| Site name | Burkmeer |
|---|---|
| Country | Netherlands |
| Latitude | 52.41606 |
| Longitude | 4.983596 |
| Partner type | Demo site – Typha |
| Description | The Burkmeer site is a polder based on the nord of Amsterdam. |
| Site status | Trials ongoing |
| Year established | Coming soon |
| Site contact | Burkmeer@destruunhoeve.nl |
About Burkmeer
The Burkmeer site is a polder based in Amsterdam.
Polders are low-lying tracts of reclaimed land, enclosed by embankments.
The Burkmeer polder is on peatland. It has the shape of a bathtub with long sloping dikes and a flat section in the middle.
Typha is grown in the flat middle section. On the slopes, the Palus Demos team work with wet meadow grass.
The first hectare typha crop was planted in 2021, and first harvest in January 2023. When the crop is harvested, the team hope to dry it and make building materials from it.
Typha alone may provide insufficient income streams, so Palus Demos team members are also monitoring the ecosystem on the site. This is to examine the viability of generating farm income through both crop sales and ecosystem services.
Other researchers on site are measuring groundwater levels and vegetation, and how these link to methane and carbon dioxide. This is in order to measure greenhouse gas emissions.
Dutch peat meadows – grassland on peat soils – have been part of The Netherlands for centuries. First reclaimed as early as the Middle Ages, they have undergone intense drainage over the past 70 years to support agricultural production, particularly dairy farming.