Recultivation is what remains! We are guided by this mission statement because recultivation is an important element of our home, also for our children, grandchildren and many generations to come. We only have the opportunity once to design the post-mining landscape. And only today. That is why it’s so important to not just ‘properly restore’ the landscape here in the Rhenish mining area, but for us to set the highest quality standards in recultivation.
RWE Power AG established the Recultivation Research Center to monitor the success of recultivation measures and to continuously improve the applied methods. It has been providing a common framework for the varied, interdisciplinary topics of recultivation since 1994, when it was called the ‘Freilandökologische Station’. As a scientific and operational institution, it is the touch point between mining, science and nature conservation. The Research Center is committed to communication in both directions: In cooperation with numerous independent scientists in specialised ecological fields, experts engaged in nature conservation as volunteers and our colleagues in the RWE specialist departments, we are conducting ongoing studies in the recultivated landscape. The numerous methods and processes that converge in recultivation – from the planning and selection of suitable substrates for new soils to agricultural management and reforestation, and monitoring the successful ecological development of the sites – are continuously optimised in the course of scientific management. Experts from the scientific community and associations obtain both physical and professional access to everything related to recultivation, from biodiversity to interim management. They conduct research, perform studies and write professional articles. Experienced RWE specialists in landscape and opencast mine planning as well as recultivation then evaluate what went well and what could be improved. We learn from this and do even better going forward.
That is what we consider a genuine win-win situation!
We offer lectures and seminars for scientific exchange as well as field trips to the recultivation areas with universities, research institutes and other specialised institutions.
We also organise environmental education events such as workshops, excursions and lessons with kindergartens, schools and other institutions from the open-cast mining communities.
Ecological monitoring of construction is essential in the implementation of a construction project. In addition to the clearance of work sites through inspections according to species protection laws and monitoring the progress of construction with regard to meeting ecological requirements, this includes training and consulting regarding the handling of species protection matters on construction sites.
The upcoming structural transformation in the Rhenish mining area will be realised at various levels. Creating jobs in the region is the primary focus. Maintaining and improving the quality of life in the region is also a high priority. Opportunities for value creation improve in areas where people want to live. This is precisely where recultivation can make an important contribution for the region. As the Research Center, we gladly provide support for sustainable structural transformation projects and maintain close communication with the region’s stakeholders.
This includes ways to promote the low-impact, ecologically oriented recreational use of recultivated areas, without adversely affecting the site’s natural development while simultaneously allowing people in the region to enjoy their environment.
Biodiversity has also been identified as a priority topic in RWE’s sustainability strategy. That is why the Research Center is in close contact with the colleagues at RWE Renewables, providing advice and support for the promotion of biodiversity in solar parks and wind farms.
As part of excursions, hands-on activities, themed trails, apps and hiking maps, we offer the opportunity to experience recultivation. You can find our excursion programme here. Download event flyer (German)
Opencast mines have to be drained in order to extract lignite from the active pit. This lowering of the groundwater level is not locally restricted to the limits of the opencast mine but impacts the surrounding land as well. Damage to ecologically valuable wetlands in the area impacted by the opencast mines is to be avoided. Wetland monitoring serves as an early warning system. Water management and ecological conditions are observed in the course of monitoring. Possible negative developments can be identified based on the collected data, reducing the risk of damaging subjects of protection.
The ecological impacts of recultivation efforts are being studied over the long term and the reestablishment of animals and plants in the recultivated areas is observed and recorded in detail, with the aim of continuously improving and documenting the recultivation process. The results of these scientific studies are documented in detail, collected and managed by us. We also conduct our own research and regularly implement projects on various aspects of the recultivated landscape. In addition, we are a point of contact for students and independent scientists as well as representatives of voluntary nature conservation. They make their own valuable contribution to researching the new landscape.
We make the prepared information available to the public through publications, this website and our Facebook page, and in regular Research Center meetings held at Schloss Paffendorf as well as conferences. In doing so, we encourage discussion and the exchange of ideas with members of the public interested in nature, specialists and public authorities.
The opencast mines in the Rhenish mining area have a major impact on nature and the landscape. Recultivated landscapes offset the areas affected by opencast mining. As a rule, animal species from the pre-mining area also find a new habitat here. RWE is required by law to implement compensating measures for endangered and strictly protected animal and plant species. In addition to the implementation of numerous maintenance measures, nesting places are specifically expanded and new habitats are created for various species. The Hambach Forest in the pre-mining area of the Hambach opencast mine is unique. With its old-growth trees, in particular ancient oaks, it serves as a habitat for numerous animal species that depend on these special conditions. A species protection concept was therefore developed, extending to areas beyond the opencast mine in addition to recultivation.
Implementing and realising RWE’s biodiversity strategy for the Rhenish mining area has been a key task for the Research Center since 2018.
The biodiversity strategy establishes an integrated scientific approach for the voluntary further optimisation of recultivation. With the implementation of the biodiversity strategy, the already exemplary recultivation in the Rhenish mining area is elevated to excellence status with regard to species protection and biodiversity. This makes it a role model for other national and international mining projects.
Get to know our team
Forester
Responsible for:
- Operational nature education events
- Implementation of operational nature conservation and species protection measures
- Maintenance of nesting areas and roosting aids
E-mail: michael.stoffels@rwe.com
Tel.: +492181-237 21047
Agriculture and Environment (M.Sc.)
Responsible for:
- Renewables and biodiversity
- Ecological monitoring of construction
- Carbon credits
E-mail: marius.schneider@rwe.com
Tel.: +492271-751 25185
Certified Nature and Landscape Guide, Carpenter
Responsible for:
- Workshop operations
- Implementation of operational nature conservation and species protection measures
- Operational nature education events
E-mail: heinz-peter.eichler@rwe.com
Tel.: +492181-237 21047
Forester
Responsible for:
- Safety officer
- Monitoring the success of operational nature conservation and species protection measures
- Implementation of operational mapping
E-mail: guenter.roland@rwe.com
Tel.: +492181-237 21047
Environmental Sciences (M.Sc.)
Responsible for:
- GIS, literature and data management
- Wetland monitoring
- Reporting
E-mail: annajo.merk@rwe.com
Tel.: +492271-751 25026
Georesource Management (M.Sc.)
Deputy Manager
Responsible for:
- Public relations
- Environmental education
- Sustainable structural transformation
- Recultivation consulting
E-mail: melanie.gutmann@rwe.com
Tel.: +492271-751 25025
Graduate Engineer, Landscape Planning
Responsible for:
- Operational nature conservation and species protection
- Management of open landscapes and meadow orchards
E-mail: ernst-henning.walther@rwe.com
Tel.: +492271-751 23282
Graduate Geographer, Redevelopment (M.Sc.)
Head of the Recultivation Research Center
Responsible for:
- Biodiversity strategy
- Recultivation research and planning
- Renewables and biodiversity
- Networking and communication
E-mail: gregor.esser@rwe.com
Tel.: +492271-751 25185
Contact
Recultivation Research Center
Schloss Paffendorf
Burggasse
50126 Bergheim, Germany
Tel.: +49 2271 75125025
E-mail: info@forschungsstellerekultivierung.de
Recultivation Research Center flyer