When researchers reach the limits of their own fields, it is interdisciplinary thinking that helps them overcome these limits. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a key approach in funded research projects, designed to expose scientists to a wide variety of research questions beyond their own specialized fields.
At the IKK, the testing laboratory for polymer-based materials was used to conduct strength tests on glasswort.
The SALTGARDEN project aims to make the salt marshes in the Wadden Sea more resilient by increasing biodiversity. Salt marshes are of particular importance to the “Wadden Sea” ecosystem. This is precisely why it is crucial that they withstand future challenges such as rising sea levels and higher CO₂ concentrations.
One plant that thrives on the front lines of salt marshes is glasswort (Latin: Salicornia europaea), which many people already know as a food source. It is now being thoroughly tested by the Ludwig-Franzius Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Estuarine and Coastal Engineering. This includes measuring its hydro- and morphodynamic impact within the salt marshes: How do these plants withstand waves and water level fluctuations, and how resistant are they to the associated changes in sediment and landscape?
Where tensile bars are typically tested for strength, salicornia was used this time. The results of the three-point bending tests show that the plant’s natural heterogeneity can be quantified. This heterogeneity influences its mechanical resistance to hydrodynamic stresses. However, further research is needed to draw reliable conclusions about whether sea purslane will continue to contribute as a pioneer plant to the conservation of the salt marshes in the Wadden Sea. The collaboration between Alida Reinsch (LuFI) and Felix Schweer (IKK) will therefore continue.
If you would like to learn more about the “SALTGARDEN” project: https://www.uni-hannover.de/en/universitaet/aktuelles/online-aktuell/details/news/auftakt-fuer-saltgarden-projekt-zur-wattenmeerforschung
