© Wendelin Wichtmann
Integration of the water buffalo into the value chains of paludiculture and the plant-based bioeconomy (buffalo farming)
Drained fens get largely rewetted in the context of climate change mitigation measures. Due to the lower quality, biomass from wet fens can no longer be used economically for meat production with robust cattle after rewetting. Only paludiculture with water buffaloes can maintain meat production on these areas.
With the project, abiotic and biotic effects of buffalo farming on wet fens are being investigated in cooperation with the project partner University of Rostock and associated ecosystem services quantified. These serve as a basis for the creation of a certificate that is needed for the sustainable marketing of products from paludiculture, e.g. buffalo meat, but also for the certification of other products from wet peatlands use. The basics for a certification model for the use of plant biomasses from wet peatlands are being developed.
As consumers become more environmentally aware, there is a strong incentive for producers to integrate environmental friendliness as part of the product characteristics and to communicate this through labels. The label to be developed should be able to ensure that a product actually comes from the use of wet peatlands. The project will lay the foundation for new, adapted business models in agriculture, landscape management and tourism.
Facts
Duration: 3 years from 1.2.2022
Funding code: 03WIR2210A
Kontakt:
Prof. Dr. Volker Beckmann
University of Greifswald
Chair of Landscape Economics
Soldmannstraße 15
17489 Greifswald
Phone: +49 3834 420 4122
Fax: +49 3834 420 4107
E-Mail: volker.beckmann@uni-greifswald.de
Dr. agr. Jürgen Müller
University of Rostock
Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Grassland and Forage Science
Justus von Liebig Weg 7
18059 Rostock
Phone: +49 381 498 3143
Dr. Wendelin Wichtmann
University of Greifswald
Chair of Landscape Economics
Soldmannstraße 15
17489 Greifswald
Phone: +49 3834 8354216
E-Mail: wendelin.wichtmann@uni-greifswald.de
