WETSCAPES2.0 is the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 410 funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It focuses on rewetted fens in North-East Germany that, after decades of drainage, have developed into novel ecosystems: so-called “Wetscapes 2.0”.
The 68-member interdisciplinary research consortium investigates how hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological processes change within rewetted peatlands and how they are linked across space and time – both within the peatlands and beyond landscape boundaries. To do so, WETSCAPES2.0 combines chronosequences, intensive field research, landscape experiments, mesocosm experiments and process-based modelling.
The results provide a functional understanding of these rewetted peatlands. They provide a scientific basis for political decision-making and practical action – from sustainable peatland management to rewetting strategies in line with EU climate targets, including future scenarios such as paludiculture or renaturation.
Spokespersons
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kreyling
Prof. Dr. Nicole Wrage-Mönnig
Scientific Coordination
Newest Publication
Agriculture on wet peatlands: the sustainability potential of paludiculture
Temmink RJM, Lång K, Vroom RJE et al. (2026), Agricultural Systems, 231, 104561.
News from the Collaborative Research Centre
One year of WETSCAPES2.0: Second consortium meeting sets the course ahead
12.03.2026 – One year after the project launch, the WETSCAPES2.0 consortium meets again. Focusing on the next steps, discussions during the three-day meeting center on research approaches, data frameworks, joint publications and other key areas of work.
In interactive World Café sessions, participants explore plans and requirements for different research methods and sites: from screening and core sites to mesocosms and modelling approaches. Workshops on research data management and digital field methods (QField), a media training session, and an on-site visit to the core site of Tribsees further strengthen collaboration and help prepare the next years of the project.
WETSCAPES2.0 researcher appointed to the Landsat Science Team
19.02.2026 – Prof. Dr. Sebastian van der Linden, PI of subprojects C4 and S3 in WETSCAPES2.0, has been appointed to the international Landsat Science Team of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The team brings together leading experts to guide the continued development of one of the world’s most important satellite-based Earth observation programmes.
Within WETSCAPES2.0, he uses remote sensing data to capture changes in peatlands and land use across space and time. This data makes it possible to analyse rewetting processes beyond individual sites at the landscape level and to place them in a broader context.
NASA Announcement | Press release by the University of Greifswald
Podcast features on peatlands and climate protection
04.02.2026 – In recent podcast episodes by the Wuppertal Institute and the ARD Audiothek, Dr. John Couwenberg and Dr. Franziska Tanneberger discuss the role of peatlands in climate protection and the challenges of rewetting, following the publication on European peatland emission hotspots.
The discussions focus on the importance of drained peatlands as a source of greenhouse gas emissions and on the potential of rewetting as an effective climate mitigation measure. They also place the new research findings in context and highlight the role of scientific data in informing political and societal decision-making.
Listen to the podcasts (Language - German):
