Managed groundwater recharge especially on peat land is known to benefit the regional water balance and carbon sequestration. The pilot area includes the Gnarrenburg peat land and the Bederkesa geest area in the northeast of Lower Saxony. At the northeastern part of the study site the deeper groundwater is salinized (chloride > 250 mg/l) and thus not usable for drinking water supply. Climate change is expected to negatively impact groundwater quality and amount.
Therefore, we combine different MAR (Managed Aquifer Recharge) strategies like rewetting of peat lands and infiltration in the geest area to study possible positive effects on the groundwater resources.
The groundwater system in the project area will benefit from the rewetting of the peat land. Additionally, as peatlands are a sink of carbon dioxide, renaturation will lead to a surplus of bound CO2 in the subsurface. We assume that the rewetting and the rise of the groundwater level will push down the saline groundwater which is located about 100m beneath the surface
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