Peat Pals for LIFE

Peatlands play a significant role in biodiversity conservation as they provide a unique habitat for a wide range of natural diversity, both at the genetic and the species levels, and offer distinctive diversity at the ecosystem and landscape scales. Moreover, wet, and rewetted peatlands provide numerous other ecosystem services to society.  

Although they globally cover only 3% of the land surface, peatlands contain 500 Gt of carbon – twice as much as all the biomass of the world’s forests. When subjected to desiccation and drainage, peat decays and releases large amounts of CO2.  

In fact, while drained peatlands cover only 0.3 % of the world’s land surface, they cause disproportionally high CO2 emissions. They are responsible for nearly 5 % of the world’s anthropogenic CO2 emissions, some2 Gt of CO2 per year. Therefore, peatlands are considered one of the most important natural ecosystems in the world, because of their key value for biodiversity, climate regulation and human wellbeing. 

Both the Netherlands and Belgium have interesting peatland areas with real potential for restoration. In the Netherlands, the focus is on raised bogs. Dutch raised bogs used to cover an area of about one million hectares (ha) before exploitation started. Due to human activities, the total area declined dramatically in the past centuries to 180 000 ha in 1600 and 90 000 ha in 1900. Currently, less than 1 % - that is approximately 8 000 to 10.000 ha of the former area of raised bog remains. Only a few dozen hectares remain active. In Flanders, the focus is mostly on lowland peat bogs. Before large-scale drainage, Belgium had 70 000 ha of peatlands. In 2002, it was estimated that only 16 300 ha remained which corresponds to a loss of 77 %. Traditionally, peatlands have been drained for conversion to agriculture and forestry, resulting in biodiversity loss and large-scale carbon emissions.  

Both the Fochteloërveen and the peatlands in Flanders suffer from the adverse impacts of  drainage, unnatural hydrology, and poor water management. The fragmentation of habitats and loss of species, the effects of climate change, nitrogen deposition, and a lack of knowledge sharing represent further problems. Integrated approaches and the replication of positive results and nature-based solutions are not yet mainstream. 

As a part of an Interreg NEW project and a LIFE climate project (Multi Peat, LIFE20 CCM/DE/001802), the beneficiaries have gained insight into the GHG dynamics of peatlands under restoration. These and similar projects will strengthen cross-country learnings and help mainstream restoration initiatives as a potential climate mitigation method.  

Over the course of the project, GHG emissions will be monitored to evaluate and improve the knowledge of the climate regulation  potential of peatlands. Moreover, with this LIFE-project, beneficiaries will expand their existing understanding  of the conservation and restoration of peatlands and will target governance and cooperation between different Member States working to restore degraded land. 

The project objectives are: 

To improve the conservation status of peatlands to build more resilient ecosystems to offset the effects of climate change and nitrogen deposition, in the Fochteloërveen,the Netherlands, and in the Abeek Valley, Dommel Vallei, and Veewei, in Flanders, Belgium; 

To improve the hydrological condition of peatland in both Flanders and the Netherlands; 

To promote cross-border protection and restoration of peatlands to ensure an ecologically functioning Natura 2000 for the target habitats and species, all of them severely threatened and deteriorated;  

To demonstrate how restoration in quality, function, and connectivity of five important peatland habitats (7110*, 7120, 7140, 6410 and 3150) can be scaled up in regions with severe biodiversity and habitat loss, to realise opportunities for substantial habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystem services gains, which in turn have social and economic benefits; 

To demonstrate the clear added-value of the restoration of peatlands as a very effective nature-based solution for tackling climate change and learn from the impact of peatland restoration in GHG storage; 

To replicate peatland restoration techniques and approaches, experiences and lessons learned in at least two other similar peatland sites. 

The main expected results are to improve the hydrological condition of 260 ha of peatland in the Netherlands, in such a way that it supports the growth of bog-forming peat mosses resulting in the regeneration of raised bogs (7110*, 7120), and for the restoration of 56 ha of three important peatland habitats in Flanders (7140, 6410 and 3150). 

The anticipated results for Fochteloërveen (NL9801007) are: 

By restoring the hydrological system, concrete restoration actions and habitat improvement, attain a favourable conservation status of: 

Active raised bogs (7110*): increased size in the project area of four ha in the short-term (5-10 years), 20 ha in the medium-term (10-15 years), and 100 ha in the long-term (over15 years – by transforming degraded raised bogs into active ones (NL); 

Degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration: improve the performance on 240 ha (NL); 

Transition mires with small sedge communities and quacking bogs (7140, 34 ha) (BE);  

Molinion caerulea meadows on peat soils (6410, 18 ha) (BE); 

Species rich magnopotamion and hydrocharition-type vegetations in peat pits (3150, 4 ha) (BE); 

A robust series of dams (9,7 km) in the project area which keeps the hydrological situation safe for the coming centuries and which will enable the active raised bog to develop into a resilient ecosystem, able to adapt to climate change and nitrogen deposition. After constructing the dams and setting the weir levels, the target water levels will be established within 0.5 to1.5 years. In the long-term the water levels could be gradually raised as peat development advances (NL); 

A rise in water level of an average of 24 cm, varying between 15 to 48 cm at the end of the project and for 3/5 year after the end of the project in the Dutch site and of an average of 20 cm at the end of the project and 3/5 year after project end in the Flemish project sites; 

An optimal and sustainable habitat for species like the Large Heath (coenonympha tulia), Yellow-spotted Whiteface (H1042, leucorrhinia pectoralis), Northern Emerald (somatochlora arctica), Bog Hawker (aeshna subarctica) and Crescent Bluet (coenagrion lunulatum) and a suitable breeding habitat for the Whinchat (A275, saxicola rubetra) and Common Crane (A127, grus grus) in Fochteloërveen; 

Quality breeding habitat for associated species with a poor conservation record, of which the most important are the great crested newt (H1166 triturus cristatus), the tree frog (hyla arborea), the common spadefoot (pelobates fuscus), the pool frog (pelophylax lessonae), the bluethroat (A272 Luscinia svecica) and the common crane (A127 grus grus) in the Flemish parts of the project; 

Reduction in CO2 emissions during the project period and, in the long-term, CO2 sequestration, by increasing or reinstating peat growth and the reduction of peat decay, as well as an understanding of the impacts of restoration activities by measuring carbon and GHG dynamics.  

Following previous studies, the emissions baseline value for Fochteloërveen is set at 6,6 ton CO2-eq/ha, which means a total of 1716 ton CO2-eq per year in that project area. The project aims to reach 910 ton CO2-eq per year (3,5 ton CO2-eq/ha) by the end of the project and 600 CO2-eq per year 3/5 years after the project ends. 

In the Flemish sites, the emissions baseline value is 900 ton CO2-eq per year. LIFE Peat Pals will reach 300 ton CO2-eq per year by the end of the project, and 200 ton CO2-eq per year 3/5 years after the project ends.