Climate smart use of Norwegian organic soils

Peatlands store about one-third of the Earth's soil carbon. Unfortunately, when these peatlands are drained for cultivation, the carbon-rich peat is exposed to oxygen, leading to significant decomposition and the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The MYR project seeks to address this issue by exploring the potential of raising water levels in cultivated peatlands to mitigate GHG emissions. The project provides valuable insights, combining ground truth data and models to assist decision-making, focusing on supporting stakeholders in the development of sustainable policies for organic soils in Norway. Field measurements conducted in the Pasvik valley, northern Norway, include measurements of hydrology, GHG emissions, and biomass yield in a cultivated peatland site. Elevating water levels has proven to be an effective method for reducing GHG emissions while maintaining grass productivity. However, it's essential to note that a significant carbon loss occurs during grass harvesting, and the subsequent use of harvested grasses plays a crucial role in determining the overall GHG balance of the ecosystem. Modeling results further reinforce the potential for GHG reductions through raising water levels in cultivated peatlands. Notably, when applied to the entire country, our models suggest that current national reports may have substantially overestimated GHG emissions from cultivated peatlands in Norway. This underscores the urgent need to improve the methodology used for national GHG accounting. In conclusion, the MYR project offers valuable insights into sustainable practices for cultivated peatlands, emphasizing the importance of elevating water levels and improving national GHG accounting methodologies.

Our findings from both field experiments and modeling indicate that rewetting or partial water table elevation can effectively reduce GHG emissions from Norwegian cultivated peatlands. This evidence should be heeded in the development of policy-oriented measures for GHG mitigation aligned with Norway's 2030 climate goals. Simultaneously, policies should prioritize the development of agriculture and industries that can utilize rewetted peatlands, such as paludiculture. Additionally, our research suggests that great potential exists for GHG mitigation through the management of Arctic peatlands, warranting further research on land utilization in these regions. Furthermore, our results suggest that current GHG estimates for peatlands have been significantly overrestimated in the national emission report. Therefore, there is an urgent need to refine the accounting approach for peatlands to enhance our understanding of emission processes and sources across the country, enabling more precise and targeted GHG mitigation efforts.

MYR will investigate management practises of Norwegian organic soils, with a specific scope on how significant reductions in GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O) emissions can be achieved by 2030/2050. Specifically, we will investigate: 1) GHG savings from grasslands, which is the main land use of organic soils in Norway, with hydrological regulation (i.e. elevated water table). 2) The potential of plant species selection in mitigating GHG emissions and in sustaining food production under elevated water table. 3) GHG reductions and biodiversity impacts of restoration of abandoned organic soils. We will further provide tools to support decision making, specifically for Norway, based on ground truth (data collected from various organic soil systems) and yield models, exploiting newly generated experimental data, combined to a comprehensive simplified model with metamodeling approach, to help stakeholders with developing sustainable policies for organic soils. We aim at synthesizing the current knowledge on management practises from Norwegian and Northern European organic soils with regards to GHG emissions, food production and socio-economic aspects by integrating MYR with on-going Norwegian research projects on organic soils and with the ERA-GAS project (PeatWise) coordinated by NIBIO. In order to secure maximum national outreach, MYR is designed and will be executed in close collaboration with the NIBIO team reporting emissions to UNFCCC national inventory and the projects stakeholder board, which consists of representatives from Agricultural and Environmental Agencies, regional policy makers (Fylkesmannen) and farmers organizations.