Brochure on sustainability - Klasmann Deilmann

Klasmann-Deilmann is currently using 5,800 ha of extraction areas in
Lower Saxony, for which after-use is specifi ed as follows:
· 4,200 ha (72 %) for long-term re-waterlogging
(of which 2,200 ha have already been re-waterlogged);
· 1,500 ha (26 %) for agriculture
(of which 900 ha have already been prepared);
· 100 ha (2 %) for forestry.
It is particularly noteworthy that, in almost all cases, it is the former
peat extraction areas that are being restored and will be preserved
for conservation purposes in the long term. Klasmann-Deilmann is
making a signifi cant contribution here in terms of the ‘ecology’ pillar
of sustainability.
By contrast, former peatlands that are used for other commercial
sectors – such as agriculture – are no longer available for nature
conservation.
Re-waterlogging
After peat production has ceased, the former extraction areas are
levelled and the drainage ditches fi lled in. Stepped dykes are built to
create polders of 5 –10 ha in size which are used to regulate the level
of rainwater. The aim is to encourage colonisation by peat moss
( Sphagnum) and other characteristic peatland plants such as cotton
grass to re-establish a typical bog landscape.
In the re-waterlogged areas, the presence of standing water will lead to
the former hydrological conditions being re-established, resulting in
bog-like vegetation (i.e. restoration) or even typical bogland vegetation
(i. e. regeneration) and can become CO2 sinks when the peat body
begins to grow again. In this way, a re-waterlogged area can contribute
to biodiversity – in this case, to the variety of ecosystems present – and
again become a characteristic feature of the landscape.
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