Public evening lecture by Professor Dr. Dominik Zak (Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience) as part of the lecture series "WETSCAPES2.0"

Global challenges such as the progressive loss of biodiversity, the eutrophication of water bodies and increasing greenhouse gas emissions require the restoration of the natural functions of peatlands. However, it can take decades for peatlands that have been drained and intensively used for many years to return to a near-natural state and fully fulfill their landscape ecological functions. One of the main reasons for this is the high nutrient surplus in the topsoil. Three management strategies are presented - mowing, topsoil removal and gradual rewetting - which can be used individually or in combination to restore the original peatland functions more quickly while minimizing potential side effects such as the release of climate-relevant greenhouse gases or nutrients.

Dominik Zak works in a wetland research group at the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University and as a visiting scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin. His interdisciplinary research in water bodies, peatlands and river systems focuses on biogeochemical processes and associated nutrient flows in the landscape. Recommendations and measures are derived from this predominantly application-oriented research to solve the challenges of global change, such as progressive water pollution, species loss and climate fluctuations. This is done in close cooperation with other research institutions, environmental authorities and representatives of land use at both local and regional level, but also on a national and international scale.

Moderation: Professor Dr. Gerald Jurasinski