![\"torfmooskultivierung_071215\"](\"\/\/klasmann-deilmann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Torfmooskultivierung_071215.png\")
<\/p>\nKlasmann-Deilmann has embarked on the world\u2019s largest project cultivating peat moss. In close collaboration with the University of Hannover, a total of 10 hectares of land formerly used for peat extraction are to be prepared by the end of 2016. Over the past few weeks, more than three hectares have already been \u2018inoculated\u2019 with peat moss. The aim of this undertaking, funded by the federal state of Lower Saxony, is to develop a renewable resource for substrate manufacture. To this end, peat moss growth must be stimulated so that appreciable quantities are obtained.<\/p>\n
Summing up progress, Managing Director Moritz B\u00f6cking says: \u201cWe have successfully completed the first stage of the project, namely collecting and distributing the peat moss.\u201d What will be important in the winter months is that the growing sites show good development and the peat moss copes with the change of location. In the year ahead, these activities will be considerably expanded, with the remaining two-thirds of the designated area inoculated. Various irrigation and drainage techniques will be trialled in this connection with a view to minimising fluctuations in water level. \u201cAt the same time, we will be starting large-scale trials aimed at testing the moss\u2019s suitability for use in substrates. Also on the agenda is the devising of a workable and cost-effective harvesting method,\u201d adds B\u00f6cking.<\/p>\n
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The go-ahead for this research project was given in the summer of 2015, which is also when the University of Hannover and the Th\u00fcnen Institute in Braunschweig began scientifically investigating any changes over time in biodiversity on the sites in question, and in greenhouse gas emissions. \u201cWe expect that the sequestration of greenhouse gases can be accelerated when the peat moss starts to grow on its new site,\u201d comments B\u00f6cking. A continuous exchange of information is taking place with Canada\u2019s Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, which is pursuing similar projects. The International Peatland Society (IPS) is also involved; the IPS is collating the findings of such undertakings and conducting scientific follow-up. \u201cWe are especially pleased about the close and constructive cooperation with the Emsland district authority, which has green-lighted this important research project.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Moss from peat hummocks is specifically required for this project. This moss has been removed from already restored areas and then distributed over sites where standard re-wetting practice had already been implemented or was still due to be carried out. Full approval for this was obtained from the relevant authorities, thus making sure that these activities meet the highest environmental standards. \u201cWe are maximising transparency in our communication on this project, and are available for open dialogue with nature conservation organisations,\u201d B\u00f6cking assures.<\/p>\n
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After extensive preparations, the first third of the two five-hectare growing sites ![\"torfmooskultivierung_2_071215\"](\"\/\/klasmann-deilmann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Torfmooskultivierung_2_071215.png\")
had been prepared for inoculation with peat moss. October saw the start of work proper to extract moss from the \u2018Wildes Moor\u2019 bog near Papenburg, after which it was distributed on the growing sites in the \u2018Provinzialmoor\u2019 and \u2018Drenth\u2019 peatland areas. To protect them from the weather, the sensitive peat moss shoots have now been covered with straw or shading nets.<\/p>\n
On the re-wetted peatland site Provinzialmoor, a \u2018Sphagnum bank\u2019 is being created as a peat moss reservoir for restored sites in the future. Another former peat extraction site, Drenth, is serving as a kind of lab in which biomass growth and the resistance of the various cultivated peat mosses are being tested, as is their suitability as a substrate constituent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Klasmann-Deilmann has embarked on the world\u2019s largest project cultivating peat moss. In close collaboration with the University of Hannover, a total of 10 hectares of land formerly used for peat extraction are to be prepared by the end of 2016. Over the past few weeks, more than three hectares have already been \u2018inoculated\u2019 with peat moss. The aim of this undertaking, funded by the federal state of Lower Saxony, is to develop a renewable resource for substrate manufacture. To this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[287],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n