Terrible for the climate
Why the disappearance of the moors is so explosive
Moors are often hardly recognizable as such in this country, but part of agricultural land. The “Mooratlas 2023” shows why this is a problem and why it is still a question of moors.
When it comes to bogs, many people think of scary stories of sinking, bog bodies or at least inaccessible terrain. “Most moor locations, however, can no longer be identified as such,” said moor expert Jan Peters in Berlin on Tuesday. In many places in Germany, this is dry grassland and arable land, which is still considered bog because of its peat soil.
Peters is the managing director of the Succow Foundation in Greifswald, which works internationally for moorland and nature conservation. Together with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Greens, and the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), his foundation published the “Mooratlas 2023” on Tuesday.
Peatlands bind much more carbon than forests
Bogs have formed all over the world where the ground was permanently wet. Plant parts were not completely decomposed under water, peat was formed. In contrast to mineral soils, for example, peat soil consists of biomass. According to the Mooratlas, moors cover three percent of the land area worldwide – but bind twice as much carbon as the biomass of all forests put together.
Problems arise when the water level in a bog drops and the peat dries up. When oxygen gets to the peat, it breaks down and releases carbon. “Although drained peatlands make up less than half a percent of the earth’s land area, they are responsible for over four percent of all global man-made greenhouse gas emissions,” said Imme Scholz, a member of the Executive Board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. These are more greenhouse gas emissions than are caused by global air travel.
For centuries, ditches were dug and moors drained, for example to be able to use them for agriculture. In Germany, around 95 percent of the moors are considered to be drained. “In Germany, drained moors cause seven percent of all greenhouse gas emissions,” said Scholz. By rewetting – for example by filling in ditches – this source of emissions can be reduced to almost zero. “This is necessary to achieve the Paris climate goals.”
The rewetting of the moors is inevitable
According to Peters, the area of Lake Constance would have to be rewetted in Germany every year – around 50,000 hectares. “At the moment we only manage about 2,000 hectares every year.” There is an incredible amount of catching up to do. The subject had been neglected for a long time. In the meantime, politics is at least moving in the right direction, for example with the moor protection strategy adopted at the end of 2022 or the “Natural Climate Protection” action program. Nevertheless, the moor protection atlas criticizes the moor protection strategy as not ambitious enough.
According to the information, well over 90 percent of the moors in Central Europe have been destroyed. According to Scholz, tropical and subtropical areas are also affected. In the past 15 to 20 years, large areas have been drained for palm oil or wood plantations. According to her statement, usage rights for one of the world’s largest contiguous moors are to be granted in the Congo Basin, for example for timber and oil extraction.
The structural change must be accompanied
“In our view, it is important to reach a binding international agreement to protect intact peatlands and restore drained peatlands,” she said. Europe and Germany should support other countries in protecting moors. After all, Germany has pledged large sums to protect the climate and biodiversity.
With a view to renaturation, BUND chairman Olaf Bandt said, “there is a huge risk that this could become the next major point of contention between nature conservation, climate protection and agriculture and forestry”. The states and the federal government would have to accompany this cultural change with money and structures. The keyword here is paludiculture – the cultivation of wet areas. A traditional example of this is the cultivation of reeds for thatched roofs. This raw material is currently imported to a large extent. According to experts, reed can also be processed into fuel and other building materials. It would also be possible to keep water buffalo.
So far, however, it has not been profitable for farmers to switch to cultivating reeds, for example because special technology is required and there are no value chains.
And what can the consumer contribute to peatland protection? “Definitely reduce meat consumption,” said Bandt. This trend must continue in Germany. The majority of agricultural land is used for fodder and pasture. If you reduce the number of animals, you can also rewet more. When buying potting soil, the following also applies: “No peat in the garden, the peat belongs in the moors and nowhere else.”