Drained peatlands account for only 0.3% of the global land area. At the same time, drained peatlands are the source of a disproportional 6% of total anthropogenic CO₂-emissions; a problem that needs to be addressed. The ‘hotspots’ are well known: Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, parts of the United States and Northeast China. The solution is obvious: Restore high water levels in peatlands. But many questions remain.

How does rewetting affect greenhouse gas fluxes? What about methane? Are the emissions measurable, reportable and verifiable? Are emission reductions from peatland rewetting creditable towards Kyoto Protocol commitments? Can they be sold on the voluntary carbon market? How does rewetting influence biodiversity? And, may rewetted peatlands still be used productively?

Belarus ranks 8th among the world's countries in terms of peatland CO₂ emissions and occupies 3rd place in CO₂-emissions per unit land area. In recent years, tens of thousands of hectares of drained peatlands in Belarus have been rewetted.

This volume provides a synthesis of the challenges encountered and solutions adopted in a pilot project conducted in Belarus between 2008 and 2011. It presents data and conclusions from the project and relates basic principles to advanced applications, integrating science and politics, ecology and economy. The experiences and recommendations for peatland restoration set forth in this volume will inspire practitioners, land-use planners, scientists and politicians alike.

A russian language edition of this book is also available.

La Biélorussie est classée au 8e rang parmi les pays du monde en termes d'émission de CO2 par les tourbières, en raison des dizaines de milliers d'hectares de tourbières drainées qui ont été remises en eau. Cet ouvrage est consacré aux effets de la remise en eau des tourbières sur les émissions de CO2. Les auteurs s’interrogent sur le lien entre remise en eau et gaz à effet de serre, et son influence sur la biodiversité. Après avoir dressé un état des lieux des tourbières biélorusses, ils présentent les tenants et les aboutissants du projet pilote mené dans le pays entre 2008 et 2011. Ils proposent également des exemples d’expériences menées et des recommandations pour la restauration des tourbières.

Tourbières Infos N° 43

Emissions from drained peatlands contribute significantly to global warming. In the last century, there was large-scale drainage of peatlands for land reclamation in most countries. These areas were used for agricultural and forestry purposes and partly for peat extraction. However, the environmental impact caused by draining and land use change was either not known or neglected. Especially in the last two decades we have observed globally increasing awareness of global change issues and, through research, increased our knowledge of land use induced emissions. Society debates on methods to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

While peatlands cover only 3% of the land surface, they are responsible for 6% of the global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Peatlands in Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe are amongst the well known hot spots. It is also well known that rewetting of drained peatlands reduces the emissions. The topic of the book “Carbon Credits From Peatland Rewetting” is how to put this good idea into practice.

This book presents the results of an implementation project entitled “Restoring peatlands and applying concepts for sustainable management in Belarus – climate change mitigation with economic and biodiversity benefits” — a large-scale nationwide experiment in peatland rewetting. The goal of the project was to test – with the help of the project partners – whether it is possible to rewet Belarusian peatlands and achieve economic and ecological benefits from this activity.

The book is written for scientists and decision makers, as well as for climate change politicians and peatland site managers. There are ten chapters. The introduction and foreword elucidate the societal relevance of peatland rewetting as a mitigation activity in climate change policy. Chapter 2 describes the situation of peatlands in Belarus. With 14.2% of the state area occupied by peatlands, Belarus belongs to the sub-set of countries that are very rich in peatland. These areas were used for agriculture over long time spans and were to a large extent systematically drained in the period 1960 – 1970s. Key terms (e.g. mire, peatland) and other important concepts are explained in separate text boxes and enable the reader not only to use each chapter as a reference for its specific topic, but also to use the whole book as a textbook on peatland ecology and management.

Chapter 3 deals with peatlands and climate. First, the carbon cycle and the processes for gas formation are explained. The factors controlling gas formation and exchange with the atmosphere are discussed. Here, as in all other parts of the book, the scientific knowledge presented is always up-to-date and knowledge gaps are identified. The methods for measuring gas emissions in peatlands are introduced. The text box explaining how to calculate the global warming potential of a peatland site is especially valuable for students and scientists who want to carry out similar calculations for other sites. But this box also addresses decision makers and politicians, who can learn from it that the calculations behind the global warming potential data are transparent and reliable.

For calculations of the global warming potential of a site or of the peatlands within large regions, proxies which are related with the factors controlling gas formation are needed. The vegetation is such a proxy because vegetation forms integrate, within their species composition, the site conditions and especially water levels. For many vegetation forms, gas emission measurements are available from the literature.

The GEST (Greenhouse Gas Emission Site Type) approach connects the available emission data with vegetation forms and makes them available for calculations of the global warming potential of sites where no measurements are available. Using ecological knowledge on vegetation succession with or without rewetting, it is possible to predict the development of global warming potential for sites over a longer time span. The effect of a rewetting measure on the reduction of global warming potential can be quantified.

Chapter 4 discusses the biodiversity values of Belarusian peatlands. The Aquatic warbler is introduced as an umbrella species for biodiversity targets in peatland restoration. 47.9% of the European breeding pairs are estimated to breed in Belarus. An up-to-date review summarizes current knowledge and data on peatland rewetting and its effect on biodiversity. From this review, monitoring strategies are developed for an assessment of restoration measures on flora and fauna. This part of the book is very valuable for site managers who want to know and measure the effects of their activities.

Chapter 5 is entitled Driving forces and funding options. Behind these mysterious words the reader gets information on legal obligations for peatland restoration in Belarus and is informed from first-hand about activities carried out in order to sensitise global conventions to climate change mitigation in peatlands. This part describes the long and winding road taken to get peatlands better recognized in global conventions and restoration activities included as regular measures in the protocols. One option is to sell peatland rewetting, on either the voluntary or the compliance carbon market; both options are discussed in detail. How these ideas were put into practice with voluntary emission reduction projects is presented at the end of this chapter.

Chapter 6 discusses land use options for rewetted peatlands. Paludiculture is introduced as an economically feasible land use for peatlands with high water level. Land use options include agricultural, industrial and energy uses. Using wet peatlands has many environmental benefits including lower global warming potential and higher biodiversity when compared with drained peat soils.

Chapter 7 introduces the partners involved in this research and implementation project, and presents the criteria for site selection for rewetting. Next to climate and biodiversity actions policy actions, capacity building and communication and awareness raising were important parts of the project. The lessons learnt during the project are summarized at the end of the chapter and are of interest for any peatland manager or decision maker.

Chapter 8 describes the practical rewetting examples carried out during the project at seven sites. Chapter 9 recommends further research and monitoring activities in rewetted peatlands. Gaps in the GEST model are identified. For some vegetation types (e.g. some abandoned fields and fallows) no emission data are available for many other calibration measurements. The recommended monitoring activities are easily transferable to other sites and make this part again also very helpful for other peatland managers.

Chapter 10 acknowledges the partners and authors who contributed to this successful project and publication.

This book is an excellent example how to combine basic and applied research in environmental science with decision making and policy. The results are all presented in clear language, calculations and methods are transparent. This book forms a basis for sustainable decision-making and policy. Schweizerbart Science publishers are especially acknowledged that they have published English and Russian editions at the same time.

Michael Trepel

PEATLANDS International 2/2011, p. 60-61