Paludiculture – who, what, where?

See how paludiculture projects have developed in Germany over the past 25 years! A new GMC publication systematically documents and evaluates 146 projects.

The new GMC paper 'The Development of the Paludiculture Project Landscape – An Overview and Analysis in Germany' (German only) shows: Of the total of 146 projects examined from the past 25 years, the first initiatives began as early as the 1990s – even before the term 'paludiculture' was coined in 1998. However, more than 75% of all projects have been implemented within the last ten years, which underlines the growing importance of the topic.

Most projects are located in the federal states with extensive peatlands. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (44 projects) and Lower Saxony (41 projects) top the list. The range of topics is broad: particularly between 1995 and 2010, the focus was on crop production and utilisation. Business management aspects were mostly examined as a secondary consideration, whilst issues relating to planning and approval have so far been under-represented. 

Many projects concentrate on specific land-use and utilisation options – such as sphagnum moss and cattails for substrate production, or cattails and reeds as building materials. At the same time, there are numerous projects dealing with a wide range of potential uses.

Many projects focus on specific land-use and utilization options — such as sphagnum moss and cattails for substrate production, or cattails and reeds as building materials. At the same time, there are numerous projects that explore a wide range of potential uses.

In addition to the publication in the GMC series, the complete list of 146 projects is available for download as an open Excel file for further work. Interested parties can also contact the authors with suggestions for further projects.