Paludiculture crops and nitrogen kick-start ecosystem service provisioning in rewetted peat soils

Abstract

Purpose Paludiculture (crop cultivation in wet peatlands) can prevent carbon and nutrient losses while enabling biomass production. As vegetation in rewetted peatlands is often nitrogen (N) limited, input of N-rich water may promote biomass production and nutrient removal. However, it is unclear how N loading and soil characteristics affect biomass yield, nutrient dynamics, and ecosystem service provisioning in paludiculture. Methods We studied the influence of N loading (0, 50, 150, and 450 kg N ha−1 yr−1) on biomass production and nutrient sequestration of Typha latifolia (broadleaf cattail) and Phragmites australis (common reed) in mesocosms containing rewetted agricultural peat soil (intensively managed, near-neutral (IN)). To assess the interaction with soil characteristics T. latifolia was also grown on an extensively managed, acid (EA) peat soil. Results N loading stimulated biomass production and nutrient uptake of both T. latifolia and P. australis, with T. latifolia showing the most pronounced response. Biomass yield of T. latifolia was higher on IN soil than on EA soil due to the higher pH, despite lower nutrient availability. N was largely taken up by the vegetation, whereas bare soils showed N accumulation in pore and surface water, and 80% loss through denitrification. Soil phosphorus was efficiently taken up by T. latifolia, especially at high N loads. Conclusion N loading in paludiculture with T. latifolia and P. australis boosts biomass production while kick-starting peatland ecosystem services including nutrient removal. Nutrient availability and pH appear to be decisive soil characteristics when it comes to crop selection.

Removing 10 cm of degraded peat mitigates unwanted effects of peatland rewetting: a mesocosm study

“…This is especially relevant for S, since we found that porewater S concentrations only increased with minimal TSR, while peat type and vegetation had no influence. Our results further suggest that vegetation growth for a short period of time after shallow rewetting may be a solution to limit nutrient availability on near-neutral peat, which is in line with earlier findings on near-neutral and acid peat (Vroom et al 2022b).…”

“…At two sites in the Netherlands, 72 peat soil cores with a depth of 30 cm were taken using 15 cm diameter PVC-pipes (Vroom et al 2022b). The first site is an extensively managed agricultural peat meadow in Bûtefjild (coordinates: 53°15'N, 5°57'E), which has acid peat, and it will be referred to as EA (i.e., extensively managed and acid peat) (Table 1); 24 cores were extracted from this site.…”

“…Porewater chemical composition from the upper 10 cm of peat was determined from samples taken four times during experiment 1 (months 1, 2, 3, and 10) and three times during experiment 2 (months 1, 2, and 3) using the same rhizon samplers attached to a syringe under vacuum mentioned above. The samples were analysed following the approach described by Vroom et al (2022b) to determine pH, alkalinity, ammonium (NH 4 + ), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and sulfur (S). The pH and alkalinity were determined using Ag/AgCl electrode (Orion Research, Beverly, MA, USA) and a TIM 840 Titration Manager (Radiometer Analytical SAS, Villeurbanne, France).…”

Unlocking the potential of peatlands and paludiculture to achieve Germany’s climate targets: obstacles and major fields of action

“…In the case of paludiculture, a targeted water management needs to be planned. Water scarcity as well as water quality, i.e., too few or too many nutrients, risks productivity loss and can impact the development of target species and biomass quality (Haldan et al, 2022;Vroom et al, 2022;Käärmelahti et al, 2023).…”

Enabling Factors of NTFP Business Development for Ecosystem Restoration: The Case of Tamanu Oil in Indonesian Degraded Peatland

“…It can also prevent high carbon emissions from the forest and can curtail land fires that frequently occur in the dry season. Moreover, rewetting can also prevent the release of peat biomass [53,[59][60][61].…”