Greenhouse Gas Removal by Accelerated Peat Formation
Lead Research Organisation:
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Department Name: Soils and Land Use (Bangor)
Abstract
Peatlands store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem, both in the UK and globally. As a result of human disturbance they are rapidly losing this carbon to the atmosphere, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
We propose to turn this problem into a solution, by re-establishing and augmenting the unique natural capacity of peatlands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and to store it securely for millennia. We will do this by working with natural processes to recreate, and where possible enhance, the environmental conditions that lead to peat formation, in both lowland and upland Britain. At the same time, we will optimise conditions to avoid emissions of methane and nitrous oxide that could offset the benefits of CO2 removal; develop innovative cropping and management systems to augment rates of CO2 uptake; evaluate whether we can further increase peat carbon accumulation through the formation and addition of biomass and biochar; and develop new economic models to support greenhouse gas removal by peatlands as part of profitable and sustainable farming and land management systems.
Implementation of these new approaches to the 2.3 million hectares of degraded upland and lowland peat in the UK has the potential to remove significant quantities of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, to secure carbon securely and permanently within a productive, biodiverse and self-sustaining ecosystem, and thereby to help the UK to achieve its ambition of having net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
We propose to turn this problem into a solution, by re-establishing and augmenting the unique natural capacity of peatlands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and to store it securely for millennia. We will do this by working with natural processes to recreate, and where possible enhance, the environmental conditions that lead to peat formation, in both lowland and upland Britain. At the same time, we will optimise conditions to avoid emissions of methane and nitrous oxide that could offset the benefits of CO2 removal; develop innovative cropping and management systems to augment rates of CO2 uptake; evaluate whether we can further increase peat carbon accumulation through the formation and addition of biomass and biochar; and develop new economic models to support greenhouse gas removal by peatlands as part of profitable and sustainable farming and land management systems.
Implementation of these new approaches to the 2.3 million hectares of degraded upland and lowland peat in the UK has the potential to remove significant quantities of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, to secure carbon securely and permanently within a productive, biodiverse and self-sustaining ecosystem, and thereby to help the UK to achieve its ambition of having net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Organisations
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (Lead Research Organisation)
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST (Collaboration)
- Polybell Farms Ltd (Collaboration)
- National Institute of Agricultural Botany (Project Partner)
- Natural England (Project Partner)
- Elan Valley Trust (Project Partner)
- Natural Resources Wales (Project Partner)
- The Climate Change Committe (Project Partner)
- IUCN UK Peatland Programme (Project Partner)
- National Trust (Project Partner)
- The Rivers Trust (Project Partner)
- Polybell Organic (Project Partner)
- North Pennines AONB Partnership (Project Partner)
- Wildlife Trusts (Project Partner)
- National Farmers Union (Project Partner)
- Broads Authority (Project Partner)
- Welsh Government (Project Partner)
- Terravesta (Project Partner)
- Office for National Statistics (Project Partner)
- Micropropagation Services EM Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
McGuire R
(2022)
Potential Co-benefits and trade-offs between improved soil management, climate change mitigation and agri-food productivity
in Food and Energy Security
| Description | Contributions to the Defra Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Ongoing, but task force recommendations are contributing to the development of government policy on future management of lowland agricultural peatlands, including GGR potential, via ELMS, changes in regulation, engagement with the farming community and the identification of infrastructure, water resource and regulatory needs to support environmentally and economically sustainable management. |
| Description | House of Lords Inquiry into Nature Based Solutions |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldsctech/147/14702.htm |
| Description | Support to develop governance frameworks for high-integrity ecosystem markets in the UK |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Minimum standards for soil carbon codes developed by members of our team are now confirmed with Defra and BSI as the basis for the first of a set of BSI standards for carbon codes, to be developed across services, land uses and habitats for the UK using our work as the blueprint, providing impact far beyond the creation of a soil carbon code as originally envisaged. These minimum standards will be used to regulate the operation of all carbon codes and other ecosystem markets in the UK. Version 2.0 of the Peatland Code, incorporating new habitats and land uses on the basis of evidence from our team was published in March 2023 and is now operational. |
| Description | Updated reporting of GHG emissions and removals for the UK Peatland Code |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The Peatland Code forms the primary UK mechanism to support private sector investment in peatland restoration, and subsequent generation of carbon credits. It is expected to underpin future investment via the Nature Impact Fund. To date, credits have only been generated based on emissions reductions, but the updated methodology has the potential to support investment in peatland restoration and management for greenhouse gas removal. If peat GGR can be successfully demonstrated, the updated Peatland Code offers a investment and reporting mechanism to support implementation at a UK scale, supporting UK Net Zero policies and generating wider public co-benefits by enabling greater investment in ecosystem restoration. |
| URL | https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/news/launch-peatland-code-version-20 |
| Description | BEIS Reverse Coal project |
| Organisation | Polybell Farms Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Phase 1 (completed): Assessment of biochar stability, nutrient retention and leaching risks in organic and mineral soils, to support of a BEIS-funded GGR project to evaluate the capacity of lowland agricultural peatlands and quarries to be used as secure biochar storage facilities. Phase 2 (provisionally funded): Continuation of above plus measurement of greenhouse gas fluxes from biochar production areas (short rotation coppice willow on wet peat) and storage facilities for monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon capture and storage. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project led by Pollybell and carried out at farm also hosting Lowland Demonstrator. Working with agri-tech and civil engineering partners including the University of Lincoln to develop an integrated system of carbon capture and avoided emissions on lowland peat, pyrolysis for biochar and energy production, and biochar storage. Integration of novel system with indoor farming operation and development of carbon finance. |
| Impact | Early results show elevated biochar stability under waterlogged conditions - relevant to both field application and for the creation of storage repositories. Outputs in progress. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Sample cores to 'Pollutants in Peatlands' project (PIPES) |
| Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project's Pennine's upland peat moor field-site is providing sample cores as a contribution and link with the 'Pollutants in Peatlands' project (PIPES) with Queens University, Belfast. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project's Pennine's upland peat moor field-site is providing sample cores as a contribution and link with the 'Pollutants in Peatlands' project (PIPES) with Queens University, Belfast. |
| Impact | Not yet available. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | 2nd International Conference on Negative CO2 Emissions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation "Greenhouse Gas Removal by Accelerated Peat Formation" at 2nd International Conference on Negative CO2 Emissions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Article in The Economist entitled "Some of Britain's best farmland is also its most carbon-emitting" featured one of our sites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article on the 9Nov2022 edition of The Economist entitled "Some of Britain's best farmland is also its most carbon-emitting" featured this project's Pollybell Farm demonstrator field-site and our work on monitoring GHG emissions and rewetting experiments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bezos Foundation. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | PI Chris Evans provided advice on peatland restoration and GGR potential, based on work being done in this project, to a US researcher reviewing global land-based climate mitigation options on behalf of the Bezos Foundation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Care-Peat EU project workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Project researcher Jenny Rhymes (UKCEH) was a speaker to the "Care-Peat" EU project workshop in March 2023 presenting the work being carried out at the project's Lowland demonstrator field-site. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Case study for final report of the Defra Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Initial activities from the project have fed into the final report of the Defra Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, which was due for publication in September 2022. This includes the use of our Lowland Demonstrator, Pollybell Farm, as a case study in the report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | ECR Net Zero Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | • Expert panel: "COP27 - Reflections and actions" ECR Net Zero Conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Farming Today Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PI Chris Evans was interviewed by Farming Today about a government paludiculture fund but discussion also covered some aspects of GGR and this project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Industry contacts and consultations (several) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A large commercial peat extractor in Ireland made contact with the team, based on information they received about this project to talk to us about peat restoration for GGR in Ireland. We are also in discussion with several businesses regarding investment in degraded peat land for mitigation of emissions and potential GGR. These engagements remain confidential at this stage, but may offer significant potential for extending trials and scaling up peatland GGR in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Low Carbon Agriculture Show 2022 (Stoneleigh), Panel Debate: Decarbonising Welsh Agriculture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Iain Donnison was a panel member for the Debate on "Decarbonising Welsh Agriculture" at the Low Carbon Agriculture show at NAEC, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The event involved Welsh Government, NFU-Cymru, industry and the third sector with Prof Donnison representing academia. There was an audience of several hundred primarily from industry and the initial presentation sparked questions and subsequent discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://lowcarbonagricultureshow.co.uk |
| Description | Meeting with Ceredigion Council leaders to discuss the role of agriculture in low carbon futures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussions on the scope for agricultural production to provide feedstock for the future bioeconomy at a local level, in order to safeguard livelihoods. Links to economic development and local growth deals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Newspaper article: Glossop Chronicle |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Glossop Chronicle newspaper article 18Feb22 "Trialling new methods to restore Glossop's peatland" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/glossop-chronicle/trialling-new-methods-to-restore-glossops... |
| Description | Paludiculture Workshop in Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a poster on the work being carried out at the project's lowland peat site at the Paludiculture Workshop held in Cambridge, January 2023 (Jenny Rhymes, UKCEH). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Panel Discussion on Bioscience for Net Zero |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Panel discussion on Bioscience for Net Zero with Aled Jones President, NFU Cymru; Ian Rickman, Deputy President FUW; Paul Billings Managing Director, Germinal GB; Prof Iain Donnison; and Harriet Trewin, BBSRC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/news/news-article/title-254918-en.html |
| Description | Presentation on measuring the carbon balance of the land surface to a RSPB Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presented on GGR-Peat project to Irish EPA peat workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presented on peatlands, water and GGR to the British Hydrological Society annual science meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presented on the GGR potential of peat restoration to the IUCN Peat Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Publication: "Vegetable production on lowland peat: Delivering food security, climate change mitigation and biodiversity" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | A thinkpiece titled "Vegetable production on lowland peat: Delivering food security, climate change mitigation and biodiversity" draws on the concept for GGR on lowland peat as explored by this Demonstrator project. The booklet aims to spread spark discussions around the topic of reducing GHG emissions and exploring opportunities for GGR across lowland peat landscapes. The piece was written for the WWF-Tesco partnership by Jenny Rhymes (UKCEH), PI Chris Evans (UKCEH) and Liz Stockdale (NIAB) and was shared amongst lowland peat stakeholders across the UK in November 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Sustainable Agriculture for the 21st Century through Interdisciplinary exploration in Wales |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Iain Donnison gave a keynote presentation jointly with Karin Metzlaff of EPSO on European collaboration on sustainable agriculture. Dr Metzlaff described the opportunities that exist for collaboration and Prof Donnison described case studies from IBERS participation in current and recently completed projects which included those on Miscanthus from the GRACE and OPTIMISC projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://sustainable-agriculture.b2match.io |
| Description | Talk at Welsh Government COP26 Roadshow: Nature-Based Solutions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation on "Greenhouse gas removal by peatlands" given to virtual event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UKCEH Net Zero stakeholder event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UKRI Net Zero event, Westminster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Visit of King Charles III to project partner |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project partner University of East London (UEL) hosted HRH King Charles III at a 125th year anniversary of the University's founding. UEL's Sustainability Research Institute hosted a research showcase event at which project Co-I Richard Lindsay spoke to HRH about peatland conversation and this GGR research project. Also attending the event where local dignitaries from Newham council who have had an increased awareness of the GHG mitigation potential of peatlands and nature-based systems as a result. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Welsh Government COP26 Roadshow, Nature Based Solutions session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Not recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |