Cross-border restoration and reunion of the raised bogs Aamsveen and Hündfelder Moor

Introduction

The LIFE CrossBorderBog project works on raised bog restoration in the cross-border bog Aamsveen-Hündfelder Moor. This Dutch-German bog has a significant amount of H7120 and a small segment of H7110*. The bog has great potential for restoration: it has maintained a lot of peat despite former peat excavation, it has an intact lagg zone on the Aamsveen side, and it is relatively isolated from external influences such as agriculture.

Threats to the Bog

The raised bog suffers from desiccation and faces four main threats:

1. Water loss
2. Nutrient pollution
3. Succession
4. GHG emission

All these threats can be countered or reduced in effects by taking hydrological measures to retain water in the bog and stop desiccation. A fully functional raised bog will retain water, limit the effects of nutrient pollution, stop succession, and reduce GHG emissions.

Long-term Objectives

Our long-term objectives therefore are to:

1. Re-create H7110* and H91D0* to create a total of 99 ha active raised bog and 21 ha bog woodland
2. Preserve and restore typical bog habitats H3160, H7120, H7140, H7150, and typical bog species such as the northern emerald and the bluethroat
3. Reduce GHG emissions and start sequestering CO2

These are long-term objectives, which will take decades to be achieved due to the time it takes for active raised bogs to regenerate. However, the prerequisite for all objectives is to stop desiccation and rewet the bog.

Short-term Objectives

This leads to three short-term (within project) objectives:

1. Re-unite the bog as a cross-border hydrological system
2. Raise water levels within the bog to near-surface level
3. Increase the resilience of the bog against the consequences of climate change by creating still waters as water supplies for the system

Hydrological Measures

These objectives are translated to a set of hydrological measures for both the Aamsveen and the Hündfelder Moor. We expect to create an active raised bog that will fulfill an important stepstone function for raised bog habitats in the entire Atlantic biogeographic region.