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Project Code [2024-CE-1289]
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Project title
Advanced Integrated Measurements and Modelling Approaches for Predicting Carbon Emissions and Removals from Irish Peatlands
Primary Funding Agency
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Co-Funding Organisation(s)
Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine
Lead Organisation
Atlantic Technological University (ATU)
Lead Applicant
Alina Premrov
Project Abstract
Peatlands are known to be one of significant carbon (C) reservoirs, where the strength of their C sink is regulated by multiple factors. Despite losing a huge proportion of peatlands in past due to human actions, Ireland remains a peat-rich country. A robust emissions accounting system for peatlands is not yet in place in Ireland and further work is needed to improve the inclusion of peatlands for the national inventory reporting requirements. Nevertheless, peatlands account for a considerable proportion of soil organic C stocks in Ireland and are important both nationally and internationally for achieving climate mitigation goals. Especially restoring degraded peatlands represents one of the key ways to achieve the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. In light of current national peatland restoration activities and plans, it is crucial to enhance our understanding of the main drivers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission/removal dynamics from peatland systems, which can help us to evaluate the impact of management interventions on their ability to act as C sink. The proposed project aims, among others, to complement and enhance current approaches in the reporting of CO2 and CH4 emission/removal estimates for peatland ecosystems at the national level, as well as to assist the identification of the most appropriate management interventions. The proposed research will identify the main drivers and establish links between analysis of GHG (i.e. CO2 and CH4) emissions and removals with an aim to contribute to the knowledge and better understanding of unique nature of Irish peatlands, with special focus on formerly degraded and rehabilitated peatlands. To achieve this, the proposed research strongly builds on existing Irish EPA funded CO2PEAT project resources and findings, aiming to utilize already compiled data from existing/past research projects on peatlands under CO2PEAT, and to further progress in the development of improved methodologies for reporting and verifying CO2 and CH4 emissions/removals from Irish peatlands. While CO2PEAT project primarily focuses on CO2, here proposed research accounts for both CO2 and CH4. The CO2PEAT’s critical review also identified a number of challenges, such as crucial data-/information-gaps and research needs, which here proposed project aims to address and complement. The proposed project aims to overcome these challenges through utilisation of the advanced integrated measurements and modelling approaches, by introducing a comprehensive modelling framework, which acts as a back-bone to a series of modelling and modelling-related task, in a structured manner. These range from statistical/empirical and/or hybrid/coupled modelling approaches/tasks to using the biogeochemical process-based models, which are explained in detail in separate work packages in this project. The proposed work also strives to enable better establishment of links between analysing GHG removals/emissions in Ireland at various scales, from site-level to regional and national scales. As such, the proposed research will have a number of outputs, and is expected to provide beyond the current state-of-the-art research, as well as support the knowledge transfer to a wide scientific community and beyond.
Grant Approved
€611,465.39
Research Hub
Addressing Climate Change Evidence Needs
Research Theme
Developing Climate Neutral Pathways for Ireland
Initial Projected Completion Date
30/03/2029