Peatlands not only make an important contribution to the preservation of biodiversity, but also fulfil another function that should not be underestimated in the context of climate change: they are the most effective carbon reservoirs of all terrestrial habitats. However, moors can only fulfil this function if they have not been drained.
At the edge of the Kainischmoor, we visit an old peat cut that has been renaturalised. There it is possible to get an idea of the structure of a moor and understand how renaturalisation works. The excursion also offers an insight into an original moor landscape with rare species such as the sundew, a plant that feeds on insects, or the cranberry, which otherwise only grows in the tundra. The history of the moors in Ausseerland, from the Ice Age to the major mining projects for the salt works to the attempts at renaturalisation, is a history of land use. Moors are not a cultivated landscape and therefore man and nature face each other in a way that offers many opportunities to reflect on our approach to the latter.
About the excursion leader: Karin Hochegger, nature conservation expert and author, worked for many years as a nature conservation expert. She currently heads the Liezen district office of the Nature Conservation Association and works on renaturation projects for moors and wetlands in Ausseerland and Ennstal.
Future Stage Hinterberg
The “Future Stage Hinterberg” focuses on “New perspectives for rural regions beyond the mainstream” as the centrepiece of the E.I.K.E.-Forum – Woferlstall’s Capital of Culture activities. It searches for traces of future potential and innovative approaches in the region.
More about the project at salzkammergut-2024.at
