Paludiculture - A literature review on the water quality and ecological impacts on paludiculture and wetter farming

The Lowland Agricultural Peat Agenda

The reduction of emissions from lowland agricultural peat, through more sustainable hydrological management has been recognised as a key policy driver in reducing Carbon emissions and reaching Carbon Budget 6 targets. The independent Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, due to report in early 2023, will set out a number of Recommendations to take forward the Policy Agenda, with expected implications for the Environment Agency 's core business.

The new Policy direction of wetter farming and/or paludiculture advocates methods of economically viable farming whilst raising water table levels from their current, significantly drained, positions. The wider benefits and potential risks of the new direction on the water environment and biodiversity in our lowland peat landscapes is currently poorly understood. The commission will provide a baseline understanding for these risks and opportunities through a desk-based literature review.

Scope of the literature review

The desk based literature review will identify the key findings of existing literature, and identify evidence gaps relating to EA responsibilities for two key questions:

1. What are the short/medium/long term positive or negative water quality issues and ecological impacts of wetter farming and paludiculture?

2. How much water is required for rewetting at different scales for wetter farming and paludiculture?

Consideration will be given to literature from the following sources:

• Academic and field based evidence from temperate peatland systems (including UK, Western Europe and North America)

• Existing evidence from rewetting for paludiculture, wetter farming and where relevant, restoration of horticultural peat sites and for nature conservation land uses

• EA and partner reports and "grey literature" held by EA Area teams and others

The commission might be expected to include consideration of the following themes:

• The variation in location, depth and degree of degradation of lowland agricultural peat

• How the lowland peatland resource intersects with EA assets and programmes

• examples of how water management for wetter farming/paludiculture have been integrated with landscape/catchment scale complimentary land-uses (wetter farming, water storage and biodiversity

• the seasonal water balance for different crops/land management and how this affects seasonal water demand

• whether surface flooding is an issue in rewetted areas

• The framework of existing regulatory mechanisms and water control practices governing water management