Hopping moor frogs, singing willow tits, old birch trees and wet peat moss pads - where the inexperienced walker sees a green forest, biologist Jan Ole Kriegs discovers all sorts of little natural wonders. “This has become an amazing habitat,” says the head of the LWL Museum of Natural History in Münster.
In the Lünten Forest in the Westmünsterland on the Dutch border, a scientifically supported rewetting project is intended to explore in the coming years how great the contribution of moors to biodiversity and climate protection actually is. The museum, the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association as the forest owner and the University of Münster are involved.
From wood extraction back to the original landscape
More than 100 years ago, the municipal owners drained the once 75 hectare moor forest and heath area with a deep ditch and reforested it with pine and red oak. Wood was scarce in Münsterland and was intended to create economic prospects for the region. Also because commercial hopes have long since been dashed, the Lünten Forest is now supposed to become moor again - and show what benefits moor forests can have. “The project should also serve as a role model,” emphasizes Kriegs.
There are only a few intact moors left. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, more than 90 percent of peatland in Germany has been drained - for agriculture, forestry or peat mining. The federal and state governments have been pushing forward rewetting for years, and funding for renaturation is available. In North Rhine-Westphalia, nature conservation associations such as BUND are also involved in several rewetting projects, for example on the Bergische Heidetrasse between the Ruhr and Sieg.
Hectares of potential for moor renaturation in North Rhine-Westphalia
The State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection has identified more than 23,000 hectares of former moorland in North Rhine-Westphalia that are generally suitable for renaturation. These are predominantly transitional and fens, like those that are to be recreated in the Lünten Forest.
In the fall of 2025, those involved began holding back the water in the drainage ditch using tree trunks. The water level should rise to forest floor level. The forest becomes a water reservoir, and mosses typical of moors can spread, explains Kriegs. In the deepest areas the water stands in shallow moor ponds.
“You can see how the forest breathes”
Krieg's wet ground shows how quickly nature was able to benefit. He reaches into the ground next to his rubber boots and pulls out a handful of brown fibers that were once peat moss. Over the centuries, they are pressed into a growing layer of peat in the acidic, oxygen-poor soil. Unlike the humus-rich forest floor, where they rot and release CO2, the moor stores large amounts of the greenhouse gas - this is the common scientific assumption.
In the Lünten Forest, researchers want to precisely determine the climate effect through before-and-after measurements - a unique approach, according to Krieg. A 30 meter high scaffolding tower, one and a half times as high as the treetops, stands in the project area. At its head, scientists from the University of Münster measure carbon dioxide and other climate-relevant gases in real time. “You can see how the forest breathes,” says Kriegs. Before the rewetting, the area emitted more CO2 through rotting than it stored. “If we could stop this process, that would be a success.”
Wet vegetation: Better forest fire protection?
At the top of the tower you can see the moorland forest, which was still lush green at the beginning of September. Even though the summer has dried out many otherwise wet areas, the ground is still moist - with an important effect: trees supplied with water can protect themselves better against pests, says Kriegs. “You also get the feeling that it would have been harder to set fire to such a forest.” After numerous fires in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example in the Hürtgenwald and Sauerland, environmental associations such as BUND called for more speed in rewetting.
Back on the moorland, Kriegs shows how flora and fauna benefit from the moisture: plants from acidic, nutrient-poor soils such as heather and bell heather thrive. As the most important peat former, peat moss spreads over large areas. “A whole group of bog lilies suddenly bloomed back there, beautiful,” enthuses the biologist.
Many species are reclaiming their habitat
The animals that specialize in the habitat also come back with the moor plants: “Do you hear that? Dada! Dada!” Krieg imitates the call of a willow tit. The bird, which is almost extinct in Münsterland, feels at home again in the Lünten Forest: Kriegs counted 13 breeding pairs this year. The titmouse usually chops its own nesting holes in rotten, soft wood. In the moor, which is supposed to reclaim the downy birch, which was dominant before reforestation, little by little, it already finds plenty of dead wood trunks for building nests.
The first bluebirds fluttered over from nearby moors on the Dutch side. The endangered butterfly depends on moors. Rare dragonfly species could also return soon, says Kriegs, while chasing a moor frog. The species of moors and moist forests have benefited from the moisture in a short time. “The area has huge potential,” says Kriegs. For nature – and for science, which will accompany the change for years to come.
