Peatlands rewetting & restoration - UNDP...Including emissions from peat fires, these drained...
Transcript of Peatlands rewetting & restoration - UNDP...Including emissions from peat fires, these drained...
CASE STUDY, tour to Belarus, 2013
Peatlands rewetting & restoration
experience
Peatlands’ ecosystem services and threats
Peatlands provide many important ecosystem services, including water
regulation, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration and
storage.
During the 19th and 20th centuries large-scale drainage of peatlands was
carried out in many countries for land reclamation purposes.
However, peatlands drainage, mainly for agriculture, peat mining, grazing
and forestry, is associated with numerous environmental problems.
When in natural wet state, peatlands work as carbon sinks; but if drained,
peatlands are sources of increased emissions of GHGs (CO2 and N2O)
and nitrates. Apart from climate change effect, degradation of wet
peatlands results in dehydration of small rivers; disappearance of valuable
flora & fauna; local micro-climate changes.
Including emissions from peat fires, these drained peatlands emit almost
6% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This represents almost 25% of
emissions from the entire land use, land use change and forestry sector.
Thus, keeping peatlands wet or rewetting of drained peatlands is
essential for preventing and reducing negative environmental impacts
Why Belarus?
The purpose of the study tour was to learn the results of peatlands rewetting projects countrywide in Belarus, analyse the successes and shortcomings, look for similarities and possible replication of the developed approach in Ukraine.
Belarus has a higher proportion of peatlands than any other European country (14.2 % of the land area – 2,939 mln.ha), of which around half (1.5 million hectares) had been drained by the end of the Soviet era.
Belarus has similar to Ukraine climate conditions and therefore similar soil properties, including organic (peat) soils, that is important for restoration project planning and design.
About 17 peat sites (40,725 ha) have already been restored in Belarus providing visible examples and results of peatlands rewetting.
Two “Technical codes of common practice for peatlands and damaged mires restoration” have been developed in Belarus and can be potentially applicable for the development of Ukrainian peatlands rewetting framework.
Key Results of the peatlands restoration in Belarus:
• Minimized threat of peat fires (particularly at the depleted
peat deposits);
• Developed approaches for peatlands restoration and
sustainable management;
• Reduced CO2 emissions by at least 300,000 tons annually;
• Stabilized populations of domestically and globally
endangered flora and fauna;
• Increased awareness of peatlands value, significance and
conservation needs.
• Cross-sectoral mechanisms for strengthening institutional
arrangements for decision-making on degraded peatlands
were introduced.
Rehabilitation of degraded peatlands contribute to a better environmental situation due to
elimination of peat fires, reduction in GHG emissions, improvement of regional climate and
hydrological regime, and restoration of the lost biological biodiversity. One of the most significant
indicators of successful peatlands restoration – increased sphagnum mosses ground cover and
re-appearance of other bog vegetation:
Restoration of wetland vegetation creates conditions for increasing the number of
wetland birds and animals. Almost immediately after a water level rise, the open
peatland sites see appearance of wetland bird species: swans, black-tailed godwit,
lapwing, redshank, snipe; as well as reptiles and amphibians:
*Studying the results of peatland renaturalization at Galoe mire, Cherevesky rayon
“Galoe” mire damaged by forest melioration was restored with the help of water
regulation systems construction: 5 solid dykes made of local construction materials;
retaining-regulating device equipped with dam beams in channel; wooden
bulkheads installed in existing pipe crossings in drains of the channel.
*project team with scientists and national key partners' representatives
*Galoe mire
The results of peat renaturalization on the territory of
Dokudovsk-1 –waterlogged wasted fen mires, activities
performed in years 2006-2007; Dokudovsk-2 –
restoration of hydrological regime on raised bog by
building dams and other hydrotechnical facilities on the
channels, incl. pipe regulator with bucket water-gate on
channel, bucket water-gate repaired at existing pipe
regulator, firefighting water bodies, dam; activities
performed in years 2008-2009. Location – Lidsk region.
Republican Biological Reserve "Sporovskyy"
Located in the Brest Region and covers an area of 19,384 hectares.
"Sporovskyy" – is the first specially protected territory in Belarus, which
was granted the status of the Ramsar Site (17 November 1999).
The prime objective of the Reserve is to preserve the unique biodiversity
of lowland wetlands – the largest in Europe, preserved in natural state.
Fen mire Sporovskoje – is the key wetland of the Republic of Belarus.
This is the second important habitat of a globally threatened aquatic
warbler in Belarus, as well as several other rare and endangered
species of flora and fauna.
The first in Belarus Environmental and Educational Centre was
established at the base of the Reserve in 2009. The Centre aims to
provide visitors of the Reserve with information about its unique
features, flora and fauna, proposed ecological trails and services;
visitors can learn a lot about the role of wetlands in the regulation of
natural processes, to get acquainted with the rich flora and fauna of
Yaselda River floodplain and Sporovskoje mire.
*Sporovsky reserve
One of the most important tasks of peatlands renaturalization projects is to ensure
reduction of GHG emissions through rewetting of drained and degraged peatlands.
On pictures below a specialist measures greenhouse emissions:
Paludicultures (Latin ‘palus’ = swamp) are land management techniques that cultivate
biomass from wet and rewetted peatlands under conditions that maintain the peat body,
facilitate peat accumulation and sustain the ecosystem services associated with natural
peatlands. Paludicultures help stop peat oxidation and simultaneously provide
sustainable harvests from peatlands.
On the photo: The wetland harvester is gathering biomas from rewetted peatlands