Paludiculture on marginal lands – sustainable use of wet peatlands

Claudia Oehmke, Tobias Dahms, Sabine Wichmann & Wendelin Wichtmann

Worldwide, undrained peatlands (>3 million km²) presently sequester up to 100 Megaton of carbon per year

Denmark

Peatlands in the world…

peatland degradation on 65 million ha - a source of app. 5% of the total anthropogenic CO2

Dry arable land cultivation is worldwide applied to wet,

organic soils…

Greta Gaudig Germany

… with African desert plants on drained peat: Aloe vera…

Bostang Radjagukguk Kalimantan

Germany

… or semi-arid Maize on drained peat…

… or with oil palm on drained peat…

Malaysia

…peatland use that often does not even allow harvest…

Jilin, China

… a land use that has desertified millions of hectares…

Ukraine

…and in continental areas creates soils like made of stone…

Ukraine

Peatland drainage causes even greater problems: subsidence!

1939

2013

UK: 4 meters since 1870

Peatland management and GHG emissions

Couwenberg et al. (unpubl.)

-40

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Mean annual water table (cm)

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Mean annual water table (cm)

Drainage based

peatland utilization

Low intensity

utilization of peatlands

Paludiculture

Peatland management and GHG emissions

Couwenberg et al. (unpubl.)

Rewetting reduces the emissions very effectively

Rewetted polders in the Peene river valley, Germany

Paludiculture

• Cultivation of biomass on wet and rewetted peatlands

bogs – sphagnum farming

fens - Common Reed, Reed Canary Grass, Sedges, Alder, Cattail...

• Utilisation of biomass for industry and energy

*„palus“ – lat.: swamp

Sphagnum farming for growing substrates

photos: University of Greifswald

Sphagnum: test field in Hankhausen (D) Productivity: 3 – 8 t (d.b.)/ha*a Emissions: up to 5 t CO2 – Äqu. / ha*a

Cattail as insulation

Common Reed for Roof Thatch

Mobile Pellet Mill

Biomass Pellets

Mobile Pelletpresse

Common Reed 10,5 t

Sedges 9 t + Reed Canary Grass 3 t

total 22,5 t

Biomass Pellets

Biomass harvest in summer

Hey for Combustion

Area potential

Hey for Combustion

Sustainable heat generation

Hey for Combustion

• current agricultural legislation:

the receipt of direct payments (CAP, First Pillar) and funding for rural development (CAP, Second Pillar) is common practice for drained petlands but seems impossible for reed and cattail dominated paludicultures (winter harvest).

• the establishment of permanent paludicultures on permanent grassland can be hampered by the rules protecting permanent grassland

The main hindering factors for large scale rewetting and paludiculture

– introduce at least an equal treatment of paludiculture compared to drainage based peatland agriculture regarding CAP payments,

– generally allow conversion from EU protected permanent grassland on organic soils to reed or cattail dominated paludiculture.

To make it happen:

`peatland rich’ countries must request constructive solutions for paludiculture on EU level

EU should arrange regulations that it is possible to

RRR 2017 conference http://www.paludiculture.uni-greifswald.de/en/projekte/rrr2017/

1 ha Common Reed = 3000 l Heat oil

Vielen Dank!

Reed production Preparation of transport and unloading at the peatland site

Planting of reed by machine

After 2 years

Mobile Pelletpresse

Common Reed 10,5 t

Sedges 9 t + Reed Canary Grass 3 t

total 22,5 t

Biomass pellets

DIN EN 17225-6

Common Reed Sedges

Reed Canary Grass Pine pellets

ash content % ≤5 2.1 5.0 2.8 0.5

mechanical durability

% ≥97.5 93.5 99.1 91.7 97.5

net calorific value MJ/kg ≥14.1 17.8 17.9 18.4 18.7

bulk density kg/m³ ≥600

630 670 634 634

N % ≤1.5 0.5 1.0 1.0 0.3

Cl % ≤0.2 0.02 0.3 0.1 0.001

S % ≤0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.01

• Common Reed

• Cattail

Material utilisation Energetic utilisation

Paludiculture on fens

• Common Reed

• Sedges

• RCG

Summer im Winter Winter

• Common Reed

• Sedges

• RCG

Building material Biogas Combustion

Cost calculation bundles for thatching

• yield: 500 bundles /ha

• revenues: 2.00 € /bundle

Deterministic Calculation Point values

Revenues from the sale of biomass € ha-1 1000

variable machinery costs € ha-1 - 112

labour costs € ha-1 - 280

Contribution margin I € ha-1 608

fixed machinery costs € ha-1 - 125

Contribution margin II € ha-1 483

300 – 1000 bundles 1.90 – 2.50 € (3.50 €)

Stochastic simulation ranges

Contribution margin II € ha-1 -162 – 1542

S. Wichmann

(Wichmann 2016)

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-1.250 -1.000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750 1.000 1.250 1.500

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Contribution margin II [€ ha-1 a-1]

<1%

(Wichmann 2016) Comparing profitability

Stochastic simulation: ranges, distribution, 10,000 iterations

(Wichmann 2016) Comparing profitability

Stochastic simulation: ranges, distribution, 10,000 iterations

<1%

Contribution margin II [€ ha-1 a-1]

+ 300 €

+ 200 €

Increase economic viability and competiveness of plaudiculture

Comparing profitability

Stochastic simulation: ranges, distribution, 10,000 iterations

(Wichmann 2016)

Direct payments + additional incentives

<1% 0%

Contribution margin II [€ ha-1 a-1]

Example: common reed

• Rewetting results in a GHG emission reduction of 15 t CO2-eq∙ha-1∙a-1.

• The reed of 1 hectare can replace fossil fuels in a cogeneration plant that would otherwise emit 15 t CO2.

• Emissions from handling amount to 2 t CO2-eq ha-1.

• Using reed from paludiculture would thus avoid emissions of almost 30 t CO2-eq∙ha-1∙a-1

Peatmosses (Sphagnum palustre, S. papillosum)

Yield: 3 – 8 t DM a-1 ha-1

growing media

Worldwide inventory of potential paludiculture plants..

Kalimantan

Rewetting with paludiculture reduces peatland emissions and produces renewable biomass resources: Jelutung rubber tree

Indonesia

Open questions on paludiculture

Basic literature on restoration

• Bonn, A., Allott, T, Evans, M., Joosten, H. & Stoneman (eds.) 2016. Peatland restoration and ecosystem services - Science, policy and practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Available on HIS.

• Brooks , S. , Stoneman , R. , Hanlon , A. & Thom , T. 2014. Conserving bogs: The management handbook . 2nd edn. York : Yorkshire Peat Partnership . Available on HIS.

• Grootjans, A.P., van Diggelen, R., Joosten, H. & Smolders, A.J.P. 2012. Restoration of mires. In: Van Andel, J. & Aronson, J (eds.): Restoration ecology: the new frontier. 2nd edition. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, pp. 203-213. Available on HIS.

Literature

• Kozulin, A. V., Tanovitskaya, N. I. & Vershitskaya, I. N. 2010. Methodical recommendations for ecological rehabilitation of damaged mires. Available on HIS

• Schumann, M. & Joosten, H. 2008. Global peatland restoration manual. Available on HIS

• Timmermann, T., Joosten, H. & Succow, M. 2009. Restaurierung von Mooren. In: Zerbe, S. & Wiegleb, G. (eds.): Renaturierung von Ökosystemen in Mitteleuropa. Spektrum, Heidelberg, pp. 55-93. Available on HIS.

Thanks a lot for listening

The Greifswald Mire Centre Global Knowledge Hub for Peatlands

Greifswald University, Michael Succow Foundation, Duene e.V.

Where I come from

Greifswald, Federal State Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Germany

Partners in the Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC)

• Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald Research

• Michael Succow Foundation Implementation, Nature protection

• DUENE e.V. Consultancy, Implemementation

Interface between Science and Politics refering to mires and peatlands

• Integrative roof for peatland related activities in Greifswald • about 50 scientists working on different peatland related issues • Main topics: Climate protection: Reduction of GHG emissions from peatlands

Biodiversity: Protection and restoration of peatlands

Sustainable Use: Paludiculture and innovative instruments and incentives fo peatland management

science-based solutions for social challenges, for all peatland related questions – locally and globally

The GMC