uk ‘4 per mil’ debate: organic soils joanna clark.pdf · when is it peat? •in england and...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTCopyright University of Reading
UK ‘4 PER MIL’ DEBATE:ORGANIC SOILS
BSSS Meeting, 5 December 2017
Dr Joanna Clark
1
Department of Geography & Environmental Science
![Page 2: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
OUTLINE• What are organic soils and where can we find them in the UK?
• What does ‘4 per mil’ mean for organic soils?
• How does carbon accumulate in organic soils?
• What limits carbon accumulation in organic soils?
• Opportunities to increase carbon accumulation in organic soils
2
![Page 3: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
WHAT ARE ORGANIC SOILS AND WHERE CAN WE FIND THEM?
3
![Page 4: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
4
SOILS ARE NOT EQUAL, SOILS ARE DIVERSE
Images: www.macaulay.ac.uk/host
Peat Peaty podzol Gley Brown Earth
Upland Climate: Cool & Wet Lowland Climate: Warm & Dry
Poor drainage Good drainage Poor drainage Good drainage
![Page 5: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
5
Jenny (1941)
Parent material
Topography
Organisms
Time
Climate
Soil Forming Factors
![Page 6: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
6
Jenny (1941)
Parent material
Topography
Organisms
Time
Climate
Peat
Impeded drainage
Shallow slopes
Wet and cool
1000s yrs
No earthworms
![Page 7: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
7
PEAT GROWS• Litter accumulates in
layers
• No earthworms, no mixing
• Mineral material (if any) below peat layerCan reach depths of 8 m or more
![Page 8: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
WHEN IS IT PEAT?• In England and Wales (Clayden &
Hollis, 1984):
• >40 cm organic material within top 80 cm
• In Scotland (Chapment et al , 2009)
• Organic deposit (>60% OM)
• >50cm depth
8
Natural England Technical Information Note TIN037
![Page 9: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
‘PEATY’ SOILS ARE MAINLY IN THE UPLANDS
Soil Upland Lowland All
Peat soils 11.8% 0.9% 3.0%
Blanket peat 11.4% <0.1% 2.2%
Raised bog 0.4% 0.2% 0.3%
Fen peat <0.1% 0.7% 0.6%
Humic rankers 3.7% <0.1% 0.7%
Stagnopodzols 11.6% 0.2% 2.4%
Stagnohumic
gley soils
17.4% 0.3% 3.6%
Humic gley soils - 0.3% 0.3%
Pelo alluvial gley
soils
- 0.3% 0.2%
All peaty soils 44.5% 2.0% 10.2
%
NATMAPVector, Cranfield UniversityNB: Upland defined by SDA
![Page 10: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
BLANKET PEAT CONTROLLED BY CLIMATE
Blanket peat Mean annual temperature(1961-1990)
Total annual precipitation(1961-1990)
![Page 11: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
WHAT DOES ‘4 PER MIL’ MEAN FOR ORGANIC SOILS?
11
![Page 12: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
12
• Global soils contain 2 to 3 times more carbon than the atmosphere.
• If this carbon level was increased by 0.4%, or 4‰ per year, in the top 30-40 cm of soils, the annual increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere would be stopped.
• This is what the 4 per 1000 Initiative proposes, soils for food security and climate.
www.4p1000.org
![Page 13: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
0.4% C INCREASE IN UK PEAT • Using values in Billett et al (2010)……..
• UK peatland area is 24640 km2 with carbon stock of 2302 MtC
• Average peatland carbon density 93.4 kg C/m2
• 0.4% increase in stock
• 374 g C/m2/yr in total
• 253 g C/m2/yr in top 1m
• 101 g C/m2/yr in top 40 cm
• Observed rates across the UK
• 56 to 72 gC/m2/yr from monitoring data
• 35 to 209 g C/m2/yr from peat cores 13
![Page 14: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
14
BUT, PEAT GROWS• In top 1m,
63 g/m2/mm
• 0.4% increase of top 40 cm C stock is 1.6mm/yr depth
![Page 15: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
HOW DOES CARBON ACCUMULATE IN ORGANIC SOILS?
15
![Page 16: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
Source (fluxes from air to land):
plant tissue (leaves, stems, roots etc…) (i.e. fixed CO2)
Sink (fluxes from land to air):
carbon dioxide (CO2)
methane (CH4)
dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) particulate organic carbon (POC)
CO2 CH4
ca. 90% peat is water
POC
DOC
DIC
Peatland carbon cycle
16
![Page 17: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
WHAT LIMITS CARBON ACCUMULATION IN ORGANIC SOILS?
17
![Page 18: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
CARBON BALANCE OF HEALTHY VS DEGRADED PEATLAND
18
‘Healthy’ Peatland
Atmosphere
CO2/CH4
Exchange
‘Degraded’ Peatland
Atmosphere
CO2/CH4
Exchange
DOC/POCDOC/POC
![Page 19: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
19
PEATLAND DEGRADATION BY EROSIONwww.shetlandamenity.org
![Page 20: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
20
PEATLAND DRAINAGE AND AFFORESTATION
http://www.rspb.org.uk
![Page 21: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
21
PEATLAND DRAINAGE FOR AGRICULTURE (HOLME FEN)
![Page 22: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
22
AGRICULTURE ON LOWLAND PEAT
http://www.countryfile.com
![Page 23: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
23
GRAZING PRESSURE
![Page 24: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
24
MOORLAND BURNING
www.york.ac.uk
![Page 25: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
25
DEGRADATION BY ACID DEPOSITION
![Page 26: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
![Page 27: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
REGIONAL CLIMATE VULNERABILITYKey Region Peat area (%) Rank
Northumbria 2.1 1
Dartmoor, Exmoor & Bodmin
moor
0.9 2
Peak District 3.0 3
Brecon Beacons & South Wales 0.3 4
North York Moors 0.3 5
Orkney 0.7 6
Central Belt 1.5 7
North Pennines 4.5 8
Ayrshire, Dumfris & Galloway 4.1 9
Caithness & East Sutherland 12.0 10
Yorkshire Dales & Bowland 4.8 11
Cambrian Mountains 1.3 12
Scottish Boarders 2.0 13
Snowdonia & North Wales 2.5 14
Grampians 4.5 15
Western Isles 8.6 16
Argyle, Bute & Trossachs 13.5 17
Cumbria Fells & Dales 1.2 18
Shetland 4.1 19
Highlands 25.2 20
5 regions
at lower
limit of
bioclimatic
space
![Page 28: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE CARBON ACCUMULATIONIN ORGANIC SOILS
28
![Page 29: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
29
STOP THE LOSS: STABILISE SURFACE• Erosions rates vary
from 3.4-96 g C/m2/yr(Billett et al. 2010)
http://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk
![Page 30: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
30
STOP THE LOSS: REWETwww.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org
![Page 31: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
31
STOP THE LOSS: REWET
Evans et al (2017)
Study of lowland peatland sites, every 10 cm increase in water-table depth, CO2 emissions increase by around 4 t CO2-eq/ha/yrOr400 g CO2-eq/m2/yr
![Page 32: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
32
GROW THE CARBON
data.wildlifetrusts.org
![Page 33: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
33
MAXIMISE INPUTS BY MINIMISING GRAZING AND BURNING?
https://northyorkmoorsnationalpark.files.wordpress.com
![Page 34: UK ‘4 per mil’ DEBATE: organic soils Joanna Clark.pdf · WHEN IS IT PEAT? •In England and Wales (Clayden & Hollis, 1984): •>40 cm organic material within top 80 cm •In Scotland](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022060220/5f0723557e708231d41b7e8f/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
34
So, for organic soils…..
‘4 per mil’
Or
‘4 mm’
Stop the loss and grow carbon