Mitigation of peat extraction impacts by a new peat harvesting method protecting the peatland stored solid carbon

用于生产园艺基质的泥炭提取在加拿大是一个成熟的工业。然而,

Peat extraction for the production of horticultural substrates is a well-established industry in Canada. However, the current method used for peat extraction depletes the long-term stored carbon (C) contributing to climate change, having a negative impact on the social acceptability of using peat in gardening and horticulture. Premier Tech Horticulture, a world leader in peat production and distribution, understands that C emissions must be significantly reduced or halted. With that aim, Premier Tech Horticulture has pioneered a novel harvesting method, named the "acrotelm-harvesting method". Because the new peat cutting method does not require any draining of the peatlands and only harvests the top subsurface of the peat (~ 10 cm) leaving the surface vegetation intact; we suppose that the long-term stored peat will remain intact (objective 1). Moreover, recent research suggests that this harvesting method could be optimized by reducing peat decomposition by strengthening the mechanism of 'enzymic latch'. Objective 2 will test the effect of phenolic compound additions to slow down decomposition within a large-scale field experiment. Additionally, the potential of this new harvesting method to maintain flora and fauna habitats will be assessed (objective 3), as it aims to harvest peat biomass on a cyclical, sustainable, and optimized manner. If the new peat harvesting method proves to be successful in protecting the long-term storage of C from peatland, at least three very positive outcomes will emerge for the whole peat industry: 1) a significant reduction in C emissions mitigating climate change, 2) the achievement of social acceptability for peat use (consumers), and 3) the creation of new jobs and opportunities to sell specialized harvesting equipment in Canada and globally.