TY - BOOK

T1 - Final report on project SP1210: Lowland peatland systems in England and Wales – evaluating greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon balances

AU - Evans, Chris

AU - Morrison, Ross

AU - Burden, Annette

AU - Williamson, Jenny

AU - Baird, Andrew

AU - Brown, Emma

AU - Callahan, Nathan

AU - Chapman, Pippa

AU - Cumming, Alex

AU - Dean, Hannah

AU - Dixon, Simon

AU - Dooling, Gemma

AU - Evans, Jonathan

AU - Gauci, Vincent

AU - Grayson, Richard

AU - Haddaway, Neal

AU - He, Yufeng

AU - Heppell, Kate

AU - Holden, Joseph

AU - Hughes, Steve

AU - Kaduk, Joerg

AU - Jones, Davey L.

AU - Matthews, Rachel

AU - Menichino, Nina

AU - Misselbrook, Tom

AU - Page, Sue

AU - Pan, Gong

AU - Peacock, Michael

AU - Rayment, Mark

AU - Ridley, Luke

AU - Robinson, Inma

AU - Rylett, Dan

AU - Scowen, Matthew

AU - Stanley, Kieran

AU - Worrall, Fred

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Lowland peatlands represent one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the UK. As a result of widespread habitat modification and drainage to support agriculture and peat extraction, they have been converted from natural carbon sinks into major carbon sources, and are now amongst the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the UK land-use sector. Despite this, they have previously received relatively little policy attention, and measures to reduce GHG emissions either through re-wetting and restoration or improved management of agricultural land remain at a relatively early stage. In part, this has stemmed from a lack of reliable measurements on the carbon and GHG balance of UK lowland peatlands. This project aimed to address this evidence gap via an unprecedented programme of consistent, multi year field measurements at a total of 15 lowland peatland sites in England and Wales, ranging from conservation managed ‘near-natural’ ecosystems to intensively managed agricultural and extraction sites. The use of standardised measurement and data analysis protocols allowed the magnitude of GHG emissions and removals by peatlands to be quantified across this heterogeneous data set, and for controlling factors to be identified. The network of seven flux towers established during the project is believed to be unique on peatlands globally, and has provided new insights into the processes the control GHG fluxes in lowland peatlands. The work undertaken is intended to support the future development and implementation of agricultural management and restoration measures aimed at reducing the contribution of these important ecosystems to UK GHG emissions.

AB - Lowland peatlands represent one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the UK. As a result of widespread habitat modification and drainage to support agriculture and peat extraction, they have been converted from natural carbon sinks into major carbon sources, and are now amongst the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the UK land-use sector. Despite this, they have previously received relatively little policy attention, and measures to reduce GHG emissions either through re-wetting and restoration or improved management of agricultural land remain at a relatively early stage. In part, this has stemmed from a lack of reliable measurements on the carbon and GHG balance of UK lowland peatlands. This project aimed to address this evidence gap via an unprecedented programme of consistent, multi year field measurements at a total of 15 lowland peatland sites in England and Wales, ranging from conservation managed ‘near-natural’ ecosystems to intensively managed agricultural and extraction sites. The use of standardised measurement and data analysis protocols allowed the magnitude of GHG emissions and removals by peatlands to be quantified across this heterogeneous data set, and for controlling factors to be identified. The network of seven flux towers established during the project is believed to be unique on peatlands globally, and has provided new insights into the processes the control GHG fluxes in lowland peatlands. The work undertaken is intended to support the future development and implementation of agricultural management and restoration measures aimed at reducing the contribution of these important ecosystems to UK GHG emissions.

M3 - Commissioned report

BT - Final report on project SP1210: Lowland peatland systems in England and Wales – evaluating greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon balances

PB - Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

ER -