Gregory Stryhanyuk

Monday, 16 June 2025, 3pm
Seminar Room 1, Brückstr. 3a, Magdeburg   

Robert Lütkemeier

Monday, 19 May 2025, 3pm
Seminar Room 1, Brückstr. 3a, Magdeburg   

Sabine Wollrab

Monday, 28 April 2025, 3 p.m.
Seminar Room 1, Brückstr. 3a, Magdeburg   

Brian Kronvang

A new era of agro-environmental nutrient management in Danish catchments

Denmark has world record in reducing nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of surface waters from both point sources and diffuse sources during the period 1985-2005. Since then, climate normalized N and P emissions to surface waters have been relatively constant even though Water Framework Directive goals for Danish coastal waters still demanded a further reduction of especially nitrogen emissions (ca. 25%). Denmark introduced a new targeted way of combating nutrient pollution in 2015 – a year where Danish farmers were allowed again to fertilize to the Nitrates Directive levels (1.7 animal units) after a nearly 20-year period with 10-20% below economic optimum fertilization for all Danish farmers. The new targeted approach included especially demands for catch crops with a percentage for each coastal water, and heavily use of different types of constructed wetlands and restoration of wetlands and lakes. June last year a ‘The Green Tripartite’ was agreed after ½- year negotiations between Danish Society for Nature Conservation, Danish Agricultural and Food Council and three Danish Labor Unions and the Government of Denmark. A broad majority in the Danish Parliament supports the Green Tripartite Agreement in its entirety and has entered into a political framework agreement in November 2024 with formation of a Ministry for The Green Tripartite that includes the largest land reform in Denmark in 150 year – including afforestation of 250,000 ha of agricultural land before 2045 and rewetting of 140,000 ha low-lying organic soils before 2030 at a cost of ca. 6 billion €. The agreement also includes the first tax on CO2 emissions from Danish agricultural production to be phased in from 2030. The targeted approach from 2015 with its different management measures as well as this new multifunctional approach of the Danish regulation will be highlighted.

Dominik Zak

Insights into peatland restoration: a biogeochemical perspective

Currently, significant efforts are underway to restore peatlands in response to a range of environmental challenges, including biodiversity loss, rising greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, and ongoing eutrophication of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These challenges have emerged due to globalization and contemporary land use practices. Over the past few decades, our comprehension of the biogeochemical processes within rewetted peatlands has grown substantially. This increased understanding has allowed us to establish robust scientific principles that aid in comprehending the consequences of our actions and optimizing restoration strategies. Factors such as water table levels, water sources, chemical composition of outflowing water, physico-chemical soil characteristics, and the dominant vegetation have all been identified as crucial drivers of wetland biogeochemistry and thus influence the restoration outcome. A thorough grasp of these drivers is essential for modeling nutrient removal in rewetted peatlands and, ultimately, for prioritizing, planning, and successfully executing restoration initiatives while ensuring their long-term sustainability. Nevertheless, the substantial spatial and temporal heterogeneity in soil properties, intricate hydrological dynamics, and knowledge gaps pertaining to microbial activities and functions continue to introduce significant uncertainties in assessing and forecasting nutrient cycling across all types of wetlands. In this presentation, I aim to provide a concise overview of biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling in rewetted riparian peatlands and eventually discuss different restoration strategies.

Tuesday, 21 November 2025, 10 am
Seminar Room 1, Brückstr. 3a, Magdeburg   

Dietmar Straile

Changes in Lake Constance

Monday, 20 July 2025, 10 a.m.
Seminar Room 1, Brückstr. 3a, Magdeburg