Fen Farming Futures: Benefits and drawbacks of sustainable farming on organic soils

• This project will combine an extensive programme of field measurements with in-depth analysis of peat geochemistry and peat microbial communities.
• This project aims to produce the first comparison of peatland under business-as-usual versus sustainable ‘regenerative’ farming by exploring differences in soil greenhouse gas emissions, soil chemistry and biology, to establish how these are affected by land-use. Data will be used to providescience-based evidence for climate change mitigation schemes.

Project overview

In England, lowland peat occupies around 960km² and stores large amounts of carbon. 

Nearly all lowland fen peatland has been drained to provide some of the most fertile agricultural soils in the UK. However, drainage has resulted in loss of peat (with rates of ~1 cm/yr under intensive agriculture) and associated high CO₂ emissions.

Until recently, there had been limited scientific focus on the greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from lowland peatlands, but recent studies involving several of the supervisors have highlighted their scale, with intensively farmed lowland peatlands now known to be the largest land-based source of GHG emissions in the UK.

To date, almost no research has been undertaken on agricultural management options to reduce C loss and GHG emissions, whilst also improving soil health.

This project provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of implementing more sustainable farming management practices on soil and climate security. 

An improved understanding of the strategies available for fenland farmers will provide important insights as to whether alternative agricultural management strategies on peat soils can provide emissions mitigation and other co-benefits, in comparison to conventional land management.

This will provide data which will help inform landscape-scale feasibilityplanning for reduced GHG emissions, improved biodiversity, and ecosystem CO₂ uptake by the CASE partner, Cambridgeshire County Council who are a major agricultural land-owner in  the Fens.

Methodology

The PhD will measure soil respiration in situ using a Licor 8100 field CO₂ and H₂O analyser, at replicated sites under conventional and modified agricultural management in the Fens. Samples will be collected for characterisation of peat physical, hydrological, geochemical and microbiological properties to gain mechanistic understanding of controls on GHG fluxes and influence of different farming techniques on soilhealth.

Organic geochemical analyses will be undertaken at UoL, including pyrolysis GCMS and FTIR, with comparisons to data from other lowland peat land sites. 

Taxonomic richness and microbial communitystructure will be analysed via high-throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatics at the NHM, andcompared to existing sequencing data from other temperate peatland sites.

The student will also work with the CASE partner (Cambridgeshire County Council) to analyse and interpret Earth Observation (EO) data, allowing upscaling of site-based observations in relation to the potential for large-scale land-use change.

Training and skills

Students will be awarded CENTA2 Training Credits (CTCs) for participation in CENTA2-provided and ‘free choice’ external training. One CTC equates to a half day session and students must accrue 100 CTCs across the three years of their PhD.

The student will have full access to UoL and CENTA training programmes. At the project outset they will co-develop a training plan, which will be regularly reviewed, to ensure they gain the skills required for successful PhD completion.

The student will acquire specialist skills in soil GHG measurement (UoL and CEH), microbiology (NHM), organic geochemistry (UoL) and EO data analysis and data upscaling (UoL incollaboration with CCC).

They will also have the opportunity to undertake placements with CCC. Partners and collaboration (including CASE): The UoL and CEH supervisors have a long track record of collaboration, including three previous CENTA PhDs and major UK/international peatland projects. UoL, NHM and CEH are also currently collaborating on a recently established project.

The student will be embedded within this experienced team, working alongside other researchers and stakeholders and will spend time working at the UoL and NHM laboratories, acquiring additional skills and experience.

During field work and placements they will have the opportunity to interact and work with local specialists, farmers and further stakeholders (e.g farm advisors, CCC specialists on land management).

COVID-19 resilience of the project

Restrictions on travel and field work have been removed by the UoL, allowing researchers to undertake UK-based research without restrictions. We will, however, continue to carefully risk-assess all activities and ensure that disruption to field and lab-based work can be minimised.

If necessary, supervisory meetings will be held online and the student equipped with a laptop and other facilities for home working.

Travel between UoL and NHM labs, CCC and field sites will be planned according to conditions at the time.

How to apply

See the CENTA website on how to apply for this project.