would pile up under the Christmas tree!Please distribute widely, so these job ads can be like a present to a suitable person and a contribution to the efforts of rewetting peatlands and protecting the climate. For Christmas this year we can justifiably so sing: “We wish you rewetted peatlands, we wish you rewetted peatlands and a happy new year“ - great thanks to everybody joining, supporting or following us in 2024!
More information on our job announcements:
Contribute to pioneering research on the novel ecosystems of rewetted peatlands Contribute to pioneering research on the novel ecosystems of rewetted peatlands as part of an interdisciplinary and international team! The newly established Collaborative Research Center “WETSCAPES2.0”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is seeking talented and motivated scientists and technical experts to join us in understanding the dynamic processes shaping these unique landscapes.
We are hiring:
1 Scientific Coordinator
10 Postdoctoral Researchers
16 Doctoral Researchers
4 Technical Experts
Our research network brings together the expertise of leading institutions:
University of Greifswald
University of Rostock
IGB Berlin
GFZ Potsdam
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena
Humboldt University of Berlin
Together, we investigate the biogeochemical, hydrological, and biological processes in rewetted peatlands and their role in the broader landscape, focusing on water and matter fluxes as well as microbial and biological drivers.
Here more information on the overarching research themes, training programs, and application details.