scholarly journals From Understanding to Sustainable Use of Peatlands: The WETSCAPES Approach

Soil Systems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Jurasinski ◽  
Sate Ahmad ◽  
Alba Anadon-Rosell ◽  
Jacqueline Berendt ◽  
Florian Beyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Alder Forest

Of all terrestrial ecosystems, peatlands store carbon most effectively in long-term scales of millennia. However, many peatlands have been drained for peat extraction or agricultural use. This converts peatlands from sinks to sources of carbon, causing approx. 5% of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect and additional negative effects on other ecosystem services. Rewetting peatlands can mitigate climate change and may be combined with management in the form of paludiculture. Rewetted peatlands, however, do not equal their pristine ancestors and their ecological functioning is not understood. This holds true especially for groundwater-fed fens. Their functioning results from manifold interactions and can only be understood following an integrative approach of many relevant fields of science, which we merge in the interdisciplinary project WETSCAPES. Here, we address interactions among water transport and chemistry, primary production, peat formation, matter transformation and transport, microbial community, and greenhouse gas exchange using state of the art methods. We record data on six study sites spread across three common fen types (Alder forest, percolation fen, and coastal fen), each in drained and rewetted states. First results revealed that indicators reflecting more long-term effects like vegetation and soil chemistry showed a stronger differentiation between drained and rewetted states than variables with a more immediate reaction to environmental change, like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Variations in microbial community composition explained differences in soil chemical data as well as vegetation composition and GHG exchange. We show the importance of developing an integrative understanding of managed fen peatlands and their ecosystem functioning.

scholarly journals From Understanding to Sustainable Use of Peatlands: The WETSCAPES Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Jurasinski ◽  
Sate Ahmad ◽  
Alba Anadon-Rosell ◽  
Jacqueline Berendt ◽  
Florian Beyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Alder Forest

Of all terrestrial ecosystems, peatlands store carbon most effectively in long-term scales of millennia. However, many peatlands have been drained for peat extraction or agricultural use. This converts peatlands from sinks to sources of carbon, causing approx. 5% of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect and additional negative effects on other ecosystem services. Rewetting peatlands can mitigate climate change and may be combined with management in the form of paludiculture. Rewetted peatlands, however, do not equal their pristine ancestors and their ecological functioning is not understood. This holds especially for groundwater-fed fens. Their functioning results from manifold interactions and can only be understood following an integrative approach of many relevant fields of science, which we merge in the interdisciplinary project WETSCAPES. Here, we address interactions among water transport and chemistry, primary production, peat formation, matter transformation and transport, microbial community and greenhouse gas exchange using state of the art methods. We record data on six study sites spreading across three common fen types (Alder forest, percolation fen, and coastal fen) each in drained and rewetted state. First results showed that indicators reflecting more long-term effects like vegetation and soil chemistry showed a stronger differentiation between drained and rewetted state than variables with more immediate reaction to environmental change, like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Variations in microbial community composition explained differences in soil chemical data as well as vegetation composition and GHG exchange. We show the importance of developing an integrative understanding of managed fen peatlands and their ecosystem functioning.

scholarly journals From Understanding to Sustainable Use of Peatlands: The WETSCAPES Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Jurasinski ◽  
Sate Ahmad ◽  
Alba Anadon-Rosell ◽  
Jacqueline Berendt ◽  
Florian Beyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Alder Forest ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Peat Formation ◽  
Climate Crisis

Of all terrestrial ecosystems, peatlands store carbon most effectively. However, many peatlands have been drained for peat extraction or agricultural use. This converts peatlands from sinks to sources of carbon, causing approx. 5% of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect and additional negative effects on other ecosystem services. Rewetting peatlands can mitigate the climate crisis and may be combined with management in the form of paludiculture. Rewetted peatlands, however, do not equal their pristine ancestors and their ecological functioning is not understood. This holds especially for fens. Their functioning results from complex interactions and can only be understood following an integrative approach of many relevant fields of science, which we develop in the interdisciplinary project WETSCAPES. Here, we introduce our approach in which we are addressing interactions among water transport and chemistry, primary production, peat formation, matter transformation and transport, microorganisms and greenhouse gas exchange using state of the art methods in the relevant research fields. We record data on six study sites spreading across three important fen types (Alder forest, percolation fen, and coastal fen) each in drained and rewetted state. Using exemplary results, we show the importance of developing an integrative understanding of managed fen peatlands and their ecosystem functioning.

scholarly journals A Review of Geothermal Technologies and Their Role in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Ball
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Abatement Cost ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
The Cost

Abstract A review of conventional, unconventional, and advanced geothermal technologies highlights just how diverse and multi-faceted the geothermal industry has become, harnessing temperatures from 7 °C to greater than 350 °C. The cost of reducing greenhouse emissions is examined in scenarios where conventional coal or combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants are abated. In the absence of a US policy on a carbon tax, the marginal abatement cost potential of these technologies is examined within the context of the social cost of carbon (SCC). The analysis highlights that existing geothermal heat and power technologies and emerging advanced closed-loop applications could deliver substantial cost-efficient baseload energy, leading to the long-term decarbonization. When considering an SCC of $25, in a 2025 development scenario, geothermal technologies ideally need to operate with full life cycle assessment (FLCA) emissions, lower than 50 kg(CO2)/MWh, and aim to be within the cost range of $30−60/MWh. At these costs and emissions, geothermal can provide a cost-competitive low-carbon, flexible, baseload energy that could replace existing coal and CCGT providing a significant long-term reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study confirms that geothermally derived heat and power would be well positioned within a diverse low-carbon energy portfolio. The analysis presented here suggests that policy and regulatory bodies should, if serious about lowering carbon emissions from the current energy infrastructure, consider increasing incentives for geothermal energy development.

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