A living lab approach to promote sustainable management of agricultural peatlands in Finland

To reach EU’s carbon neutrality target by 2050, emission reductions in the land-use sector are needed. Agricultural peatlands attribute for half of the greenhouse gas emissions of cropland in both in EU and Finland. High greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peatlands are primarily caused by CO2 emissions following aerobic peat decomposition due to deep drainage, and studies have shown that raising water-table has potential to slow down the decomposition process. Here we studied the emission reduction potential and cost of implementing controlled drainage, paludiculture, peatland restoration and afforestation to current land use on agricultural peatlands in Finland. We created three scenarios with increasing amount of wet field use on cultivated organic soils and estimated their effects on national greenhouse gas emissions and farmers’ income. The yearly emission reduction ranged from 0.3 to 5.0 Mt CO2 equivalents in the different scenarios compared to the current state in Finland. Emission reductive land use had a negative impact on the farmers income, which should be compensated. Assuming the government compensates the lost income for the farmers, the cost of emission reduction ranged from −4 to 45 € per ton of CO2 equivalents. Rewetting provided the most emission reduction per area and was the most cost effective. We conclude that substantial emission reduction is attainable by rewetting agricultural peatlands. The cost of emission reduction is inexpensive compared to average carbon price in European Union emission trading system, or to the costs of technical carbon capture and storage in Finland.

Drained agricultural peatlands are a large source of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) due to peat oxidation. Paludiculture, where flood-tolerant grasses are grown on rewetted peatlands, might be a potential strategy for climate change mitigation by reducing GHG emissions while maintaining biomass production. This study assessed the impact of different harvest and fertilization treatments of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea, cv. Lipaula; RCG) on GHG exchange dynamics and global warming potential (GWP) in two measurement periods (5 May 2020 to 4 May 2021, and 18 May 2021 to 17 May 2022) at a fen with shallow water tables depths (annual mean WTD of -10 cm and -8 cm, respectively) and ca. 2 m deep peat. RCG was established in 2018 and in the following years management strategies with 2 or 5 cuts per year were compared with a non-harvested scenario (0-cut). Treatments involving 2 and 5 annual cuts were fertilized with 200 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in equal split doses for each cut while the 0-cut scenario remained unfertilized. Fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O (only 2020-21) were measured with fortnightly intervals using the manual chamber technique and cumulative fluxes were derived by empirical models.Yields of RCG decreased slightly over the years with 15.6, 11.5 and 8.9 t DM ha-1 yr-1 for the 2-cut system and 14.5, 9.4 and 8.6 for the 5-cut system in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Mean annual WTD of -13 cm in 2019 was slightly lower than the following years. In general, photosynthetic CO2 uptake was higher in treatments with active biomass management, but carbon export in the harvested biomass offset this benefit, resulting in a near-equal net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) across all treatments ranging from 36.0 to 43.6 and 17.1 to 28.2 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1 in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. The mean NECB of 22.5 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1 in 2021-22 across treatments was significantly lower than the mean of 38.7 t CO2 ha-1 yr-1 in 2020-21. This might be partly explained by the slightly increasing WTD due to lack of ditch maintenance and more precipitation, but the flux effect of increasing WTD on decreased peat oxidation may also be delayed by a few years. Emissions of CH4 remained low during 2020-21 (1.1–1.9 t CO2e ha-1 yr-1), while N2O emissions were relatively high (4.0-5.7 t CO2e ha-1 yr-1) without any treatment effects. In 2021-22, CH4 emissions increased to 2.6-3.7 t CO2e ha-1 yr-1 equivalent to 11.3 % of the total carbon emission in CO2 equivalents. Although the peat field seemed uniform, large variation within treatments was seen across the experimental blocks which could be linked to differences in soil nutrient concentrations and water chemistry. Overall, it can be concluded that paludiculture and the non-managed restoration scenario exhibited comparable climate outcomes thereby offering flexibility in land-use options for peatland restoration. However, results also suggested that biomass harvest can reduce GHG emissions in the more productive area, while leaving the biomass unmanaged was advantageous in the less productive area of the field.

Climate change and biodiversity losses have necessitated innovative approaches to peatland management. This study examines pivotal historical landmarks and the recent forces of change that have affected peatlands in Finland, Ireland and Scotland, highlighting how national contexts, such as land ownership, forestry, agriculture and the need for domestic energy sources, have shaped the peatland use in those countries. We further introduce national and EU policies, which include, for example, national peatland strategies, and identify barriers to sustainable management of these important ecosystems. We propose six key solutions that could improve peatland persistence more broadly in northern Europe: (1) adoption of an integrated, landscape-scale strategy for rewetting and restoration with multi-stakeholder collaboration, (2) enhancement of monitoring to improve outcomes and refine best practices, (3) alignment of both national and EU policies across relevant sectors (energy, climate change, biodiversity, land use) to promote sustainable peatland management, (4) minimisation of trade-offs between green energy transition and sustainable peatland management, (5) engagement with local communities in restoration efforts for better acceptability and outcomes, and (6) wider leverage of market-based mechanisms, such as carbon, biodiversity and water credits, to finance peatland restoration. Together, these measures provide a pathway for the sustainable management of northern peatlands by balancing environmental integrity with socio-economic needs.

Peatlands in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are an important ecosystem but are vulnerable to degradation caused by human activities. To overcome this problem, this research introduces a product innovation in the form of a canal-blocking module made from coconut fiber composite for the implementation of sustainable canal straightening. The study involved a series of methodological steps that included a literature study, prototype development, laboratory testing, and field case studies. The research results show that composite canal-blocking modules have significant potential to reduce land subsidence, increase land productivity, and improve the hydrological balance in peatlands. In addition to significant economic benefits for local communities, implementation of this module also has positive impacts on the environment, including habitat protection and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. These findings have important implications for policy-making and planning for peatland management in West Kalimantan, emphasizing the importance of sustainable solutions and community participation in overcoming the challenges faced by this ecosystem. This research highlights the potential for innovative canal block module composite products made from coconut fiber as an important step in efforts to strengthen peatland management in West Kalimantan. The next step is to encourage wider adoption and implementation of these solutions while pursuing further research to deepen our understanding of sustainable peatland management.

Abstract. Water authorities responsible for water quantity and water quality management may strongly influence the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions from the surface waters and the adjacent peat areas within their territories. Climate smart water management (reducing influx of organic matter and improving water quality) is therefore a potentially strong mitigation tool. We hypothesize that climate smart water management has a stronger mitigation potential than reducing emissions from the operational management of a Water Authority. Based on literature data on greenhouse gas emissions from ditches and agricultural peatlands, we present a case study of a Dutch Water Authority – Amstel, Gooi and Vecht (operated by Waternet). We estimate that greenhouse gas emissions from the 195 km2 large peat area within its territory are 470 kt CO2-eq per year. An additional 231 kt CO2-eq yr−1 is emitted from the water bodies within the 102 km2 large water area territory. Both emissions are considerably higher than the estimated climate footprint of the operational management of the water board (∼62 kt CO2-eq per year in 2017). While Waternet strives to have a net zero emission of greenhouse gases related to its operational management by 2020, we postulate that measures (to be taken before 2030) such as the prevention of organic matter and nutrients entering surface waters, the removal of organic carbon from ditches and higher groundwater levels in agricultural peatlands, may reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ditches and agricultural peat meadows with 26 and 27 kt CO2-eq per year, respectively. Measures that are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in water bodies are expected to have a positive impact on water quality as well.

Recent global experiences on sustainable intensification of smallholder cropping systems show that improving food security and income with reduced production inputs and increased systems sustainability would be possible through the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) technologies. CA-based sustainable intensification follows three principles in farming, viz. minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and diversified and sustainable crop rotations. CA aims at improving productivity, reducing production costs, and increasing farmers’ income through reduced use of labor, energy, and other farm inputs, and improving the sustainability of cropping systems. Resource-conserving technologies (RCTs) include at least one of the three principles of CA and aim at reducing the use of external inputs. This chapter reviews the application of CA and RCTs for improving the sustainability of cereal-based cropping systems mainly in the context of Nepal but with relevance to the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. The review, complemented with the authors’ own results from several on-station and on-farm experiments, demonstrated that the CA and RCTs practices viz. dry direct-seeded rice, unpuddled transplanted rice, and zero-tillage maize, wheat and legumes with the retention of crop residues can increase grain yields and profits and save labor and water use compared to conventional tillage practices. No or minimum tillage along with residue retention can also suppress weeds, increase opportunity for crop diversification, improve soil physico-chemical and micro-biological properties, enhance nutrient- and energy-use efficiencies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CA practices encourage the use of land leveling, farm mechanization, and precision crop production. CA and RCTs have also the potential for reducing soil erosion in sloping hilly areas and undulating land with narrow terraces. Despite several advantages, these technologies have however not been fully mainstreamed in the national agricultural research and extension system of Nepal. Knowledge gaps among extension workers, farmers, and other citizens, unavailability of farm machinery, trade-offs in using crop residues for improving soil fertility and animal feed, land fragmentation, poor rural infrastructures, and inadequate policy support are the major adoption barriers of CA-based technologies. The review concludes that there is an urgent need to institutionalize the CA and RCTs to attain the sustainability of cropping systems and achieve food, nutrition, and livelihood security of the growing population.KeywordsTeraiHillsMulti-criteria assessmentDirect-seeded riceZero tillageSWOT analysis

About 30% of the world’s soil carbon is stored in peat soils. Peat land’s functional principle of carbon storage greatly depends on management strategies. Therefore, agricultural peat land use becomes a focal point of interest in the current debate on climate protection. Agricultural management demands a drawdown of the water-level that causes degradation of the soils, as well as trace-gas emissions which have a negative impact on greenhouse-gas balance. Climate-friendly peat land management strategies, however, demand enhanced groundwater tables and decreased land-use intensity. Against this background, we analyse ways of re-organising agricultural peat land use within a case study located in Germany, where intensive peat land use accounts for 2.3–5.1% of the country’s overall greenhouse-gas emission. The study takes place in six regions which represent all possible socio-economic and natural conditions with regard to the range of existing peat land types, range of management and cultivation types, as well as the range of land-use intensity. To analyse potentials and effects of re-organising peat land use, stakeholder workshops and extensive farm surveys were carried out. The results indicate that reservations exist as regards a re-organisation of peat land management. Financial compensation for farmers appears necessary. The results also show that the potential of rearrangement throughout the regions varies significantly, mainly according to the existing level of interconnection and cooperation between local stakeholders, the technical feasibility of restoration and water logging and the level of agricultural profitability of peat land cultivation with regard to income, capital commitment and the share of affected peat land area.

Most nations have concentrated on reducing greenhouse gas emissions since global warming is such a serious problem. Due to land use changes, the harvesting of peat for use as fuel in homes, and the gardening industry, peat moss from peat bogs or peat fields may cause smoldering fires and release quantities of carbon dioxide. Bio‐fuel is one of the alternative renewable sources created from organic materials. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical process that converts organic materials into substitutes for fossil fuels and used to create biofuel because it is readily available, straightforward, and inexpensive to implement. The feedstock utilized in this experiment was peat moss. Proximate and ultimate analyses were performed using thermogravimetric analysis and elemental analyzer to determine thermal breakdown and elemental characteristics. Pyrolysis was carried out in this work using a prototype lab scale fixed‐bed pyrolysis. Based on prior study, the parameters used are pyrolysis temperature, nitrogen flow rate and reaction time to create the central composite design model. According to the analysis of variance results, pyrolysis temperature and flow rate were significant, however reaction time was not. The effect of flow rate and reaction time on response was explored. The actual bio‐oil yield achieved utilizing the optimal parameters was 10.02 %. The presence of chemical compounds in bio‐oil was measured.

Globally, agriculture is directly responsible for 14% of annual greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions and induces an additional 17% through land use change, mostlyin developing countries (Vermeulen et al 2012). Agricultural intensification andexpansion in these regions is expected to catalyze the most significant relativeincreases in agricultural GHG emissions over the next decade (Smith et al 2008,Tilman et al 2011). Farms in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa andAsia are predominately managed by smallholders, with 80% of land holdingssmaller than ten hectares (FAO 2012). One can therefore posit that smallholderfarming significantly impacts the GHG balance of these regions today and willcontinue to do so in the near future.However, our understanding of the effect smallholder farming has on theEarth’s climate system is remarkably limited. Data quantifying existing andreduced GHG emissions and removals of smallholder production systems areavailable for only a handful of crops, livestock, and agroecosystems (Herrero et al2008, Verchot et al 2008, Palm et al 2010). For example, fewer than fifteenstudies of nitrous oxide emissions from soils have taken place in sub-SaharanAfrica, leaving the rate of emissions virtually undocumented. Due to a scarcity ofdata on GHG sources and sinks, most developing countries currently quantifyagricultural emissions and reductions using IPCC Tier 1 emissions factors.However, current Tier 1 emissions factors are either calibrated to data primarilyderived from developed countries, where agricultural production conditions aredissimilar to that in which the majority of smallholders operate, or from data thatare sparse or of mixed quality in developing countries (IPCC 2006). For the mostpart, there are insufficient emissions data characterizing smallholder agricultureto evaluate the level of accuracy or inaccuracy of current emissions estimates.Consequentially, there is no reliable information on the agricultural GHG budgetsfor developing economies. This dearth of information constrains the capacity totransition to low-carbon agricultural development, opportunities for smallholdersto capitalize on carbon markets, and the negotiating position of developingcountries in global climate policy discourse.Concerns over the poor state of information, in terms of data availability andrepresentation, have fueled appeals for new approaches to quantifying GHGemissions and removals from smallholder agriculture, for both existing conditionsand mitigation interventions (Berry and Ryan 2013, Olander et al 2013).Considering the dependence of quantification approaches on data and the currentdata deficit for smallholder systems, it is clear that in situ measurements must bea core part of initial and future strategies to improve GHG inventories and

Drained peatlands are a large emission source and a shift to paludiculture (rewetting and cultivation of wet-tolerant plants) is emerging as a potential emission reduction measure. Paludiculture can potentially results in emission savings from direct emissions, product substitution and carbon storage, but the whole life cycle climate impacts are rarely studied. In this study, we evaluated two paludiculture product systems (cattail (Typha) construction board and common reed (Phragmites) horticultural vermicompost) with cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) applied global sensitivity analysis to identify, which parts of the product system would need more research and product development to ensure net emission savings. Based on the results, both product systems result in much lower emissions than current agricultural land use and may be net greenhouse gas sinks (average − 6.0 tCO2eq ha−1 for cattail board; −3.0 tCO2eq ha−1 for reed growing media). The uncertainty in the product life cycle is concentrated to a few key processes: the direct CO2 and CH4 emissions from paludiculture, construction board additives, and CH4 emissions from vermicomposting reed. Further research to these would minimize the uncertainty and help in maximizing the climate mitigation potential of paludiculture derived products.

Agriculture is a contributing force to climate change due to unsustainable changes in land use with the usage of peatlands for food production in Finland. The use of organic soils in food production is a complex and politically driven issue, thus multistakeholder and participatory approaches to policy development, implementation and evaluation are essential. This study is integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in an iterative process to produce action-oriented knowledge for supporting actions to sustainably manage peatlands and reduce the enormous greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peatlands. This study has engaged inter-disciplinary researchers and transdisciplinary actors in the Finnish food system via farmers, regional and ministry officials, food industry representatives along with education and research representatives to produce action-oriented knowledge for sustainability. The results indicate that actions are needed to develop a shared understanding between relevant actors and stakeholders in the food system to create activities and effective policy measures to remove peatlands from active production in Finland. Therefore, there is a necessity to identify and define incentives from both the public and private sectors to remove peatlands from food production, and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Interventions that account for local, regional, and national perspectives should be co-created among the inter-disciplinary researchers and transdisciplinary actors in the food system to generate transformative and system-wide change in the transition towards a low-carbon society.

Anthropogenic activity is affecting the global climate through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) e.g. CO2 and CH4. About a third of anthropogenic GHGs are produced from agriculture, including livestock farming and horticulture. A large proportion of the UK's horticultural farming takes place on drained lowland peatlands, which are a source of significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. This study set out to establish whether raising the water table from the currently used -50cm to -30cm could reduce GHGs emissions from agricultural peatlands, while simultaneously maintaining the current levels of horticultural productivity. A factorial design experiment used agricultural peat soil collected from the Norfolk Fens (among the largest of the UK's lowland peatlands under intensive cultivation) to assess the effects of water table levels, elevated CO2, and agricultural production on GHG fluxes and crop productivity of radish, one of the most economically important fenland crops. The results of this study show that a water table of -30cm can increase the productivity of the radish crop while also reducing soil CO2 emissions but without a resultant loss of CH4 to the atmosphere, under both ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations. Elevated CO2 increased dry shoot biomass, but not bulb biomass nor root biomass, suggesting no immediate advantage of future CO2 levels to horticultural farming on peat soils. Overall, increasing the water table could make an important contribution to global warming mitigation while not having a detrimental impact on crop yield.

Despite their high agricultural productivity, drained and cultivated peats are highly susceptible to degradation and significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigates the potential of water table manipulation and biochar application to mitigate GHG losses from agricultural peats. However, balancing the need for agricultural production with securing the ecosystem function of the peat under high water table (WT) conditions poses a significant challenge. Therefore, we grew lettuce in a controlled mesocosm experiment with either a high (HW) or low (LW) water table and monitored emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O over 4 months using a mesocosm method. Concurrent measurements of soil solution, plant measurements and microbial sequencing allowed identification of the key controls on GHG emissions. Raising the WT significantly reduced CO2 emissions (18%), and N2O emission (40%), but eventually increased CH4 emission (2.5-fold) compared to the Control + LW. Biochar amendment with raised WT provided the strongest reduction in CO2 equivalent GHG emission (4.64 t CO2eq ha−1 yr−1), compared to Control + LW. We found that biochar amendment modified the microbial community composition and diversity (Shannon index 8.9–9.3), lowering the relative abundance of peat decomposers (such as Ascomycota). Moreover, biochar amendments produced 38–56% greater lettuce biomass compared to the unamended controls, irrespective of water table level, suggesting that biochar application could generate economic benefits in addition to reduced GHG emissions. Mechanisms responsible for these effects appeared to be both abiotic (e.g. via effects of the biochar physicochemical composition) and biotic via changing the soil microbiome. Overall, the combination of high-water table and biochar amendment enhanced total soil C, reduced peat decomposition, suppressed CH4 and N2O emissions, and enhanced crop yields.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42773-025-00487-7.

Water management is the most important component in developing peatlands for agriculture. Utilization of peatlands for food crops and research on its physical, chemical and biological characteristics have been carried out previously since a long time. However, the implementation of peatland management technology is not much well known. Peatland agricultural commodities are developing. In 1970-1990, mostly for food crops and horticulture. Since 2000 plantation crops had been developed rapidly. About 0.5-0.8 million ha of peatlands are planted by food crops, including horticulture and 2.5-3.0 million ha for oil palm. The use of peatlands is still being debated along with threats to the environment, especially greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions. The use of peatlands for agriculture by local communities aimed at sustaining life and has an interesting long history. Farmers who live in peatlands have special abilities and expertise in peatland management. Based on this experience and local wisdom, the government then planned to open peatlands, especially in supporting transmigration programs from Java, Nusa Tenggara, and Bali. However, the use of peatlands for agriculture has changed the fertility of peatlands and reported to be a trigger for land degradation so that improvement efforts are needed. The government has also issued several policies in improving the management and conservation of peatlands. This paper is a review of the results of research and experience on water management on peatlands for food crop and horticulture production.

In recent times, biofuels are receiving increased attention because they have the potential to enhance the energy security of energy deficit nations while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also provide opportunities for inclusive rural development. This paper shows that prevailing administered prices do not provide adequate financial incentives to produce biodiesel in India. In contrast to financial analysis results, social cost–benefit analysis shows that biodiesel production from jatropha and pongamia is economically viable. This paper illustrates that financial analysis results may not provide a sound basis for pubic policy, particularly when there are distortions in the market. Biodiesel has the potential to significantly generate rural employment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If the production is limited only to wastelands, in meeting 20 per cent blending target, biodiesel would not affect food production in India. While explaining the reasons for failure of biodiesel production taking off in a big way in India, the paper argues that public sector interventions are necessary to correct existing market, non-market, and institutional failures, which prevent development of biodiesel markets.