WETSCAPES – Workshop PEAT UNDER WATER

During the last 20 years, more than 20.000 ha of peatlands were rewetted in NE Germany. This was proposed as a valid strategy to restore the unique biodiversity of peatlands and in recent years more and more to also recreate the carbon and nutrient sink function, in order to decrease the climate impact and mitigate the eutrophication of water bodies, respectively. However, as a result of prior soil subsidence, eutrophic shallow lakes are often formed after rewetting, characterized by increased mobilization of nutrients and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and by slow development to target vegetation. Over the last decades, comprehensive lab and field research of quite some groups aimed at improving our understanding of the processes controlling the development of these “novel ecosystems” and their relative importance over time which is essential for securing the targeted restoration aims. The workshop aims to summarize our findings on i) carbon und nutrient biochemistry, ii) GHG exchange, and iii) ecology of these flooded peatlands. Besides defining the current state of knowledge, we want to identify open questions and future research avenues to foster our understanding of the microbiology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, and ecology of rewetted peatlands which is a prerequisite to successful restoration of these ecosystems.