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Mitigating greenhouse gas fluxes from cultivated organic soils with raised water table

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  • Kristiina Regina
  • Jatta Sheehy
  • Merja Myllys

Abstract

Cultivated organic soils are a remarkable source of greenhouse gases (GHG) in many countries. Keeping the ground water table as high as possible could lower the mineralization rate of the peat and thus the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from these soils. We studied the effect of raised water table on the emissions of N 2 O, CO 2 and methane (CH 4 ) from undisturbed peat soil profiles of six different Finnish cultivated organic soils during a 5-week outdoor mesocosm experiment. The aim was to determine an optimum water table that would enable grass cultivation but lower the net gas balance of the soil. Raised water table decreased the GHG emissions from each peat type ranging from weakly decomposed Sphagnum peat to highly humified Carex peat. Based on the results, the optimum water table would be 30 cm below the soil surface. The average reduction of the total net emissions with a raise of water table from a typical drainage depth of 70 to 30 cm was 42 % in the outdoors mesocosm experiment and 23 % at a constant temperature (+6 °C). The emissions of both CO 2 and N 2 O declined and the net consumption of CH 4 changed to net production as the water table rose. The results were confirmed by long-term measurements at one of the sampled sites. As a conclusion, we see that promoting drainage systems enabling raising of the ground water table and cultivation of crops capable of producing good yields also in wet conditions would be beneficial for the GHG mitigation in agriculture. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Kristiina Regina & Jatta Sheehy & Merja Myllys, 2015. "Mitigating greenhouse gas fluxes from cultivated organic soils with raised water table," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(8), pages 1529-1544, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:20:y:2015:i:8:p:1529-1544
    DOI: 10.1007/s11027-014-9559-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laasasenaho, K. & Lauhanen, R. & Räsänen, A. & Palomäki, A. & Viholainen, I. & Markkanen, T. & Aalto, T. & Ojanen, P. & Minkkinen, K. & Jokelainen, L. & Lohila, A. & Siira, O.-P. & Marttila, H. & Päkk, 2023. "After-use of cutover peatland from the perspective of landowners: Future effects on the national greenhouse gas budget in Finland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Yuzhe Li & Jiangwen Fan & Zhongmin Hu, 2018. "Comparison of Carbon-Use Efficiency Among Different Land-Use Patterns of the Temperate Steppe in the Northern China Pastoral Farming Ecotone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.

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