The case for paludiculture

This is the finding of a new study from Palus Demos, the €10m Horizon Europe large-scale paludiculture trial project, with farms in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The paper, Transitioning from Degraded Peat to Paludiculture: Evidence-Based Roadmap for Research and Practice, published recently in the journal, Land, is led by Lisa Jessen and Dr Florence Renou-Wilson of University College Dublin (UCD), with co authors from across the Palus Demos multistate consortium including Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, University of Galway and University of Amsterdam.

Dual solution

‘Paludiculture offers a dual solution for preserving soil carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions whilst offering a form of income for landowners/farmers,’ the authors conclude. ‘Despite paludiculture being in its infancy, it has demonstrated potential as a viable option for land managers to remain productive while maintaining important carbon, biodiversity and climate goals.’ This major academic review sets out a clear path to take paludiculture from small pilots to mainstream practice, calling for largescale, multiyear field trials, specialised lowimpact harvesting equipment and functioning markets.

Paludiculture 101

The authors find that most current evidence comes from short-term, small-scale sites, heavily concentrated in Germany and the Netherlands, making it hard to transfer results to other regions. The way forward, say the report’s authors, is now well-defined; long-term demonstrations that follow crops from planting through several harvests, alongside targeted investment in machinery for soft peat soils and coordinated market and supplychain development.
As part of the research, the team has produced a downloadable database of information sources relevant to paludiculture activities in temperate peatlands. “This database is a valuable starting point for anyone interested in paludiculture,” says Dr Renou-Wilson. “It provides the links to, and publication details of, all the published resources we found under the term ‘paludiculture’ and allied terms. The information is categorised under themes such as cultivation, climate, and crop species. It’s a novel, labour-saving resource that provides a ‘paludiculture 101’ guide for any researchers and practitioners investigating this important and growing field of study and practice.”

Demo sites

The €10m Horizon Europe Palus Demos project, led by the University of Galway, has large-scale demonstration sites in Offaly, Manchester, and the Netherlands. Researchers and practitioners across 26 partners are working together to run multiyear trials from establishment to repeated harvests, testing lowimpact harvesting approaches on peat, and codeveloping markets for paludiculture products with partners.
Palus Demos project coordinator Niall Ó Brolcháin from the University of Galway congratulated the team on this critical contribution to paludiculture research in Europe. “This research is the work of 26 partners across Europe, including soil and climate scientists, farming practitioners and conservation bodies. It’s timely synthesis of the published knowledge on paludiculture at a time when we are under pressure to find and implement creative climate solutions that offer sustainable incomes from working farms.”

Crop trials

Paludiculture crops in the trials include sphagnum moss as a growing medium for the horticulture sector, typha reed as biomass for the construction and textile sectors and food crops such as berries and vegetables. The Palus Demos project is tracking these crops from planting through several years of harvests, working with partners to adapt harvesting equipment for wet peat soils and developing market pathways for the biomass produced. The aim is to generate the realworld data, practical solutions and commercial models needed to move paludiculture beyond pilots. Other partners on the project include Peatland Finance Ireland, Forum Connemara and Growing Media Ireland.
‘Without large-scale, long-term demonstration sites that follow crops over multiple harvests, alongside targeted investment in machinery and market development, paludiculture will remain a niche option rather than a scalable climate and biodiversity solution’, the authors caution. ‘Further investigations into the viability of wet pastures for grazing is needed, especially for regions with a strong history of livestock farming where a transition to crop-based paludiculture may be unpopular. Ultimately the success of transitioning to wet agriculture on peat soils will hinge on the establishment of appropriate incentive frameworks that provide clear operational procedures that deliver sustainable outcomes, supporting long-term environmental benefits,' say the authors. Peatlands store one third of global soil carbon, more than the all the world’s forests combined. Wet peatlands play a critical role in water regulation, flood mitigation and wildfire prevention. When drained and converted to other land uses such as agriculture, peatlands can shift from carbon sinks to major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.