1 PEATLANDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 2 3 PEATLANDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE EDITED BY MARIA STRACK 4 Cover Main photo: A fl ark fen in the northern aapa mire Luovuoma. Flarks and strings are the most essential elements of the mire centre. Photo Markku Mäkilä. Small photos: Upper row from left – Tropical peatland fi re. Photo by Marcel Silvius – Typical fl at palsa landscape. Photo by Markku Mäkilä – Ditching of peatland for forestry. Photo by Juhani Päivänen. Second row from left – Peatland used for agriculture. Photo by Hannu Salo – Peat extraction. Photo by Association of Finnish Peat Industries – Smoke plume from peatland fi re. Photo by M. Turetsky. Publisher International Peat Society, Vapaudenkatu 12, 40100 Jyväskylä, Finland Edited by Dr. Maria Strack, University of Calgary, Canada Printed at Saarijärven Offset Oy, Saarijärvi, Finland This book is printed on G-Print 100G72104 paper. ISBN 978-952-99401-1-0 Copyright © 2008 by International Peat Society . All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, or transmitted, or translated into a machine language without the written permission of the publisher. 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The human impact on global climate and the role of peatlands in this process has been widely studied and debated in media, but also within a scientifi c audience and peatland experts during recent years. Controversial opinions have been put and different parties and experts have emphasised their points of view with the latest research data, historical evidence and statistics. It seems that there is lack of fundamental cooperation on an international level to coordinate research efforts. There is a need to fi nd solutions for the management of peatlands in the best way from a climate, but at the same, from a human needs point of view. To deal with this demand, the International Peat Society IPS, a non-profi t organisation of about 1,400 individual and corporate stakeholders in peat and peatlands from all over the world, established a joint IPS Working Group on Peatlands and Climate Change in the end of the year 2005. Specialists from all fi elds of interest covered by the IPS were asked to join the Working Group to provide knowledge from their special areas of expertise. The Working Group’s task was to compile information into a summary of available knowledge to help the IPS and other actors to understand the role of peatlands and peat within the current context of global climate change. The work took two years and fi nally the book “Peatlands and Climate Change” was launched in the IPS International Peat Congress 2008 in Tullamore, Ireland. Without voluntary efforts of the writers of the eight chapters this book could not have been completed. The IPS warmly thanks all experts who are: CARBON ACCUMULATION IN BOREAL PEATLANDS DURING THE HOLOCENE – IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIATIONS M. Mäkilä and M. Saarnisto NORTHERN PEATLANDS, GREENHOUSE GAS EXCHANGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE M. Strack, J.M. Waddington, M. Turetsky, N.T. Roulet and K.A. Byrne IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL UTILIZATION OF PEAT SOILS ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCE R. Oleszczuk, K. Regina, L. Szajdak, H. Höper and V. Maryganova 6 CLIMATE IMPACTS OF PEATLAND FORESTRY K. Minkkinen, K. A. Byrne and C. Trettin CLIMATE IMPACT OF PEAT FUEL UTILISATION K. Holmgren, J. Kirkinen and I. Savolainen TROPICAL PEATLANDS: CARBON STORES, CARBON GAS EMISSIONS AND CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE PROCESSES J.O. Rieley, R.A.J. Wüst, J. Jauhiainen, S.E. Page, H. Wösten, A. Hooijer, F. Siegert, S.H. Limin, H. Vasander and M. Stahlhut RESTORATION OF PEATLANDS AND GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCES H. Höper, J. Augustin, J.P. Cagampan, M. Drösler, L. Lundin, E. Moors, H. Vasander, J.M. Waddington and D. Wilson PEAT IN INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTIONS T. Lapveteläinen and R. Pipatti The authors, editors and members of the IPS Working Group on Peatlands and Climate Change would like to thank the following colleagues for reviewing the chapters published in this book. Their assistance is greatly appreciated and their evaluations have signifi cantly improved this publication. Thank you to J. Alm, J. Blankenburg, R. Bradley, O. Bragg, K. Byrne, M. Cabrera, H. Joosten, L. Klemedtsson, J. Laine, J. H. McAndrews, T. Moore, B. Radjagukguk, L. Rochefort, I. Savolainen and H. Takahashi. We all in the Working Group express our sincere gratitude to Editor Dr Maria Strack and Professor Jukka Laine for guiding the project with very best expertise. Thank you also to Professor Jack Rieley for his output fi nalizing the Summaries of the book. Finally, this book would not exist without the remarkable fi nancial contribution of the peat industry. The IPS wishes to thank peat companies for their vital support. Once better informed, actors can promote further actions into the topic of peatlands in relation to global climate change. The IPS hopes the book “Peatlands and Climate Change” is one step ahead in the road of wise use of peatlands and peat. Jyväskylä, Finland, the First of May 2008 The International Peat Society IPS Jaakko Silpola Secretary General 7 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR POLICYMAKERS “PEATLANDS IN GLOBAL CHANGE” ............................................................................9 SUMMARY FOR POLICYMAKERS “WISE USE OF PEATLANDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE” ...........................................13 CARBON ACCUMULATION IN BOREAL PEATLANDS DURING THE HOLOCENE – IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIATIONS .........................................24 NORTHERN PEATLANDS, GREENHOUSE GAS EXCHANGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE ...........................................................................................................44 IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL UTILIZATION OF PEAT SOILS ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCE ......................................................................................70 CLIMATE IMPACTS OF PEATLAND FORESTRY .........................................................98 CLIMATE IMPACT OF PEAT FUEL UTILISATION .....................................................123 TROPICAL PEATLANDS: CARBON STORES, CARBON GAS EMISSIONS AND CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE PROCESSES ............................................148 RESTORATION OF PEATLANDS AND GREENHOUSE GAS BALANCES ..............182 PEAT IN INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTIONS ...........................211 8 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR POLICYMAKERS “PEATLANDS IN GLOBAL CHANGE” Extent and importance 4. Temporal studies of peatlands reveal that they may act as CO2 sinks in some 1. Peatlands cover an estimated area years and sources in others, depending of 400 million ha, equivalent to 3% on climate. Emissions of CH4 and N2O of the Earth’s land surface. Most (c. are similarly variable in space and time. 350 million ha) are in the northern hemisphere, covering large areas in 5. When considering the role of peatlands North America, Russia and Europe. in atmospheric GHG balances, it Tropical peatlands occur in mainland is important to consider that they East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean have taken up and released GHGs and Central America, South America continuously since their formation and and southern Africa where the current thus their infl uence must be modelled estimate of undisturbed peatland is over time. When this is considered, 30-45 million ha or 10-12% of the the effect of sequestering CO2 in peat global peatland resource. outweighs CH4 emissions. 2. Peatlands represent globally signifi cant 6. Contemporary GHG exchange in stores of soil C that have been peatlands exhibits great spatial accumulating for millennia and currently, variability related to regional and local peatlands globally represent a major differences in ecology, hydrology, store of soil carbon, sink for carbon and climate and the impact of climate dioxide and source of atmospheric change is likely to be large. Some methane. In general, nitrous oxide (N2O) peatlands will emit more CO2 to the emissions are low from natural peatlands atmosphere and change from net but there is evidence that those used C sinks to become sources; other for agriculture are releasing signifi cant peatlands may exhibit increased CO2 amounts of this potent greenhouse gas. sequestration owing to elevated water Losses of peatland C from storage result tables and / or increased primary from changes in the balance between production as a result of changing net exchange of CO2, emission of CH4, vegetation. and hydrological losses of carbon (e.g. dissolved organic and inorganic C and 7. In some parts of the world the peat C particulate organic C). The greenhouse store is being reduced because of fi re. gas (GHG) balance of a peatland Major increases in the area of peatland depends on relative rates of net CO2 burned have been documented in recent uptake or effl ux and CH4 and N2O effl ux. decades and this may continue in the future if peatlands dry out as a result 3. In terms of GHG management, the of climate change and anthropogenic maintenance of large stores of C in activities. Fire will continue to play undisturbed peatlands should be a an important role in the fate of global priority. peatland C stocks. 10 8. Climate change may threaten C stocks moisture content. Appropriate water in unmanaged peatlands because of management is important in order drought leading to peat oxidation, to minimise GHG emissions from permafrost melting and fi re. Owing agriculture on peatlands. Increasing to the variability in environmental the water table decreases emissions of conditions and GHG exchange