In the quest for sustainable agriculture, paludiculture is a promising, if underappreciated, practice. So here are the answers to the questions you didn’t know you had about paludiculture.

What is peatland?

Wetlands are ecosystems where water saturates the soil, either permanently or seasonally. Peatlands are a specific type of wetland formed in waterlogged conditions where dead plant material accumulates and forms peat.

Why does peat matter?

When peatland is drained, it dries out. As it dries, vegetation decomposes and the once-stored carbon is released. According to Defra, only 13% of England’s peatlands remain in a near-natural state, and in lowland peatlands, this figure drops to less than 1%. That means an awful lot of carbon has already been released and continues to be. In 2020, drained agricultural peatlands in England emitted 8.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, accounting for about 3% of England’s total emissions.

Where does paludiculture come in?

Rewetting peat, typically by blocking drainage, prevents it from drying out and thus stops the emission of carbon dioxide. Paludiculture takes this one step further. Paludiculture rewets peatland by raising the water level and goes on to grow crops that thrive in wetland conditions. Paludiculture can therefore help maintain the productive use of lowland peatlands while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with their current dryland agricultural use.

What can be grown?

Savills Rural Research has identified three crops that hold the most potential for farmers pursuing paludiculture in the UK:

1. Sphagnum mosses: With concerns over the degradation of peat, there are more and more attempts to limit its extraction. Farming sphagnum mosses to substitute extracted peat is one way to reduce peatland degradation while retaining the benefits of its use.

2. Typha latifolia: The seeds of T. latifolia, also known as bulrush or cattail, produce fibre which can be used in textiles. The stems are also a potential source of biomass too.

3. Novel crops: Crops like Myrica gale, Mentha aquatica, and Angelica spp. may have small markets, but for farms able to build a brand around unique products, they can still be an excellent diversification opportunity.

How did you decide?

Paludiculture crops have vastly different requirements compared to conventional arable crops. The final selection of champion crops was made using 15 parameters, including metrics such as:

• Are there any environmental threats to the crop?
• How sensitivity are prices to supply?
• Is processing, harvesting and cultivation machinery available?
• How much expertise is required to grow the crop?
• Are there market advocates already in place?

Each of the parameters was scored, revealing sphagnum moss and the use of T. latifolia for fibre to be the highest-scoring champion crops at 72% of the points on offer.

 

Why should I do it?

Pressure is mounting on agriculture to reduce its emissions, from supply chains, policy makers and the public. We have already seen how paludiculture can help with this but comes with other benefits too. Given its intimate relationship with water, many benefits can be found here. By retaining water within the landscape, it reduces the likelihood of flooding. Furthermore, paludiculture can enhance water quality by filtering pollutants and providing a buffer against nutrient runoff.

How do I do it?

As with any new process, an amount of acclimatisation and adaptation is required. Suitable preparation and research can substantially reduce the burden of this phase. Key things to consider are:

• Nutrients: What nutrients are present in the land and in what quantities? Knowing this will impact which crops are most appropriate for the land. Some crops, like celery, are nutrient hungry, others like sphagnum prefer to be without.
• Hydrology and topography: Understand the land
• Accessibility: How accessible will the site be to machinery? Can conventional machinery be adapted or will drones and specialty machines be required? Much of this may come down to how the site is designed and modified.
• Numbers: Adaptation will require upfront expenditure but ongoing costs can be lower than conventional systems. Most important is understanding if a final market exists for the product and if that income can be augmented with other income sources like carbon credits or public funding.

For more information, visit the Savills Rural stand at the Low Carbon Agriculture Show (stand 2.305).