Paludiculture (lat. palus „mire“, cultura „cultivation“) shifts the focus from well-known land management to an alternative approach: No longer draining mires it describes sustainable agriculture and forestry on wet or rewetted peatlands.⁹ Thereby, peat as a crucial carbon sink is not only conserved but ideally also rebuilt while aboveground plants are used for biomass production.10 Reed, cattail, sedge, alder, and peatmoss are cultivated on (restored, rewetted) peatlands serving as renewable primary products like combustibles or construction materials (e.g. Typha Panels made from cattail).11
At the same time, Paludiculture allows for important environmental functions like water protection regulating water flow and quality, wildlife conservation and biodiversity’s preservation.12 It not only conserves, manages, and restores a valuable and manifold ecosystem but also contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation.13
By applying Paludiculture’s principles, greenhouse gas emissions resulting from wetlands’ drainage, which amount to approximately 40 % of the domestic agricultural global warming gases, could potentially be saved.14
