New investment in peat in fight against climate change
On 29 June 2023, the government announced new investment and actions to improve lowland peat and reduce carbon emissions.
- New action to reduce peat carbon emissions, improve resilience to drought and support farmers following recommendations from the Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force
- Over £7.5 million of new funding for innovative water management projects to help mitigate the impacts of climate change
- Winners of £5 million Paludiculture Exploration Fund grant scheme also announced
New investment and actions to improve lowland peat and reduce carbon emissions have been set out by the government today (Thursday 29 June).
Peat soils contain over half the country’s terrestrial carbon stores and serve as a potent nature-based solution against climate change. However, as a result of centuries of drainage to create land suitable for agriculture, our peat soils are drying out, causing the organic matter they contain to decompose and release carbon into the atmosphere. Today, just 1% of England’s lowland peatlands remain in a near-natural state.
By rewetting lowland peat soils, we can deliver carbon emission reductions, improve food security, boost wetland biodiversity, and better protect communities from flooding.
To support the preservation and sustainable management of lowland peatlands, the government has announced that it will take forward action on all the recommendations made by Robert Caudwell, independent Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, whose report is published today.
Environment Minister Trudy Harrison said:
Our peatlands are invaluable allies in our battle against climate change, housing over half of our terrestrial carbon stores and providing resilience for future farming.
These new measures, which includes funding for innovative new water management schemes, bolster our efforts to protect and improve peat soils – enhancing carbon storage, preserving vital ecosystems, and paving the way for a more sustainable future.
This comes alongside over £7.5 million of new funding to kickstart improvements in how we manage water resources to rewet and preserve peat soils. This funding will drive advancements in our understanding of the lowland peat water challenge to transform the way we use water in England’s lowland peat, and will also pay for the installation of infrastructure and monitoring technology to enable more control of water levels in these regions.
The measures government is taking will also improve resilience to drought and safeguard productive farming on some of our most valuable agricultural land, supporting our rural economy and those whose livelihoods are intrinsically tied to the land.
In 2020, the government established the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force to explore how to improve the condition of England’s lowland farmed peat whilst ensuring the continuation of productive agriculture for years to come. The Chair of the task force has put forward fourteen recommendations to government and the wider sector to ensure that lowland peat soils can be managed more sustainably.
These recommendations include:
- New investment in water storage, management and control
- Public money for wetter modes of farming on peat soils
- Technical advice on keeping peat soils wetter
- Creating viable opportunities in private finance
- Raising the profile of lowland agricultural peat soils
- Adopting the task force’s roadmap to commercially viable paludiculture (farming on rewetted peat)
Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force said:
I thank all the members of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force for their time and commitment to finding ways of managing lowland agricultural peat that are sustainable and substantially reduce carbon emissions.
All the evidence demonstrates that reducing carbon emissions from lowland peat is vital as part of the United Kingdom government’s plan to tackle climate change.
The report and the U.K. government’s response are important first steps in a journey that will require partnership between all stakeholders, and I am confident that the work that is already underway will give farmers opportunities to develop their businesses and contribute to the challenge of net zero.
The new funding is distributed across two pilots. The Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot (£5.45m) will support the installation of infrastructure and monitoring technology to enable more control of water levels for the preservation and rewetting of lowland peat. Delivery of this project is being supported by the Association of Drainage Authorities.
The Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot (£2.2m), to be delivered by the Environment Agency, will allow local and water peatland partnerships to collaborate to develop costed water level management plans for lowland peat areas in England.
Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency said:
The Environment Agency welcomes the publication of the Caudwell report. Drawing on the report’s recommendations, we recognise that the sustainable management of the water environment through raising the water table within peat soils holds a pivotal role in protecting the carbon it stores.
The report findings combined with further research and development provide useful support and incentives to farmers looking to transition to more climate friendly farming of peat soils. This is set out in our National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England and Roadmap.
Twelve projects across England are also set to receive support through the £5 million Paludiculture Exploration Fund grant scheme - administered by Natural England - to help understand and overcome barriers to developing paludiculture as a commercially viable farming practice on lowland peat soils.
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England said:
Lowland peatlands play an important role in combating climate change, by keeping carbon in the land and out of the air. Working with land managers and others, it is imperative we find ways to support livelihoods and produce what society needs while at the same time halting the degradation of peat soils.
This is why I am so delighted that the £5 million Paludiculture Exploration Fund grant scheme will support twelve projects aimed at overcoming obstacles to developing economically viable farming on wet peat soils. This promising form of wetland agriculture holds tremendous potential for both revitalising peatlands and supporting profitable and sustainable rural businesses.
Today’s announcements are part of the government’s commitments to drive international ambition on action to tackle climate change and work towards nature-based solutions, and demonstrate our ambition to deliver on our net zero pathway.
The evidence generated by the projects will enable Defra to deliver on our lowland peat commitments within the government’s England Peat Action Plan, Net Zero Strategy, Environmental Improvement Plan, and Plan for Water. On lowland peat, Defra has already funded a new update to the Peatland Code, announced a £6.6m peatland research and development programme, and is developing new farming schemes to support rewetting, restoration and new farming methods in the lowlands. It will also be publishing the new England Peat Map next year.
In recognition of the environmental benefits and the key role lowland peat soils play in food production, the government will continue to work with the Chair of the task force as well as farmers, landowners and the wider industry to take forward action on all the report’s recommendations for more sustainable forms of peatland management.
Notes to editors:
- The report by the LAPTF can be found here: Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force Chair’s report
- The government’s response can be found here: Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force Chair’s report: government response
Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force
Robert Caudwell was chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force – a group that was tasked with improving the condition of England’s farmed lowland peat. The task force ran between 2021 and 2022. It comprised a national group and four regional sub-groups, which advised on the circumstances of our most extensive lowland peatlands spanning North-East, North-West, South-West and East England. The Task Force was also supported by a sub-group composed of experts in paludiculture.
Membership of the Task Force was as follows:
- Andrea Kelly, Broads Authority
- Charles Shropshire, G’s Global
- Chris Evans, UK Centre For Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
- Daniel Johns, Anglian Water
- Deborah Land, Natural England
- Ian Moodie, Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA)
- Julie Foley, Environment Agency
- Olly Watts, RSPB
- Philippa Arnold, National Farmers Union (NFU)
- Richard Lindsay, University of East London (UEL)
- Stephen Briggs, Innovation for Agriculture
- Colleagues from Defra and the Environment Agency
Project details
Project: Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot (2023-2025)
Funding: £2.2 million
Details: The Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot, delivered by the Environment Agency, will help to improve Defra’s understanding of how water can be better managed to support the rewetting and preservation of lowland peatlands. The project will allow partnerships to collaborate locally to develop costed water level management plans for lowland peat areas in England.
Project: Lowland Agricultural Peat Small-Infrastructure Pilot (2023-2025)
Funding: £5.45 million
Details: The Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot will support the installation of infrastructure and monitoring technology, which will enable more control of water levels for the preservation and rewetting of lowland peat. Delivery of this project is being supported by the Association of Drainage Authorities.
In addition to these projects, Defra is planning to support a research and development programme over the next two years with the Environment Agency to investigate questions around rewetting peat, such as water demand, supply and storage; water-management structures; flood-risk management; nature-based solutions for water quality; biodiversity and regulation.
The new projects sit alongside an existing portfolio of work on lowland peat, which includes:
Lowland Peat 3
This project forms part of the £6.6 million Lowland Peat Research and Development Programme, and will explore further the options, feasibility and wider impacts of managing lowland agricultural peat for reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The work will focus on water availability and distribution to rewet lowlands; impact of topography on rewetting; impacts and risks of more sustainable management practices; and implications on national food supplies.
More information is available on the Lowland Peat Project 3 page.
The Peatland Code
Following a Defra funded research report on greenhouse gas data and emissions factors, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme launched an update to the Peatland Code in March 2023, which allowed lowland fen peatland to be included for the first time. The Peatland Code helps to promote the restoration and protection of peatlands in the UK through attracting private finance.
The Peatland Code allows landowners with eligible peatlands to generate carbon units which can be sold to companies seeking to offset their residual carbon emissions.
Paludiculture Exploration Fund
Paludiculture, or farming on rewetted peat, is a system of agriculture for the profitable production of wetland crops under conditions that support the competitive advantage of these crops. It offers an opportunity to continue profitable agriculture on lowland peat while also managing the land in a way that benefits the environment and supports our net zero ambitions.
The £5m Paludiculture Exploration Fund grant scheme application window was open from January 2023 to March 2023. Natural England are today announcing the twelve projects across England which have been successful in securing grants to support the reduction of barriers to developing commercially viable paludiculture on lowland peat soils.
Paludiculture Exploration Fund: grant awardees
Below is a list and brief description of the projects that this fund is supporting. The projects will explore:
- how water levels might be raised and managed
- how crop production might be increased
- new products and markets that might evolve from paludiculture crops
·
You can find follow these projects and other developments in paludiculture at www.paludiculture.org.uk
AutoSpray Systems: Develop protocols & best working practices for the use of drones for seeding & crop maintenance in Paludiculture.
The project will look at existing use of drones and explore potential new areas of use for drones in paludiculture scenarios. The project will focus on various potential crop management tasks as well as the use of drones to monitor crop health. The project will also explore the environmental impact of drone use.
The Broads Authority: Fibre Broads
The project aims to ‘unlock paludiculture’ through several outcomes. Through feasibility discussions with farmers, it will identify areas in the Broads most suited to wetland crops. In a strategic alliance it will promote and provide a demonstration of paludiculture fibre products to farmers in the region. To promote paludiculture sourced materials in developing consumer and construction products and explore new market opportunities for paludiculture products.
Coates English Willow: Low impact Willow Growing as a Paludiculture Crop to produce a high value product ensuring a sustainable future for landowners on the lowland Somerset Moors
The project will use willow to produce a sustainable, renewable product whilst protecting and preserving the peat on West Sedgemoor. Utilising hundreds of years of expertise and knowledge of willow and the land, the project will research and develop new science and technology for more efficient planting, with lower herbicide use, and improved harvesting practises and develop a high value product to provide sustainability to farming businesses.
Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Southwest: Developing sustainable land use options on the Somerset Levels
Explore a viable land use on multiple pockets of land across the Somerset Levels & Moors (SL&M), overcoming economic and cultural barriers to raising water levels across hydrological blocks of peat. Provide an income stream for owners of the lowest-lying fields, enabling water tables to be raised in higher/drier fields and reducing CO2 emissions without expensive hydrological engineering works.
Explore paludiculture to improve water quality, specifically by reducing phosphate pollution levels within SSSI and Ramsar protected sites. To assess if paludiculture can play a role in supporting ecological diversity of the SL&M through targeted use within the landscape.
Fenland SOIL Ltd: Mapping and identification of peatland suitable for change of land-use to paludiculture in the East Anglian Fens
The project will work with farmers to build on work the group has already completed in an NCPGS discovery project. Creating and ground truthing detailed peat maps. Supporting these maps with productivity and water management opportunity data. Implementing hydrological modelling of the landscape to monitor water table fluctuation along with CO2 & CH4 emissions.
Harper Adams University: The Paludiculture Innovation Project
Research and development into the practical field preparation; water management and associated infrastructure needed to establish paludiculture crops. Demonstrated on the university site to use as an educational facility as well as building knowledge around the cropping techniques. Assessment of machinery requirements and opportunities. Collecting data on the above outcomes as well as social impact and value modelling to establish best practice, relevance, and barriers to paludiculture among the farming community.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust : Typha production at scale – from field to market.
The focus of the project is to develop understanding of the economics, practical issues, and environmental uplift of commercial Typha growing at field scale. Many practical aspects of growing crops on wet soil conditions will be explored from sowing through to management and harvesting. Adapting current mechanised processes and exploring new ones through farmer led experience. In support of this other food crops will be grown at trial scale to explore these opportunities.
Manchester Metropolitan University: OPENpeat - Opportunities for Paludiculture and Engagement in the North West: promoting knowledge exchange and assessing opportunity
OPENpeat will define and demonstrate the future role of paludiculture in a conservation and ecosystem services focussed landscape. Sharing best practice from existing and emerging paludiculture trials in UK and EU through direct farmer engagement and promote peer to peer learning between UK farmers. During the project period, activities including interviews and workshops aim to embed paludiculture discussion and willingness of farmers on lowland peat to experiment with paludiculture.
Micropropagation Services: Solving The Peatland Crisis Through Sphagnum Farming – The Green Alternative to Peat
The project will scale up the production of Sphagnum Farming to produce sustainable growing media to replace peat and support the English horticulture sector, whilst also supporting lowland peat farmers with this sustainable, profitable Sphagnum crop for their land. The project will create a commercially sustainable demonstration farm and overcome identified barriers throughout the supply chain.
Saltyco: Typha seed heads for textile production: typha processing, agronomy and analysis for paludiculture market development and new knowledge for scaled cultivation
To develop and scale up the process of seed separation for Saltyco’s patented BioPuff product. To explore the potential to use these seeds as planting source for new crop establishment. In addition to this, new uses and products will be explored for the Typha seeds to add further value to this paludiculture crop.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology: Overcoming Financial Barriers for Paludiculture with Biochar Integration
The project aims to build on and expand trials of incorporating biochar in peat soils. Biochar is a charcoal-like product following the pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks under low oxygen conditions. Being high in carbon (>70%) and relatively stable, it is viewed as a form of carbon capture but may also improve other functions in soil and deliver other agronomic benefits. In this way, biochar has the potential to be an additional income stream for farmers considering paludiculture.
Vitagrass Farms Ltd: Paludiculture Opportunities at Vitagrass
The overall goal and vision for this project is to overcome the variety of barriers to paludiculture. The grant will explore the options that need to be considered to produce a business case. On production of the business case a small-scale trial site will explore a recommended paludiculture option.