FarmPEAT Project

As the FarmPEAT Project draws to an end later this year, we're beginning to reflect on our learnings and the future of agricultural peat soils. Over the next 6 months, we will share insights from FarmPEAT's activities since 2021 and invite discussion about results-based schemes and farming on peat soils. To start, check out the graphic below which visualises key outputs from brainstorming sessions at our workshop last October. During the workshop, we asked participants to consider the following questions: - Have you noticed any major changes in climate in recent years and how has this impacted your farming? - What actions would you be willing to take on your farm to reduce impacts from drained peat soils in a future scheme? - How should payments for these actions and results be structured? - What are the potential pitfalls in agri-environmental schemes in terms of supporting farmers on peat soils? Having read the graphic below, can you think of other points that aren't already mentioned? Let us know in the comments!

Peat-Hub-Ireland has published a Policy Brief with 10 key policy actions for the Sustainable Management of Ireland's Peatlands. To implement these actions, four strategic recommendations are provided: 1. Accountability; 2. Longevity; 3: Equity; 4: Holistic knowledge; each serving as a foundational pillar to achieving sustainable peatland management across sectors and stakeholder groups in Ireland.  View the Brief here: https://lnkd.in/eKv3M7D5 More to come in the report to be published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland #climateaction #bogs #peat #peatlands #sustainability #agriculture #research #restoration #landuse #airquality #horticulture #forestry #EarthInstitute Dr. Kate Flood; David Wilson; UCD College of Science, UCD Environmental Policy, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Department of Agriculture and Rural development, Northern Ireland Government, Climate Change Advisory Council Ireland, Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Community Wetlands Forum, The Water Forum An Fóram Uisce, Environmental Science Association of Ireland ESAI, National Biodiversity Data Centre, ERINN Innovation, LIFE IP Peatlands and People, AI2Peat / PeatSense, An Taisce, WaterLANDS, FarmPEAT Project

FarmPEAT was involved in initial feedback sessions on the Peatland Standard, which helps to quantify peatland restoration results and leverage more funding. It's now open for public consultation! 📆 Deadline: 5th Dec 2024 More details on Peatland Finance Ireland: https://lnkd.in/erAyVWM6

The 2024 Agricultural and Rural Inspiration Awards celebrate CAP-funded projects that are boosting skills for agriculture and rural areas through lifelong learning, innovation and competitiveness. Farm Carbon, another EIP working on agricultural peat soils managed by Douglas McMillan, is a finalist in the Environmental Protection category! Please vote here for Green Restoration Ireland's EIP: https://lnkd.in/dCsJGnRM

🌿 Public Consultation Now Open: Shape the Future of Peatland Restoration in Ireland! 🌿 Peatland Finance Ireland (PFI) is thrilled to announce the opening of our Peatland Standard Public Consultation. This is a fantastic opportunity for stakeholders, environmental enthusiasts, and community members to influence the future of peatland restoration across Ireland. 🌿 🗓️ Consultation Period: Now open through December 5th, 2024. 📄 Access Guidelines & Documents: https://lnkd.in/erAyVWM6 📢 Webinar: Join us on November 14th for an informational session to answer questions about the Peatland Standard and the consultation process. Stay tuned for registration details! Have your say and help shape the impact of peatlands on climate, biodiversity, water, and Ireland's natural heritage. Let’s make a difference together! 🌍💚 #PeatlandFinanceIreland #PeatlandRestoration #PublicConsultation #GenerationRestoration CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency UN Environment Programme Shane Mc Guinness, Ph.D. Paul Chatterton Landscape Finance Lab LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature FarmPEAT Project Irish Rural Link CAP Network Ireland European Research Executive Agency (REA) ERINN Innovation

Did you miss our End of Project Conference last month? You can now catch up by watching the recordings on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eE4TyumV Ruth Graham's illustrations below also bring to life our conference's focus on the science, management, and payments for agricultural peat soils! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eXEhT2BQ ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eVV9RJ5W Thank you to Minister Pippa Hackett for opening our conference and to all our farmers & guests who took part in last month's events. During our 'Science of Farmed Peat Soils' session, Dr James Moran guided Rachael Murphy, Hugh Cushnan, Caroline Lalor, Donal Daly, and Dr Douglas McMillan through a discussion on ecology, hydrology, GHG monitoring in NASCO, and peat wastage. After lunch, our team member Bernie Duffy explored the experiences of our project farmers Brian Sheridan, Fearghal Sullivan, Ray Brennan, and John Lawlor. They outlined the importance of talking to farmers and keeping a steady income in agri-environmental schemes. To conclude the day, Dr Derek McLoughlin explored payments for peat soils with Dr Catherine Farrell, Shane Mc Guinness, Ph.D., Dr Caroline Sullivan & Philip Blackwell. They discussed how to blend public & private finance to provide co-benefits for farms, biodiversity, climate & water.

Raising the water table on agricultural peat soils is the focus of FarmPEAT’s Supporting Action 7.1—drain management. To date, this has been carried out by installing peat or plastic dams. However, one of our project farmers queried the method of drain infilling. FarmPEAT explored this option by searching for relevant scientific literature and consulting peatland and hydrological experts. Some of the considerations raised included continued drainage, damage to the peatland plot, higher carbon emissions, labour costs, and monitoring requirements. Since infilling has not yet been proven to successfully raise the water table on adjacent plots, the FarmPEAT Project decided that the environmental risks and higher labour costs outweigh the potential benefits to carbon emissions and biodiversity. We invite you to read our 'Investigation into Drain Infilling on Agricultural Peat Soils' here or at https://lnkd.in/euAdPBzZ. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future work!

Raising the water table on peat soils will lower carbon emissions and encourage more wet grassland indicator plant species. Another benefit is reduced peat wastage—the subsidence of peat due to its shrinkage, contraction, consolidation, and oxidation to H20, CO2, NO2, and NH4. In September 2023, Donal Daly, a Catchment Scientist, published a briefing note on peat wastage. It is linked below and published on https://lnkd.in/eUE6ExQJ. All farmers managing peat soils should be concerned about this, because continued peat wastage will reduce the land's productivity and eventually, the soil will decompose and disappear. Actions to prevent peat wastage include: - Reduce drainage by partially blocking drains to raise the water table in the adjacent field. If it’s raised to within 30cm of the surface, wastage decreases but the land can still be farmed. - Employ minimum tillage methods to reduce soil aeration. - Avoid liming peat soils as higher pH speeds up oxidation. - Reduce nitrogen fertiliser to slow microbial activity and oxidation. Interested in learning more about peat soils? Join our End of Project Conference on 24th October in Athlone: https://lnkd.in/e9-aXjFG

Delighted to share this new publication with John Connolly & Terry Morley. We highlight complexities of Irish peatlands in relation to ownership, perceptions of values and the need to restore peatlands for climate, water, biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods in rural communities. Sustainable use means empowering local communities and having local action teams, with multiple co-benefits. Please share though your networks - special thanks to Rudy van Diggelen and Joseph Holden. Natural Capital Ireland LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature Business For Biodiversity Ireland Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Community Wetlands Forum Mary Kelly-Quinn Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Agata Klimkowska Dianna Kopansky Niall Sargent Trinity College Dublin Hometree BIOFIN - Biodiversity Finance Initiative David Wilson University of Galway Tiernan Henry Mary Bourke Andrew Gonzalez We are here Venice Wetlands International Europe WaterLANDS FarmPEAT Project Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Europe https://lnkd.in/eYAXMyt5

On 20th June 2024, Caroline and Bernie spoke about the FarmPEAT Project at Teagasc's Counting Carbon Conference in Ashtown, Co. Dublin. Carbon credits are a popular topic of conversation in the farming community and many others in the land use sector. A Carbon Farming Working Group has now been set up to develop a national framework, guided by submissions to their 2023 public consultation. In the meantime, organisations such as Peatland Finance Ireland are exploring different funding models. Teagasc's conference looked at methods of carbon monitoring, reporting and verification. These methods should avoid double counting and ensure additionality to maintain integrity and provide environmental benefits beyond a business-as-usual scenario. As a practical project working with farmers on peat soils, FarmPEAT's key questions are: - Will farmers who have undertaken peat soil restoration measures as part of EIPs or other projects be able to access further financial support? - How can we price carbon to attract farmers but avoid large companies purchasing large tracts of rural land? - Can a results-based approach be used to strongly link carbon credits to biodiversity and water quality (i.e. avoiding trade-offs between these three things)? - How can we ensure that verification methods are thorough and of a high standard? Read our conference paper attached below to learn more about FarmPEAT and our case study of a farm undertaking drain management on peat soils.