Preserving and restoring peatlands

Preserving peatlands and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases require that peat does not oxidize, and therefore does not become exposed to the air. This could be done by raising the groundwater level in peatlands or by digging or covering peat layers in the soil. These interventions can strongly influence land use, landscape and nature, and the availability of fresh water. How do we arrange water supply throughout peatlands? Where do we find the required water resources?

Raising groundwater levels in peat could generate emissions of nitrous gas and methane. Where and when is this happening, and to what level can the groundwater table be raised without these unintended effects?

A more integrated and regional approach to peatlands is needed to balance demands for land use in these areas. Peatlands carry important nature reserves such as peat bogs, stream valleys, wetlands and marshes. There is an ongoing search for methods to preserve or restore nature values in these areas, for example by rewetting and enhancing the accumulation of peat. In that way peatlands can function as carbon store.

Wageningen University & Research is partner in research projects on the preservation of peat in agricultural areas and nature reserves. Through experiments, scientists from WUR collect knowledge on the effects of measures in peatlands. They use modelling studies to indicate consequences of actions over larger areas.

If we aim for large-scale solutions in peatlands, we need to look at problems and solutions from every angle. We should prevent that in twenty years, we will regret upscaling of interventions now.

Guido Bakema, peatland expert at Wageningen Environmental Research