Renaturalization / Restoration of raised bogs

Even many years after ending the peat exploitation, the drainage ditches are still causing unnecessary dehydration of the bogs. The restoration of peatlands makes sense and is necessary in different ways:

The restoration of raised bogs is a countermeasure against greenhouse effect!

Peat is a fossile fuel and gets "burned" (decomposed) by microorganisms in the dried out raised bogs. In this way the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced and escapes into the atmosphere where it contributes to global warming. In the renaturated rewetted raised bogs, the opposite occurs and carbon dioxide is bound. Due to wetness, the dead plant matter can no longer decay i.e. are no longer "burned" by microorganisms and slowly form new layers of peat

The restoration of raised bogs reduces flood problems!

Everybody knows this: When you pour water into a dried out flowerpot, then the water quickly flows away through the shrunken cracks. Damp plant soil can absorb the water much better. The same goes for raised bogs: In the dehydrated raised bogs rain cannot easily be stored and just flows away quickly through the drainage ditch system. The water escape out of renaturated raised bogs is however distinctly delayed and steadier. The streams and rivers benefit from the reduced flood peaks and improved water source, that is released gradually during droughts and periods of low precipertation.

Restoration of raised bogs returns lost habitats for rare and endangered life species!

After the long period of peat exploitation, only a small rest of area of raised bogs remained preserved. The life populations in last existing raised bog refuges are made up of species genetically isolated and are registered in the (IUCN) "red list" of threatend species facing extinction. Raised bog restoration improves the network of natural habitats and therewith increases the odds of survival for these rare special species of the raised bogs.