Peatlands and peat soils
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What are peatlands?
Peatlands do not look like ponds or lakes. Water bodies can be part of a peat landscape (wetlands), but the actual peat soil is not permanently flooded with water in an intact peatland. Rather, the groundwater is very close to the surface. Therefore, if you step on peat soil, a puddle may form in your footprint when the water level is high.
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Where are the peatlands in Germany?
There are approximately 1.8 million hectares of peat soil in Germany. That is about five percent of Germany’s overall area. They are mainly distributed over five federal states (Länder) rich in peatlands: Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Brandenburg, Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein.
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How are peatlands used in Germany?
Almost none of the peatlands in Germany are in their natural state any longer. They have been drained to make the areas usable for various purposes. More than 70 percent of the peat soils in Germany (cropland and grassland) is used for agriculture. The designations ‘woody plants’ and ‘wetlands’ are based on the vegetation and use of the areas. These categories include not only the few preserved near-natural peatlands, but also unused drained peat soils.
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In what condition are the peatlands in Germany?
In Germany, over 90 percent of the peatlands are drained. For the layman, they are often no longer recognisable as peatlands in the landscape.
Drained peat soils cannot form new peat. Peat already formed dries out and is decomposed. The peat body of drained peatlands is therefore severely damaged (degraded) depending on the duration of the drying out. This has far-reaching consequences.
Why is peatland protection so important?
Intact peatlands are carbon reservoirs
A lot of carbon is stored in the peat layer of peatlands. In intact peatlands, dead plant parts are sealed off from oxygen for thousands of years. Decomposition is thus prevented and the carbon sequestered (bound) in the plant parts can no longer escape into the air. The larger the peat body becomes, the more carbon is sequestered in the peatland. Peatlands have thus been able to grow into enormous carbon sinks over thousands of years. The peat body only grows slowly and this natural process cannot be accelerated.
Forests also store carbon. However, the way carbon is stored in forests differs from that in the peat layers of peatlands. Green plants use CO2 from the air to produce sugar through photosynthesis. In the process, they store carbon (C) and release oxygen (O2) into the air. When the tree or plant dies, microorganisms decompose the plant material so that the stored carbon is released again. A forest can therefore be described as a "revolving" carbon sink. New carbon is constantly being sequestered and carbon that has already been sequestered is released again. If the stand and the age structure of a forest remain roughly the same, the forest’s greenhouse gas balance also remains the same. If more trees or plants are added, more carbon is sequestered than before and the forest’s sink effect is increased. If more trees are harvested and no new ones grow (because the area is to be used as a residential area for example), the forest’s carbon sink decreases.
Carbon sequestration in peat soils is slower than in forests, but the sequestered carbon remains permanently bound in intact peat soils. In healthy peatlands, moreover, new carbon can be continuously stored on the same area through peat growth.
Degraded peat soils are major sources of emissions. In Germany, emissions from peat soils accounted for around 53 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2020, this corresponds to more than 7 percent of total emissions in Germany. Since more than 70 percent of peat soils are used for agriculture and these have been particularly heavily drained, they are largely responsible for the high emissions from peat soils.
When a peatland is drained, oxygen reaches the peat layer and the dead plant material is decomposed. Compared to the slow build-up of the peat body, in which carbon was sequestered over thousands of years, the decomposition process takes place much faster and the stored carbon is released in the form of CO2. New peat is not formed. This process continues until all the sequestered carbon has been released into the air.
The more a peatland has been drained, the higher the emissions from the area. Emissions from peat soils used as cropland are particularly high at around 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per hectare per year. In 2020, emissions from peat soils used agriculturally (cropland and grassland) accounted for an amount corresponding to almost six percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany (42.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq)). However, drained peat soils that are used for forestry or not used specifically at all also emit more than 20 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per hectare per year.
Peatland climate protection therefore essentially aims to reduce emissions from peat soils and to keep as much of the carbon stored in peat soils in situ as possible. In the long term, intact peatlands can sequester further carbon from the atmosphere when the peat layer grows again.
Emission data from peat soils are determined within the framework of national greenhouse gas reporting. Within this reporting, all emissions are collected on a sector-specific basis (for example, energy, buildings, transport). Data for peat soils are acquired within the sector ‘Agriculture’ under the category ‘Organic Soils’ and within the sector ‘Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry ()’ under different categories.
Further information on emissions reporting can be found on the following linked pages.
For the sector of land use, land use change and forestry (available in German only)
der Landnutzung, -änderung und Forstwirtschaft
For the agricultural sector (available in German only)
Climate-damaging use of peatlands
Peatland climate protection therefore essentially aims to reduce emissions from peat soils and to keep as much of the carbon stored in peat soils there as possible. In the long term, intact peatlands can sequester further carbon from the atmosphere when the peat layer grows again. To develop and implement effective measures for peatland climate protection, we need to be aware of why peat soils have been drained.
Reasons for climate-damaging peatland use: food security
Peat soils were drained for various reasons. The most important reason was to make the peat soils usable for traditional agriculture. Even after the Second World War until the 1980s, peatlands were systematically drained, especially in Emsland, to create land for food production. Food security and thus also drainage were in the public interest and were partly promoted and organised by the state. At that time, people were not aware of the harmful climate impact of drainage. In 2020, emissions from agriculturally used peat soils accounted for just under six percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany (42.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents). In the meantime, Germany’s food supply can be ensured via the agriculturally used mineral soils. This is because organic soils account for only about seven percent of the agricultural land (grassland and cropland). Today, about 20 percent of cropland is no longer used for growing food, but for bioenergy crops such as maize and rape.
Reasons for the climate-damaging use of peatlands: peat extraction
Peat soils were drained or used in a climate-damaging way for various reasons. One aspect was and is peat extraction. Peat was used as fuel and serves as a substrate for plant cultivation in horticulture. Peat extraction in Germany emits about 2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents annually. Emissions caused by the peat that is imported into Germany are not included in this figure. Although this peat is used in Germany, the resulting greenhouse gas emissions are reported and accounted for in the country where peat extraction takes place.
Peatland protection is more than just climate protection
Degraded peat soils harm the climate and the environment not only as sources of emissions. Drained peat soils also lose other positive properties that make intact peatlands valuable for humans and the environment: many animal and plant species depend on the unique ecosystems in intact peatlands. Intact peatlands can act as water retention areas to cushion extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and flooding as these soils can easily absorb water. In summer, the moist soil does not dry out so easily and the microclimate is positively influenced. They serve climate adaptation and as recreational areas for people.
You can find more information on this on the pages of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (available in German only)
Bundesamt für Naturschutz - Moore
Peatland climate protection – What needs to happen?
Intact peat soils are important for people and the environment. They can make a significant contribution to climate protection. That is why it is important that we not only talk about peatland climate protection, but also act ambitiously by
- understanding peatland climate protection as a task for society as a whole,
- protecting and conserving intact wetlands and
- quitting climate-damaging peatland usethrough climate-friendly use of organic soils and
- by phasing out peat extraction and use.
Peatland climate protection: a task for society as a whole
Peatland climate protection concerns us all: peatland emissions impact on the climate thus affecting us all, and with our lifestyles and our political, social and economic expectations, we all have an influence on how our raw materials and land areas are used. Peatland climate protection is therefore a task for society as a whole that cannot be implemented with a little goodwill and a snap of the fingers.
Rather, the conversion to climate-friendly peatland use is a transformation process that depends on the participation of those affected and must be supported by a social consensus. Individual pioneers, pilot projects and actions by volunteers are very important to make peatland climate protection visible, to achieve successes in climate and nature protection and to create experience for further projects. However, for peatland protection to be implemented on a large scale, the whole of society must become aware of its relevance. Consequently, this also includes the willingness to demand this transformation process politically, to shape it, to support it financially with tax money and to open up to new forms of peat soil use.
Rewetting peat soils
Drained peat soils can be restored by rewetting them. To do this, the water level in the soil must be raised. The higher the water level in peat soils (that means the closer to the soil surface), the lower the emissions.
For this purpose, existing drainage systems can be abandoned and dismantled (filling in drainage ditches) or water can be actively introduced into the area (abandoning and dismantling stream straightening or similar).
Extensification of grassland use (for example through less dense livestock) leads to lower emissions from soils. Similarly, prohibiting the conversion of grassland (pasture) to cropland can prevent soil emissions from increasing. These two measures are relevant not only for organic but also for mineral soils. For organic soils, however, the key measure to reduce emissions is the rewetting of drained areas.
- A natural peatland is a climate protector because it sequesters carbon (C) and fixes it in the peat. Even though a peatland emits methane (CH4) at the same time, it is largely climate neutral.
- The water level is crucial for peatlands. If it is too high, a large amount of methane can form and be released into the air. Despite absorbing a lot of carbon, a flooded peatland can be an emitter.
- In a drained peatland, organic matter bound in the peat is degraded into carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which is released into the air. This peatland is a major source of greenhouse gases, despite the low uptake of methane.
- If a destroyed peatland is rewetted, it can release methane at first. But after a few years, the peatland absorbs more carbon than the amount of carbon dioxide it releases.
Alternatives to peat use
Today, peat is mainly used in horticulture. Peat is also often found in potting and gardening soil. For hobby gardeners, there are already many suitable peat-free soils that can be used just as well and have no harmful effects on the climate.
In commercial horticulture, peat is mainly used as a growing substrate for young plants. The special properties of peat ensure that the plants grow particularly well and quickly. At the same time, peat use leads to high emissions. Therefore, the use of peat should be abandoned in commercial horticulture and in the hobby sector as soon as possible. However, this requires environmentally friendly, suitable peat substitutes that are not harmful to the climate. Some peat alternatives already exist, others are being investigated in various research projects.
For more information, please visit the websites of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Alternatives to peat use (available in German only)
BfN: Verzicht auf Nutzung von Torf
Explanatory film (available in German only)
Greifswald Moor Centrum: Erklärfilm "Moor muss nass!"
Challenges of rewetting
Various challenges inhibit or prevent the rapid rewetting of peat soils. Some of these challenges (for example, the actual availability of water) make the rewetting of certain areas impossible at the present time. Many aspects, however, are social, economic, scientific and ecological challenges that can be surmounted in a political negotiation process via various levers: the existing legal framework can be adapted, in-depth research can create missing scientific foundations, and economic support and production possibilities can be reshaped.
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Source: Dr Friederike Erxleben/DEHSt Areas can only be rewetted if sufficient water is available. It may be sufficient on some sites to abandon or dismantle existing drainage systems and supplement them with pumping systems and targeted impoundment. Water can also be actively channelled into the area, for example by dismantling or converting the straightening of nearby streams.
However, such an approach is not always possible. Moreover, in periods of drought, which are increasing and lasting longer due to climate change, additional areas dry out. Not only drained peat soils, but also mineral soils can become drier than is good for the vegetation for large parts of the year. This can lead to distribution difficulties. Wet peat soils can have a positive effect on the water balance of adjacent mineral areas. However, if water for rewetting is already lacking, this effect cannot be brought about.
It is therefore essential to plan the water balance and management carefully, also when identifying and selecting areas that need to be rewetted particularly urgently and are especially suitable for rewetting in terms of water availability.
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When planning and approving new construction projects, care should be taken to ensure that they are not implemented on peat soils. This would stand in the way of rewetting or at least make it more difficult.
Approximately 90,000 hectares of peat soil currently lie directly under settlement areas. Some roads and motorways are also built on peat soils which represents an obstacle to rewetting. In addition, there are settlements and infrastructure that are not built directly on peat soils but are at a similar height to peat soils. Here, too, rewetting is difficult because the water level on these areas would then also rise. This could be mediated only if appropriate precautions were taken through targeted water management (for example, relocation of pumping stations and ditches etc.).
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Degraded peat soils are predominantly used for agriculture. This use is only possible because the soils are drained. After rewetting, it is not possible to continue the previous traditional agricultural management (for example potato or maize cultivation or grazing cows). All buildings (stables, barns, milking facilities and processing equipment) are no longer feasible for use on rewetted peatland and would usually have to be demolished. The same applies to all buildings and land uses which, although not on peat soil, are at the same level and would therefore also be affected by the rise in groundwater level.
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Currently there is no obligation for owners to rewet peat soils. Therefore, rewetting can only be carried out if all those affected agree (owners, land managers, tenants, neighbours). Even if everything speaks in favour of rewetting peat soils for climate protection reasons, rewetting is a major step from the point of view of those affected and can be associated with various personal disadvantages: apart from the planning, procedural and implementation efforts and the costs involved, a rewetted area can no longer be used in the same way as before when it was drained. This means that people who make a living from farming on degraded peat soils would have to give up their previous livelihood and economic basis.
It therefore seems unhelpful to just criticise farmers working on drained peatlands. Instead, information must be provided, both, on the negative climate impact of dry peatland management as well as on the possibilities, procedures and chances of rewetting. Rewetting must be shown to be a necessary goal for climate protection in the long term in order to make it possible for farmers to plan for further investment decisions. In addition, alternative forms of use and the accompanying sources of income from rewetted peat soils must be identified, tested and supported. This also includes establishing utilisation chains for products from paludibiomass and raising awareness of the importance of peat soils for climate protection throughout society. An adjustment of the legal framework and financial incentives can create predictability for those affected and thus facilitate rewetting and conversion to other forms of use.
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Various expert opinion reports must be prepared so that rewetting can be carried out. They will need to consider the height profile of the area in question and the neighbouring areas, water availability and necessary structural changes. A lead time of several years must be expected before rewetting can begin since a number of permits (water law, building law, etc.) must be applied for. The respective federal state (Land) is the competent body for the state permits. This lead time could be shortened if the approval procedures were bundled or streamlined in terms of bureaucracy.
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Costs are incurred not only for the actual measures on the site, but also for the planning and process activities. In addition to these actual rewetting costs, the following aspects must also be considered in very brief terms:
Rewetting is not economically viable from a land managers’ economic point of view as long as the subsequent use does not lead to a comparable profit as the cultivation of drained areas. In addition, investments made for the management of dry peat soils will be lost.
Investments in the rewetting of peat soils are worthwhile from a macroeconomic point of view, since the economic damage caused by the emissions from the drained areas must be taken into account.
These aspects must be considered when discussing and deciding how measures should be designed and financed to achieve ambitious peatland climate protection.
The conversion from traditional management of drained peat soils to climate-friendly peatland use is a transformation process for society as a whole, which depends on the participation of those affected and must be supported by a social consensus. The challenges described must therefore also be addressed through appropriate measures in consultation with those affected so that peatland protection can contribute to ambitious climate protection.
How can rewetted intact peat soils be used?
Peat soils are predominantly privately owned and used for agriculture, but rewetting will prevent them for being further used for traditional agricultural purposes. Therefore, the question arises as to how areas can be used in a climate-friendly way after rewetting and in harmony with other nature conservation and environmental protection goals. Various forms of use are currently being considered and some of them have already been implemented:
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Rewetted areas can be restored – either by leaving the area to its own devices or by means of targeted nature conservation measures (for example targeted settlement of peatland-typical species). Protected animals (for example bird species such as the aquatic warbler), plants (for example the grass species sedge) and insects (for example the Agriades optilete or cranberry blue butterfly), which depend on the unique ecosystems of intact wetlands, can find a habitat. Restored areas thus significantly contribute to the protection of species richness and biodiversity. The areas can also be used as recreational or nature education areas.
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Source: Dr Friederike Erxleben/DEHSt Rewetted areas enable an adapted form of agriculture and forestry giving added value by using the land in paludiculture. This is a form of use in which the peat body is preserved or can continue to grow. In cultivated paludiculture, sedges, reeds, reedmace, peat moss or black alder are cultivated as species that grow on wet sites. In pasture paludiculture, the areas are used for grazing by animals that are adapted to high water levels like water buffaloes.
Paludiculture also restores peatland ecosystems and provides habitats for typical peatland flora and fauna. However, nature conservation is not the primary goal of this type of after-use, which can lead to conflicting goals that need to be openly discussed and balanced. The effects of paludiculture use on climate, biodiversity and other protected goods are being investigated in various research projects, including those of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.
The option of using rewetted areas in paludiculture offers an incentive for farms to voluntarily implement the rewetting of peat soils, which is necessary for climate protection policy, more quickly and on a larger scale.
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Increasingly, other approaches to the use of rewetted areas are being discussed. The installation of photovoltaic systems on rewetted areas meets interest, but also scepticism, concerning both technical feasibility and ecological and economic sense, as well as permissibility under nature conservation law.
Political objectives and measures for peatland climate protection
The importance of peatlands for climate protection is increasingly coming into focus at national, European and international level. The goals and measures for peatland climate protection are intertwined at all levels. They must be coordinated in a targeted manner so that they have the best possible effect.
The signatory states of the Paris Agreement have committed themselves to being CO2 neutral by 2050, that means to achieving a balance between CO2 emissions and sequestration. As a Member State of the European Union (EU), Germany has committed itself to this goal, which also requires the reduction of peatland emissions.
The EU's Common Agricultural Policy sets the main parameters for the promotion and management of agricultural peatlands.
In Germany, peatland protection is basically the responsibility of the states (Länder), which can also set up programmes under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy for peatland protection. Overarching strategies for peatland protection and national climate protection targets are identified by the Federal Government. The Federal Government and the states (Länder) also cooperate in various areas of peatland climate protection.
National strategies, targets and measures
The German Climate Protection Act (KSG) has set targets in the sector of land use, land use change and forestry (Section 3a KSG) as well as in the sector of agriculture (Section 3(1) and Section 4 as well as the Annex to the KSG). Ambitious measures and programmes in peatland climate protection must be initiated and implemented to achieve these goals. The Federal Government is also committed to this in its Coalition Agreement. The draft action programme on natural climate protection of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) named peatland protection as the first field of action and emphasised its importance. In addition, the Federal Government has adopted a cross-departmental National Peatland Protection Strategy. BMUV and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) promote pilot projects and model and demonstration farms for climate-friendly peatland management. The BMEL's Peat Reduction Strategy addresses alternatives to peat use and the perspective phase-out of peat extraction.
Publications by the German Environment Agency
The German Environment Agency participates in scientific exchange on peatland protection. It supports and finances research on peatland climate protection issues. The following is a selection of various studies published by the German Environment Agency on this subject.