Developing strategies to limit peatland soil organic carbon loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in boreal, temperate, and tropical regions of peatland and agricultural wetlands.
The Peatland Management Network is a network of the Croplands Research Group of the Global Research Alliance. The network promotes improved water management in conventional agriculture and innovative approaches in conservation-focused rewetting projects as well as productive use of wet peatlands (“paludiculture”) and peatland restoration, a research area that is not well covered elsewhere in the Croplands Research Group.
The Peatlands Management Network is expanding participation to other countries that have cultivated peatlands, such as the Baltic region and South East Asia as the Network should consider mitigation options for boreal systems and tropical peatlands.
Past activites:
- The network organised a workshop in March 2018 in Norway together with MYR and PeatWise –projects, where also local stakeholders and Northern European Research teams participated.
- The network organized an EGU session titled “Environment-friendly management of organic soils and paludiculture – from innovation to implementation” in April 2018
Areas of interest:
- Making the Network globally relevant and different from existing groups (e.g., FAO).
- Identifying where lands should be cultivated and the best management options to reduce emissions.
- Identifying what peatlands should/could be restored based on the policies and requirements for each country.
- Completing a stocktake and inventory –of fertilisation and drainage policies globally.
- Creating a database of sustainable fertiliser practices.
Upcoming activities of the Network include:
- Reviewing the main challenges facing cultivated peatlands in different regions
- Organizing EGU 2020 “Peatland Management” session (May 2020, Vienna, Austria)
- Organizing a session in Eurosoil 2020 (August 2020, Geneva, Switzerland)
- Initiate joint research project “Climate smart use of Norwegian organic soils”, funded by the Research Council of Norway
- Follow up on programme calls for potential joint project proposals
- Potentially organise a stakeholder workshop in SE Asia together with the Global Peatlands Initiative and two running research projects.