Vattenbuffel som skötselmetod i svenska våtmarker : En studie om vattenbuffelns lämplighet, ekonomiska förutsättningar och potential att ersätta maskiner i skötselsyfte

Sammanfattning

Wetlands are currently being lost as a result of land development, vegetation overgrowth, and the expansion of agricultural and industrial areas. This results in significant consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and water management. There are financial resources allocated to wetland restoration, whereas funding for long-term management and maintenance is limited or does not occur. In the absence of continuous management efforts, wetlands risk becoming overgrown and thereby losing their ecological functions. We therefore aim to investigate whether the use of the Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) as vegetation managers in wetland areas is an appropriate management strategy, and whether replacing conventional mechanical methods executed with harvesting machines with such an approach would be economically sustainable. Interviews were conducted with four Swedish conservation projects using water buffalos as well as a literature search for comparison between cattle (Bos taurus) and water buffalos regarding their suitability for grazing and wetland management. We found that water buffalos are well adapted to digesting low-quality feed such as reeds (Phragmites australis) and other aquatic vegetation, and they have the ability to remove more of its biomass than cattle. However, their suitability depends on the type of wetland, site-specific conditions and the current degree of overgrowth in addition to what extent the wetland accumulates sediment. Consequently, water buffaloes are not appropriate for all types of wetlands. From an economic perspective, we have not identified clear evidence indicating whether replacing management done with machines with water buffalos would be more or less cost-effective, as the two approaches fulfill partly different functions. Using only buffalos creates an open landscape with biodiversity while man driven machines is a fast way to get rid of overgrown plants and sediment. We suggest that using water buffalos is therefore a better alternative to achieve nature conservation management and in these areas water buffalos are better grazing animals than cattle.