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

在英格兰，低地泥炭占地约960平方公里，储存着大量的碳。几乎所有的低地沼泽泥炭地都被排干了，以提供英国一些最肥沃的农业土壤。然而，排水已经导致泥炭的损失(在集约化农业下约为1厘米/年)和相关的高二氧化碳排放。直到最近，对低地泥炭地温室气体(GHG)通量的科学关注有限，但最近涉及几个监督者的研究突显了其规模，目前已知集约耕作的低地泥炭地是英国最大的陆基温室气体排放源(图1)。到目前为止，几乎还没有关于减少碳损失和温室气体排放同时改善土壤健康的农业管理选择的研究。该项目为研究实施更可持续的耕作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。更好地理解沼泽地农民可利用的战略，将为泥炭土上的替代农业管理战略与传统土地管理相比是否能够提供减排和其他共同好处提供重要的见解。这将提供数据，帮助为减少温室气体排放、改善生物多样性、自然保护区和生态系统二氧化碳吸收的景观规模可行性规划提供信息，这些规划是由CASE合作伙伴剑桥郡议会进行的，剑桥郡议会是Fens的主要农业土地所有者。

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.