Anyone walking along the south side of the Bargerveen in Nieuw-Schoonebeek will not see a broken dike or open ditch, but this area is still leaking. The groundwater that the raised bog needs drains away slowly. And that needs to be resolved.
Carolien van de Bles, project leader at Prolander, walks through the area. She points to the transition between nature and agriculture. “This is an important raised bog area in Drenthe. And we are actually on the transition from the raised bog area to Buffer Zuid, a project that we will be carrying out here in the near future.”
The Bargerveen is higher here than the surrounding agricultural land. That seems useful, but it is a problem for raised bogs. “Peat needs water, and that water drains from the high area, so we have leakage.”
Raised moor is special. It does not grow through groundwater, but through rain. Peat moss retain that water and slowly build up an increasingly thicker peat layer. That only works if it stays wet.
The solution is called Buffer South. It is a wide zone of approximately 220 hectares on the south side of the Bargerveen. This buffer must provide counter pressure to the water that is now flowing away. “Once we have created the buffer here, the water can better remain at the same level, and that is very important. The peat wants wet feet and a little rain, but not too much water.”
Buffer South will be a transition between nature and agriculture. “In practice, this will be an area with large water tanks and quays where water remains between them.”
The area is divided into four sections. Each section has a different character, from open water to swamp. There is also room for recreation. The water that wants to flow out of the Bargerveen is slowed down and pushed back here.
The landscape will change and become unrecognizable. “We are going from agricultural land to puddles!” laughs Van de Bles.
The end result will take some time. “We have an area of 220 hectares, which requires a lot of digging. We expect it to take 2.5 years.”
