Header photo: Tour participants discover the sphagnum mosses growing in the bog (Photo: K. Hedemann)
As part of the Cloppenburg “StadtRadeln” (city biking) initiative, a special cycling tour took place on May 4, 2026. Participants cycled together from Cloppenburg Town Hall to the “Molberger Dose” peatland educational trail, where researchers from the University of Vechta shared insights into the importance of peatlands for climate protection and landscape water management.
During a guided tour through the peatland trail, researchers presented the ongoing projects BUFFER+ and MOOSland, both focusing on sustainable peatland restoration and management. The discussions highlighted the challenge of rewetting drained peatlands while maintaining viable opportunities for agricultural use. Rewetting peatlands plays a crucial role in climate mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it also creates significant challenges for farmers, as conventional machinery and farming practices are no longer suitable on wet soils.
One promising approach is paludiculture — the agricultural or forestry use of wet peatlands. The MOOSland project, presented by Fiona Hasenbach, focuses on the large-scale implementation of sphagnum moss paludiculture as a sustainable peat alternative for the substrate industry. Alvaro Irazoque introduced the BUFFER+ project, which explores peatland landscape restoration as well as alternative income opportunities for farmers managing wet peat soils.
The combination of cycling, nature, and scientific exchange was very well received by participants. The approximately 25-kilometer route, together with the guided peatland tour, offered a unique opportunity to experience research firsthand and discover the ecological importance of peatlands directly in the field.
Alvaro
Irazoque reports on the EU Interreg project BUFFER+ (Photo: F. Hasenbach)
Fiona
Hasenbach presents research findings from the MOOSland collaborative project
(Photo: K. Hedemann)
The
tour took place at the Molberger Dose in the Cloppenburg district (Photo: K.
Hedemann)
The
tour took place at the Molberger Dose in the Cloppenburg district (Photo: K.
Hedemann)