According to both researchers, the collected data should provide a better understanding of what demands this meadow bird makes on its habitat and why the species is declining. This information is important for better protection of meadow birds and the biodiversity of peat meadows in general. The tagged black-tailed godwits can be followed live by everyone.
Futureproof
The research is being conducted as part of the NWA-ORC project VeenVitaal, a unique collaboration of scientists, farmers, nature organizations and managers, administrators and many other stakeholders in the Amsterdam region. The aim is to make peat meadows futureproof. The quality of this typical low moorland area in the Netherlands has deteriorated significantly. What interventions in the landscape are effective for restoring biodiversity and halting peat degradation and greenhouse gas emissions is what Berg and his fellow researchers want to discover. Especially now with the challenges around nitrogen reduction, improving water quality and climate proofing peatlands, this research is more relevant than ever.
Collaborate
The setting in which the black-tailed godwits are followed and the effect of nature-inclusive interventions are studied in peat meadows around Amsterdam is a so-called "Living Lab," a research environment in the real world. In it, farmers, managers, citizens and administrators work together with science to achieve a healthy peat meadow area, with an attractive landscape for residents. It looks at how various changes in land use lead to recovery of species, soil and ecosystem services.
Sustainable
One of the desires within the VeenVitaal research consortium is to develop an overall set of simple as well as reliable indicators with which the transition to a sustainable peat meadow landscape can be determined and monitored. The researchers argue that landscape restoration is only possible with a good and sustainable income for farmers (based on food production among others). Therefore, alternative income models which can offer actionable perspectives for nature-inclusive land use to farmers, are being investigated. This means a lot of field research will be carried out by researchers, students and partners in the coming years.
Read more about the VeenVitaal project.
Photography: Ron Korrel