Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law

Gerald Jurasinski; Alexandra Barthelmes; Kenneth A. Byrne; Bogdan H. Chojnicki; Jesper Riis Christiansen; Kris Decleer; Christian Fritz; Anke Beate Günther; Vytas Huth; Hans Joosten; Radosław Juszczak; Sari Juutinen; Åsa Kasimir; Leif Klemedtsson; Franziska Koebsch; Wiktor Kotowski; Ain Kull; Mariusz Lamentowicz; Amelie Lindgren; Richard Lindsay; Rita Linkevičienė; Annalea Lohila; Ülo Mander; Michael Manton; Kari Minkkinen; Jan Peters; Florence Renou-Wilson; Jūratė Sendžikaitė; Rasa Šimanauskienė; Julius Taminskas; Franziska Tanneberger; Cosima Tegetmeyer; Rudy van Diggelen; Harri Vasander; David Wilson; Nerijus Zableckis; Dominik H. Zak; John Couwenberg

doi:10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5

Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law

Gerald Jurasinski, Alexandra Barthelmes, Kenneth A. Byrne, Bogdan H. Chojnicki, Jesper Riis Christiansen, Kris Decleer, Christian Fritz, Anke Beate Günther, Vytas Huth, Hans Joosten, Radosław Juszczak, Sari Juutinen, Åsa Kasimir, Leif Klemedtsson, Franziska Koebsch, Wiktor Kotowski, Ain Kull, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Amelie Lindgren, Richard LindsayRita Linkevičienė, Annalea Lohila, Ülo Mander, Michael Manton, Kari Minkkinen, Jan Peters, Florence Renou-Wilson, Jūratė Sendžikaitė, Rasa Šimanauskienė, Julius Taminskas, Franziska Tanneberger, Cosima Tegetmeyer, Rudy van Diggelen, Harri Vasander, David Wilson, Nerijus Zableckis, Dominik H. Zak, John Couwenberg

Landscape Ecology and Nature Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review

Abstract

The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is critical for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and active afforestation of degraded peatlands has been suggested as a restoration measure under the NRL. Here, we discuss the current state of scientific evidence on the climate mitigation effects of peatlands under forestry. Afforestation of drained peatlands without restoring their hydrology does not fully restore ecosystem functions. Evidence on long-term climate benefits is lacking and it is unclear whether CO2 sequestration of forest on drained peatland can offset the carbon loss from the peat over the long-term. While afforestation may offer short-term gains in certain cases, it compromises the sustainability of peatland carbon storage. Thus, active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option for climate mitigation under the EU Nature Restoration Law and might even impede future rewetting/restoration efforts. Instead, restoring hydrological conditions through rewetting is crucial for effective peatland restoration.

Original language	English
ISSN	1654-7209
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5
Publication status	Published - 2-May-2024

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Cite this

Jurasinski, G., Barthelmes, A., Byrne, K. A., Chojnicki, B. H., Christiansen, J. R., Decleer, K., Fritz, C., Günther, A. B., Huth, V., Joosten, H., Juszczak, R., Juutinen, S., Kasimir, Å., Klemedtsson, L., Koebsch, F., Kotowski, W., Kull, A., Lamentowicz, M., Lindgren, A., ... Couwenberg, J. (2024). Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law. Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5

@article{7ceeb6b5e65f4a38b12bde428467c2ab,

title = "Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law",

abstract = "The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is critical for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and active afforestation of degraded peatlands has been suggested as a restoration measure under the NRL. Here, we discuss the current state of scientific evidence on the climate mitigation effects of peatlands under forestry. Afforestation of drained peatlands without restoring their hydrology does not fully restore ecosystem functions. Evidence on long-term climate benefits is lacking and it is unclear whether CO2 sequestration of forest on drained peatland can offset the carbon loss from the peat over the long-term. While afforestation may offer short-term gains in certain cases, it compromises the sustainability of peatland carbon storage. Thus, active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option for climate mitigation under the EU Nature Restoration Law and might even impede future rewetting/restoration efforts. Instead, restoring hydrological conditions through rewetting is crucial for effective peatland restoration.",

author = "Gerald Jurasinski and Alexandra Barthelmes and Byrne, {Kenneth A.} and Chojnicki, {Bogdan H.} and Christiansen, {Jesper Riis} and Kris Decleer and Christian Fritz and G{\"u}nther, {Anke Beate} and Vytas Huth and Hans Joosten and Rados{\l}aw Juszczak and Sari Juutinen and {\AA}sa Kasimir and Leif Klemedtsson and Franziska Koebsch and Wiktor Kotowski and Ain Kull and Mariusz Lamentowicz and Amelie Lindgren and Richard Lindsay and Rita Linkevi{\v c}ienė and Annalea Lohila and {\"U}lo Mander and Michael Manton and Kari Minkkinen and Jan Peters and Florence Renou-Wilson and Jūratė Send{\v z}ikaitė and Rasa {\v S}imanauskienė and Julius Taminskas and Franziska Tanneberger and Cosima Tegetmeyer and {van Diggelen}, Rudy and Harri Vasander and David Wilson and Nerijus Zableckis and Zak, {Dominik H.} and John Couwenberg",

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Jurasinski, G, Barthelmes, A, Byrne, KA, Chojnicki, BH, Christiansen, JR, Decleer, K, Fritz, C, Günther, AB, Huth, V, Joosten, H, Juszczak, R, Juutinen, S, Kasimir, Å, Klemedtsson, L, Koebsch, F, Kotowski, W, Kull, A, Lamentowicz, M, Lindgren, A, Lindsay, R, Linkevičienė, R, Lohila, A, Mander, Ü, Manton, M, Minkkinen, K, Peters, J, Renou-Wilson, F, Sendžikaitė, J, Šimanauskienė, R, Taminskas, J, Tanneberger, F, Tegetmeyer, C, van Diggelen, R, Vasander, H, Wilson, D, Zableckis, N, Zak, DH & Couwenberg, J 2024, 'Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law', Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5

TY - JOUR

T1 - Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law

AU - Jurasinski, Gerald

AU - Barthelmes, Alexandra

AU - Byrne, Kenneth A.

AU - Chojnicki, Bogdan H.

AU - Christiansen, Jesper Riis

AU - Decleer, Kris

AU - Fritz, Christian

AU - Günther, Anke Beate

AU - Huth, Vytas

AU - Joosten, Hans

AU - Juszczak, Radosław

AU - Juutinen, Sari

AU - Kasimir, Åsa

AU - Klemedtsson, Leif

AU - Koebsch, Franziska

AU - Kotowski, Wiktor

AU - Kull, Ain

AU - Lamentowicz, Mariusz

AU - Lindgren, Amelie

AU - Lindsay, Richard

AU - Linkevičienė, Rita

AU - Lohila, Annalea

AU - Mander, Ülo

AU - Manton, Michael

AU - Minkkinen, Kari

AU - Peters, Jan

AU - Renou-Wilson, Florence

AU - Sendžikaitė, Jūratė

AU - Šimanauskienė, Rasa

AU - Taminskas, Julius

AU - Tanneberger, Franziska

AU - Tegetmeyer, Cosima

AU - van Diggelen, Rudy

AU - Vasander, Harri

AU - Wilson, David

AU - Zableckis, Nerijus

AU - Zak, Dominik H.

AU - Couwenberg, John

PY - 2024/5/2

Y1 - 2024/5/2

N2 - The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is critical for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and active afforestation of degraded peatlands has been suggested as a restoration measure under the NRL. Here, we discuss the current state of scientific evidence on the climate mitigation effects of peatlands under forestry. Afforestation of drained peatlands without restoring their hydrology does not fully restore ecosystem functions. Evidence on long-term climate benefits is lacking and it is unclear whether CO2 sequestration of forest on drained peatland can offset the carbon loss from the peat over the long-term. While afforestation may offer short-term gains in certain cases, it compromises the sustainability of peatland carbon storage. Thus, active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option for climate mitigation under the EU Nature Restoration Law and might even impede future rewetting/restoration efforts. Instead, restoring hydrological conditions through rewetting is crucial for effective peatland restoration.

AB - The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is critical for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and active afforestation of degraded peatlands has been suggested as a restoration measure under the NRL. Here, we discuss the current state of scientific evidence on the climate mitigation effects of peatlands under forestry. Afforestation of drained peatlands without restoring their hydrology does not fully restore ecosystem functions. Evidence on long-term climate benefits is lacking and it is unclear whether CO2 sequestration of forest on drained peatland can offset the carbon loss from the peat over the long-term. While afforestation may offer short-term gains in certain cases, it compromises the sustainability of peatland carbon storage. Thus, active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option for climate mitigation under the EU Nature Restoration Law and might even impede future rewetting/restoration efforts. Instead, restoring hydrological conditions through rewetting is crucial for effective peatland restoration.

U2 - 10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5

DO - 10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5

M3 - A1: Web of Science-article

SN - 1654-7209

JO - Ambio

JF - Ambio

ER -