News
Feb 6, 2009
OPAL construction: restoration of the ‘Martenscher Bruch’ fen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania planned
Regeneration of over 260 hectares of natural surroundings on the German-Polish border/ Measures developed to stop turf deterioration
Kassel. Together with environmental agencies and associations, the operator consortium of the natural gas pipeline OPAL (Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung – Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) is planning the restoration to its natural state of the fen Martenscher Bruch in the east of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as ecological compensation for the construction of the natural gas pipeline. The pipeline route itself doesn’t touch the nature conservation area, which is around 250 hectares in size, but passes by it about 25 kilometres to the west. “The restoration plan for the Martenscher Bruch on the German-Polish border has been devised with and approved by the nature conservation agencies,” Ingo Neubert, Managing Director of OPAL NEL TRANSPORT GmbH, explained. “Although the area is much larger than the statutory ecological compensation area required for the construction of the OPAL gas pipeline, we are seizing the opportunity to undertake the large-scale rewetting of a degraded fen so as to preserve it for posterity.” OPAL NEL TRANSPORT GmbH will be the operator of the two planned natural gas pipelines, the OPAL and the NEL (North German Gas Link), which will connect the Nord Stream pipeline through the Baltic Sea with the European gas network. The planning approval process for the OPAL in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The Martenscher Bruch on the German-Polish border belongs to the “Gottesheide and Lenzener See” nature conservation area and is already an FFH and EU Special Protection Area. The planned measures were initiated by nature conservation agencies in order to ensure the long-term protection of the water balance, a fundamental requirement for the fen’s conservation. “Decades of drainage and cultivation of fens in the north-east and north-west of Germany, as has happened in the Martenscher Bruch, has meant that only a few of these habitats are in a near-natural state,” Dr. Uwe Fuelhaas, of DBU Naturerbe GmbH, a subsidiary of the Osnabrück-based German Environment Foundation Umwelt (DBU), explained. Consequently, the subsidiary has driven forward the restoration together with the Bundesforst (German forestry agency), which is still in control of large areas of the Martenscher Bruch. DBU Naturerbe will take over the nature conservation area in the next few years. “In addition to the loss of unique associations of living creatures, many of our fens have lost their important function as substance sinks and water reservoirs,” the nature conservation expert explained. “Because of the turf deterioration, drained moors release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is detrimental to the climate. By rewetting the Martenscher Bruch we can counteract this.” One of the three main missions of the DBU is the regeneration of wetlands. The other two are the development of wild forests and the conservation of open country.
Nature conservation measure will run over several years
A range of measures are planned in order to restore the Martenscher Bruch to its natural state. “We will gradually raise the water level by installing seven dam structures,” Holger Illian, the route planner responsible for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, explained, outlining the rewetting process. “This way, in some areas the groundwater level will rise to just beneath the grass turf. It does not, however, mean the formation of a lake, as feared by some.” The measure also involves remodelling the forest stand, partially filling ditches and returning paths and old weirs to their natural state. Extensive hydrological analyses were conducted before the plans for the rewetting were drawn up.
“In order to even get a picture of the state the fen was in, geological drilling was carried out in addition to the detailed above-ground measurements and aerial evaluations,” Mr Illian explained. “The data collected was then incorporated into a geohydraulic model which we can use to accurately predict what impact the individual measures for the rewetting of the Martenscher Bruch will have.” However, it will take years before the nature conservation area is returned to a near-natural state. “In the initial stages, and thereafter, the entire measure will be monitored and supervised,” the planning engineer explained. “Furthermore, it is possible to fine tune the water levels at all times. Measuring points will be installed all over the Martenscher Bruch which can give a precise measurement of the ground water levels any time.”
Europe is increasingly dependent on natural gas imports to secure its energy supply. In future, the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea can make a key contribution to transporting the natural gas to Europe. Two new connecting pipelines are planned in order to pick up the gas from Lubmin near Greifswald, where the Nord Stream pipeline comes onshore. While the OPAL will transport natural gas 470 kilometres through Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony to the German-Czech border, the 440-kilometer-long NEL (Norddeutsche Erdgas-Leitung – North German Gas Link) is intended to take the gas to Rehden in Lower Saxony.
OPAL NEL TRANSPORT GmbH will perform the tasks of network operator for the OPAL and the NEL. It is part of the WINGAS Group, which, in addition to natural gas supplier WINGAS, includes WINGAS TRANSPORT. WINGAS TRANSPORT operates a gas pipeline network which is more than 2,000 km long and covers the whole of Germany. It is planned that the two new pipelines of OPAL NEL TRANSPORT will be connected to the WINGAS TRANSPORT gas pipeline network.
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