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

沼泽农业期货：有机土壤可持续农业的优点和缺点

• 批准号: 2902598
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Leicester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2902598
• 关键词: Fen; Farming; Futures; Benefits; drawbacks

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.

在英格兰，低地泥炭占地约960平方公里，储存了大量的碳。几乎所有的低地沼泽泥炭地都被排干，提供了英国一些最肥沃的农业土壤。然而，排水导致泥炭流失（在集约化农业下，流失率约为1厘米/年）和相关的高二氧化碳排放。直到最近，科学界对低地泥炭地的温室气体（GHG）通量的关注有限，但最近涉及几位监管人员的研究强调了其规模，目前已知密集养殖的低地泥炭地是英国最大的陆基GHG排放源（图1）。到目前为止，几乎没有研究已经进行了农业管理方案，以减少碳损失和温室气体排放，同时也改善土壤健康。该项目为研究实施更可持续的农业管理做法对土壤和气候安全的影响提供了一个独特的机会。更好地了解可供fenland农民的战略将提供重要的见解，以替代农业管理策略，泥炭土是否可以提供减排和其他共同利益，相比，传统的土地管理。这将提供数据，有助于为减少温室气体排放、改善生物多样性、自然保护区和CASE合作伙伴剑桥郡理事会的生态系统CO2吸收量提供信息，剑桥郡理事会是沼泽地的主要农业土地所有者。