Until recently, Henning Voigt’s 500-hectare farmland along the Peene River, near Germany’s northeastern Baltic Sea coast, was well-drained and used as a cattle pasture.
Until recently, Henning Voigt’s 500-hectare farmland along the Peene River, near Germany’s northeastern Baltic Sea coast, was well-drained and used as a cattle pasture. Not anymore. Driven by the urgency of climate action, Voigt made a bold decision: to reverse the course of modern history.
For centuries, farmers across Europe, in the U.S., and elsewhere have transformed peatlands like his into agricultural land by carving millions of kilometers of canals and ditches to drain water from soil. These drainage systems enabled them to grow crops and provide livestock with pasture. But in addition to harming the rich natural plant and animal life in marshes and bogs, this also came with a hidden cost: Once dried, peaty soils begin to break down and release vast quantities of CO2 — the leading contributor to global warming. Studies estimate that drained peatlands are annually responsible for up to 5 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally, surpassing those of the aviation industry.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
Photo Credit: niki_emmert via Pixabay
