Fen Farming Futures: Benefits and drawbacks of sustainable farming on organic soils

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In England, lowland peat occupies around 960 km2 and stores large amounts of carbon. Nearly all lowland fen peatland has been drained to provide some of the most fertile agricultural soils in the UK. However, drainage has resulted in loss of peat (with rates of ~1 cm/yr under intensive agriculture) and associated high CO2 emissions. Until recently, there had been limited scientific focus on the greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from lowland peatlands, but recent studies involving several of the supervisors have highlighted their scale, with intensively farmed lowland peatlands now known to be the largest land-based source of GHG emissions in the UK (Figure 1). To date, almost no research has been undertaken on agricultural management options to reduce C loss and GHG emissions whilst also improving soil health. This project provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of implementing more sustainable farming management practices on soil and climate security. An improved understanding of the strategies available for fenland farmers will provide important insights as to whether alternative agricultural management strategies on peat soils can provide emissions mitigation and other co-benefits, in comparison to conventional land management. This will provide data which will help inform landscape-scale feasibility planning for reduced GHG emissions, improved biodiversity, natural reserves, and ecosystem CO2 uptake by the CASE partner, Cambridgeshire County Council who are a major agricultural land-owner in the Fens.