Overriding water table control on managed peatland greenhouse gas emissions - Nature.com

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Abstract

Global peatlands store more carbon than is naturally present in the atmosphere^1,2. However, many peatlands are under pressure from drainage-based agriculture, plantation development and fire, with the equivalent of around 3% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases emitted from drained peatland^3–5. Efforts to curb such emissions are intensifying through the conservation of undrained peatlands and rewetting of drained systems⁶. Here we report CO₂ eddy covariance data from 16 locations and CH₄ data from 41 locations in the British Isles, and combine them with published data from sites across all major peatland biomes. We find that the mean annual effective water-table depth (WTD_e; that is, the average depth of the aerated peat layer) overrides all other ecosystem- and management-related controls on greenhouse gas fluxes. We estimate that every 10 cm of reduction in WTD_e could reduce the net warming impact of CO₂ and CH₄ emissions (100-year Global Warming Potentials) by at least 3 t CO₂e ha^-1 yr^-1, until WTD_e is < 30 cm. Raising water levels further would continue to have a net cooling effect until WTD_e is < 10 cm. Our results suggest that greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands drained for agriculture could be greatly reduced without necessarily halting their productive use. Halving WTD_e in all drained agricultural peatlands, for example, could reduce emissions by the equivalent of over 1% of global anthropogenic emissions.

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Author information

Affiliations

1. UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, UK

   C. D. Evans, A. Burden, N. Callaghan, E. Craig & J. L. Williamson

2. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

   C. D. Evans & M. Peacock

3. School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

   A. J. Baird, P. J. Chapman, R. P. Grayson & J. Holden

4. The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, UK

   R. R. E. Artz & M. Coyle

5. UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK

   H. M. Cooper, A. Cumming & R. Morrison

6. UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Penicuik, Edinburgh, UK

   M. Coyle, C. Helfter & P. Levy

7. School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK

   E. Craig, D. L. Jones, M. Rayment & L. M. Ridley

8. SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia

   D. L. Jones

9. Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK

   S. Dixon & F. Worrall

10. School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    V. Gauci

11. School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    C. M. Heppell

12. School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    J. Kaduk & S. Page

13. Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, UK

    R. Matthews & T. Misselbrook

14. UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster, UK

    N. P. McNamara & S. Oakley

15. Institut für Atmosphäre und Umwelt, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    K. M. Stanley

Authors

1. C. D. Evans
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2. M. Peacock
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3. A. J. Baird
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4. R. R. E. Artz
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5. A. Burden
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6. N. Callaghan
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7. P. J. Chapman
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8. H. M. Cooper
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9. M. Coyle
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10. E. Craig
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11. A. Cumming
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12. S. Dixon
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13. V. Gauci
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14. R. P. Grayson
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15. C. Helfter
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16. C. M. Heppell
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17. J. Holden
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18. D. L. Jones
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19. J. Kaduk
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20. P. Levy
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21. R. Matthews
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22. N. P. McNamara
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23. T. Misselbrook
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24. S. Oakley
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25. S. Page
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26. M. Rayment
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27. L. M. Ridley
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28. K. M. Stanley
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29. J. L. Williamson
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30. F. Worrall
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31. R. Morrison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. D. Evans.

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Evans, C.D., Peacock, M., Baird, A.J. et al. Overriding water table control on managed peatland greenhouse gas emissions. Nature (2021). https://ift.tt/3apaofR

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• Received: 06 November 2020

• Accepted: 08 April 2021

• Published: 21 April 2021

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03523-1

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