Managing peat to sink carbon
This article originally appeared in Green Futures http://www.forumforthefuture.org/greenfutures/articles/managing_peat_sink_carbon, the magazine of independent sustainability experts Forum for the Future http://www.forumforthefuture.org.”
Land demands are putting pressure on peat. Can green farming schemes make preservation pay?
Imagine if scientists could devise a carbon sink twice as effective as the world’s forests. And imagine if this feat of engineering could double up as home to myriad plant and wildlife communities. There’d be hallelujahs, and Nobel prizes would surely follow.
As it happens, there’s no need for years of dedication and research to make the vision reality. It already exists, beneath our feet, in the form of the world’s peatlands.
But serious damage through drainage, burning, cultivation and extraction, could turn these bulwarks from friend to foe. It is estimated that two billion tonnes of CO2 – or 5% of global carbon emissions – is lost to the atmosphere every year from degraded peatlands. And with three billion tonnes locked away in the UK’s peat bogs alone, further destruction could deal a catastrophic blow to the climate.
A significant report by Natural England, the Government’s independent adviser on the environment, found that 96% of deep peat in England has already been exposed to some degradation. According to the latest mapping information the main drivers behind the damage include: drainage for crops, livestock and forestry; moorland burning; extraction for garden compost, and air pollution.
As writer and ecologist Jeremy Purseglove once said, “Our destruction of places like Hatfield Chase [a rare swathe of low-lying peatland in Yorkshire] for horticultural peat is the ecological equivalent of knocking down a cathedral and using the dust to line the garden path”.
Peat restoration schemes, such as the Moors for the Future Partnership, are helping to reverse the trend. Supported by the Peak District National Park Authority, Natural England, the National Trust and others, it uses fast growing nurse crops such as grasses and heather to stabilise peat for up to ten years. This buys time for natural vegetation to re-establish itself.
But perhaps the best hopes lie in financial incentives for farmers to protect and enhance their land. Schemes like Natural England’s Uplands Entry Level Stewardship – launched in February 2010 – and Higher Level Stewardship offer rewards for land management practices that reduce the loss of peat to soil erosion, water run-off and wildfires. By signing up for five to ten year land management programmes, farmers can earn up to £62 per hectare per year.
Such schemes now cover two thirds of England’s farmland and demonstrate that it is possible to combine food production with the delivery of a wide range of vital land services – including healthy peatlands, clean water and flood-alleviating wetlands. They will come into sharper focus over the next two years as EU member states decide how the Common Agricultural Policy should be shaped. The outcome could have significant implications for peatlands and their role in our response to climate change.
What are your views? Not sure? Read more articles like this one on our environment page. Add your comment below. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Not a Planetary Citizen? Sign up to Our Future Planet now!
Robin Tucker, Executive Director of National Delivery, Natural England
Thank you to Green Futures , the magazine of independent sustainability experts Forum for the Future for allowing us to publish this article.
