Programme structure

Tuesday 11 September 

Location: Queens Lounge ss Rotterdam 
Facilitator: Dr. Reinier de Man

Wednesday 12 September 

The busses will leave from the parking area ss Rotterdam. Please be there at least 15 minutes before departure of your fieldtrip.

In four field trips we offer further knowledge of peat in South-Holland, with main topics are related to CO2 emissions, soil subsidence, paludiculture, submerged drains, landscape history and high tech horticulture.

Provisional programma, to be updated in de coming period. 

Fieldtrip 1. Back to the past: the Dutch and their history with peat

Starts at 9.00 AM  

Nowadays peat is scarce in the provinces of Zuid- en Noord-Holland but around the year 800 both provinces were almost completely covered with a massive layer of peat. Between 800 and 1900 the peat disappeared due to human interference. The history of the west part of the Netherlands is the history of the Dutch and their relationship with peat. The influence of (the disappeard) peat is still recognizable in the landscape of today. In this excursion we show how the Dutch shaped their land, first by peat reclamation and when the soil became too wet for agriculture, how they dredged the peat for fuel. Read more > 

Fieldtrip 2. Peat village Boskoop: peat and tree culture 

Starts at 8.00 AM  

Boskoop is since the nineteenth century known for its excellent tree nurseries. The village of Boskoop, originally known as Buckescop, dates back to circa 1210. It was first mentioned in 1222, when Count Willem I donated land and possessions to the abbey of Rijnsburg. The abbess of Rijnsburg decided to use the land to expand the orchards of the abbey. She considered correctly the peatland surrounding the village ideal for trees and plants. In the nineteenth century the demand of Boskoops´ trees increased, and the international export started growing. Read more > 

Fieldtrip 3. Rural peat & cruising down the peat river Rotte 

Starts at 9.00 AM  

The peat river the Rotte starts at Moerkapelle (near the mill ´De Oorsprong´) and flows via the Rottemeren, past Bleiswijk and Bergschenhoek (residential core De Rotte) to the City Triangle of Rotterdam where the Rotte turns into the Stokviswater. In 1270, a 400-meter-long dam was laid in the Rotte to keep the Meuse water out. The Rottewater could flow freely through locks in the dam. The dam, which was built almost immediately after, forms the origin of Rotterdam.  This excursion follows the Rotte downstreams by boat. Read more >

Fieldtrip 4. Research Centre Zegveld and city of Gouda: future for the Green Heart

Starts at 9.00 AM  

The western peat meadow area is called the Green Heart because it is a green area in the middle between all major Dutch cities. It is considered as a very valuable cultural and historic area. One of the main issues of the peat meadows is subsidence and GHG emissions. The subsidence in the western peat meadow area is 5 to 10 mm per year and is mainly caused by peat oxidation. The resulting CO2 emissions are 10 - 25 t/ha/year. In the worst case scenario subsidence rates and CO2 emissions might be doubled! In the Peat meadow Innovation Centre Zegveld new innovative methods are developed and tested to minimize peat oxidation to conserve the peat meadow area. Read more >

 

Thursday 13 September

Scientific sessions

For a total overview of speakers and tittles, click here. 

For the Book of Abstracts, click here.

For an overview of the poster presentation, click here.