There are two bogs in our vicinity: one near Königslutter and the Große Moor near Gifhorn. While bogs were previously often known as eerie places and were drained for the coveted peat, we are now faced with the task of renaturing these important CO2 stores. The current episode of the podcast “Forsch! – Science in Conversation” approaches the topic of bogs from a research perspective. In the new episode, Dr. Bärbel Tiemeyer, bog researcher at the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig, provides insights into her work. Großes Moor near Gifhorn. Image credit: Eberhard/ Braunschweiger Zeitung.
The Bog
From a global perspective, bogs are often found near the equator and in Southeast Asia. In Germany, they formed particularly in the Alpine foothills and in the North German region. They account for one third of all bog areas worldwide. Like the rainforest, bogs are also worthy of protection due to their special ecosystem.
Dr. Bärbel Tiemeyer gives an explanation of how they are formed: “A bog is an ecosystem characterized by an excess of water. Only plants that can cope with a lot of water grow there. (…) And because the water level is always very high, the remains of these plants are not completely broken down, but are deposited over the millennia. This creates peat, which grows by about 1 mm per year. In the case of the most powerful bogs, we have now reached six to seven meters.” The excess water is created by flooding or enough rainwater. Overall, bogs usually form open landscapes, although alders, pines and birches can be found here, but they do not grow very large. A regional example would also be the Torfhausmoor on the Goethe hiking trail from Torfhaus to the Brocken, through which you can walk on planks.
The Peat
Dried peat – a form of humus – can be used for heating. In Lower Saxony, peat is still mined, although its use, e.g. in gardening or processing into fuel, has fallen into disrepute. This is mainly due to the poor CO2 balance of peat. In addition, draining the bog areas allows more oxygen to enter the peat, which in turn makes microorganisms more active, which then convert peat into CO2. Since the 1980s, conservationists have been pointing out the dangers of peat extraction and advocating for the protection of natural raised bogs and rewetting.
Do Bogs Have a Future?
The last half of the podcast is about the future of bogs. Against the background of state funding, our guest describes the turnaround towards sustainability and gives an assessment of whether bogs have a future, names various interests in the use of bog areas and outlines a path for the preservation of bogs.
The podcast “Forsch! – Science in Conversation” is a cooperation between the ForschungRegion Braunschweig and the Braunschweiger Zeitung. The moderators from ForschungRegion and Braunschweiger Zeitung talk to actors from the region about their research, their person – and about current social, political and ethical questions and debates. Now directly Listen to it here or stream it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Deezer.
