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Need immediate service? +31 (0) 544 – 76 90 09
Paludiculture makes it possible to continue using wet and rewetted peat soils productively. However, this requires a different approach to land management. Where conventional agricultural and maintenance machinery quickly reaches its limits on soft and wet ground, specialist equipment is needed that places as little pressure on the soil as possible.
Wellink Equipment develops, supplies and adapts machines for work on wet, soft and low-bearing-capacity terrain. From tool carriers and tracked machinery to solutions for mowing, harvesting, transport and land management.
Paludiculture is the agricultural or economic use of wet and rewetted peat soils while deliberately maintaining a high water level.
Traditional drainage makes agricultural use of peat soils possible, but at the same time leads to land subsidence and greenhouse gas emissions. Paludiculture looks for alternative forms of land use in which wet conditions become the starting point for management.
Depending on the area, crops and vegetation may include:
This creates new applications for materials such as building products, fibres, substrates, biomass and nature management.
A higher water level does not only change which plants grow in an area. More importantly, it changes the conditions in which machines have to operate.
The load-bearing capacity of the soil decreases. Heavy standard machinery may therefore:
Machines are therefore required that distribute their weight over a larger surface area while maintaining sufficient traction under difficult conditions.
Tracked machinery, low ground pressure and balanced weight distribution play an important role in this.
Paludiculture does not consist of one single type of operation. The equipment required depends on the area, vegetation and intended end use. Wellink therefore looks at the complete working process.
Mowing wet grassland, reed, cattail and other vegetation requires machinery that can work safely and steadily even where the ground has a low load-bearing capacity.
Harvesting is not only about cutting or collecting the crop. Weight, removal of the material and movement across the ground are also important factors.
Transport often becomes a major challenge after harvesting. Biomass needs to be removed from the field without heavy transport vehicles damaging the wet soil.
Specialist tracked vehicles can be used as transport platforms between the harvesting operation and areas with better load-bearing capacity.
The same technology can also be used for work in marshes, wet nature reserves, waterways and other difficult-to-access terrain.
The Wellink Chaser was developed for work on terrain where conventional vehicles do not have sufficient traction or load-bearing capability.
Its tracked undercarriage distributes the machine’s weight over a large contact area. This allows the Chaser to operate on soft and wet soils where wheeled vehicles are more likely to sink in or become stuck.
Depending on the application, the Chaser can be used for:
transporting biomass;
transporting materials to and from the work site;
supporting harvesting operations;
nature and land management;
work on wet peat soils;
use with different bodies and attachments.
A machine that performs well in one area is not automatically suitable for another.
The type of equipment required depends on factors such as:
water level;
soil load-bearing capacity;
type of vegetation;
size of the area;
transport distance;
required harvesting method;
weight of the harvested material;
existing machinery and attachments;
accessibility of the terrain.
That is why Wellink looks beyond the machine itself and considers the entire working situation.
Wellink Equipment is more than a supplier of existing machinery.
With our own engineering department, we develop and build solutions for applications where standard machinery is not sufficient.
This can include:
modifying existing machines;
special bodies;
attachments;
transport systems;
hydraulic modifications;
combinations of tool carriers and applications;
fully customised solutions.
This approach is particularly important in paludiculture. Many working methods are still being developed and can differ significantly between areas and projects.
That is why we work together with users to find a technical solution that fits real-world conditions.
Wellink has many years of experience with machinery for areas where ground pressure, accessibility and stability are critical.
Our equipment is used in areas including:
nature management;
water management;
peat and marshland;
forestry;
landscape management;
maintenance of waterways;
wet agriculture.
Experience has also been gained with adapted harvesting and tracked machinery in German paludiculture projects.
We use this practical experience when developing new machines and solutions.
Germany is investing heavily in the rewetting of peat soils and the development of new forms of wet agriculture.
This creates a need not only for new crops and markets, but also for suitable machinery for management, harvesting and transport.
Especially in areas with large amounts of peat soil, a new technical challenge will arise in the coming years:
How can rewetted areas remain practical and economically manageable?
Within this development, Wellink focuses on the technology required to continue working on these areas.
German funding programmes for the rewetting and use of peat soils may also provide opportunities for investments in specialist equipment.
Which machines and investments are eligible depends on the specific project, application and applicable funding scheme.
No two peatland areas are the same. That is why a suitable solution starts with understanding the terrain and the work that needs to be carried out.
Do you have a project involving paludiculture, wet agriculture, nature management or land management on low-bearing-capacity ground?
Discuss your project with our specialists.