Retaining snowmelt and precipitation runoff led only partial rewetting but provided cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at two boreal peat field sites
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Rewetting is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peat soils. This study aimed to improve understanding of the environmental and economic impacts of paludiculture under boreal conditions. Open ditches were blocked using peat dams and equipped with sluice valves to regulate water levels at two privately owned peat fields. Greenhouse gas emissions and grass yields were measured three years in field plots with a raised water table (WT) and a control area at both study sites. The damming was able to raise the water level only 10–30 cm compared to the control areas. This moderate increase in the WT had no effect on photosynthesis, ecosystem respiration, yields, or farming practices. Methane (CH 4 ) emissions increased during the wettest periods in both treatments. Annual CH 4 emissions (on average 0.5–60.5 kg CH 4 ha − 1 a − 1 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions (on average 0.1–9.5 kg N 2 O ha − 1 a − 1 ) remained low and were unaffected by the moderate increase in the water level. In contrast, soil respiration decreased significantly during the growing seasons, resulting in total annual soil emissions that were 30–50% lower in the raised WT treatments than in the controls. Based on the investment and additional labour costs in the raised-WT areas, the abatement cost was €25 t CO 2 -eq. −1 on average at these sites. This study demonstrated that relatively low-cost ditch dams used to raise the WT in boreal peat fields drained by open ditches can provide cost-effective emission reductions while allowing continued food or feed production.
Institutions: Natural Resources Institute Finland, University of Lapland
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,490
OpenAlex ID: W7222809969