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Meadow Bird Conservation Is Climate Action Too!
LIFE Limicodra: Positive Results in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Nature conservation delivers multiple benefits! As part of the EU-funded LIFE Limicodra project, the ecosystem services provided by the project areas have been assessed. The findings are both encouraging and remarkable: Raising water levels in the coastal polders along the Szczecin Lagoon can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by several thousand tonnes each year.
Impressive Results from Eight Years of Monitoring
Alongside biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management, practical and immediately effective peatland protection through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important ecosystem service provided by the project.
To assess this impact, the biota Institute was commissioned to analyse water level monitoring data collected over the past eight years and model annual greenhouse gas emissions for the Bugewitz, Mönkebude and Rosenhagen polders.
The results reveal substantial emission reductions compared with the 2016 baseline:
| Polder | Annual emission reduction |
|---|---|
| Bugewitz | 790 t CO₂-eq./year |
| Mönkebude | 1,858 t CO₂-eq./year |
| Rosenhagen | 1,587 t CO₂-eq./year |
4,235 Tonnes
Less CO₂-equivalent emissions per year
Modelled annual emission reductions across approximately 548 hectares of organic soils compared with the 2016 baseline.
The findings demonstrate how agriculture, meadow bird conservation and climate action can complement one another. Higher water levels create suitable habitats for threatened meadow-breeding birds while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions from drained peat soils. To make this approach viable, farmers managing land in the polders require financial support.
Download the Results
The detailed assessments, including water level maps, calculation methods and greenhouse gas emission balances, are available for download below:
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Bugewitz Polder (PDF)