Fens Peatland Resilience: GIS Mapping for Climate-Positive Farms
By The Soil Association Videos
TL;DR: Rewetting peatlands using GIS mapping and specific cultivation techniques dramatically cuts emissions and subsidence, boosting biodiversity and farm profits.
- GIS maps identify peatland rewetting and paludiculture opportunities.
- Bunds raise water levels, cutting subsidence and CO2 emissions.
- Wet crops like sphagnum moss and reeds offer new revenue streams.
- Agroforestry with alder fixes nitrogen and provides fodder/mulch.
- Rotational grazing maintains diversity and supports pollinators.
- Carbon credits and ecotourism mitigate initial yield dips.
Why it matters: Restoring peatlands offers a powerful nature-based solution to climate change, transforming degraded agricultural land into carbon sinks and productive ecosystems.
Do this next: Conduct a hydrological audit of your land to understand its peatland restoration potential.
Recommended for: Farmers and land managers in peatland regions looking for strategies to enhance ecological services and create new income opportunities.
The 'Farming the Fens: Resilient Peatland Systems' webinar presents expert mapping methods for achieving climate-positive lowland peat regeneration through landscape-scale opportunity analysis, tailored for regenerative agriculture in peat-heavy regions like the UK Fens. Key techniques involve GIS-based opportunity mapping: overlay satellite imagery, soil cores (0-30 cm depth), and elevation data to classify peatlands into categories like 'rewetting priority' (high carbon stocks >50 cm deep), 'paludiculture suitable' (shallow peat with water tables >30 cm), and 'transition zones' for grazing. Specific practices include raised water levels via bunding (0.5-1m high earth banks every 50-100m) to rewet drained peat, reducing subsidence by 80% and CO2 emissions by 90% while enabling wet crops like sphagnum moss (yields 5-10 t/ha dry matter) or reeds for bioenergy. Resilient systems integrate agroforestry with alder (Alnus glutinosa) at 400-600 trees/ha, pruned biannually for fodder/mulch, fixing 100-200 kg N/ha/year. Rotational grazing with sheep or cattle at low densities (2-4 LU/ha) maintains sward diversity, with herb-rich pastures including betony and devil's-bit scabious for pollinators. Monitoring protocols use eddy covariance towers for GHG fluxes, chamber measurements for methane, and annual peat depth probes. Case studies from Fenland farms show outcomes: one 150-ha site rewetted 40% peat, sequestering 5 t CO2e/ha/year, with sheep grazing yielding £250/ha net profit; another transitioned to paludiculture, harvesting reeds for thatching (£400/t) while restoring biodiversity (bird species up 300%). Practical implementation steps: conduct hydrological audits, apply for grants like ELMS, install automated water control structures, and baseline biodiversity via pitfall traps. Challenges like initial yield dips are mitigated by diversification into ecotourism and carbon credits (£20-50/t CO2e). The webinar provides templates, toolkits, and scalability for permaculture-inspired self-sufficiency on marginal lands.