MRV approaches

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• MRV approaches
• in the BMU Belarus peatland project

Hans Joosten Greifswald University, Germany
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Eastern Europe famous for its vast and largely
undisturbed peatlands...
Rospuda Valley, Poland
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Belarus has high proportion of peatlands...
fens (green), bogs (red), transitional peatlands
(purple) former extent 15 of the area
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Present area of natural peatlands 1.5 mio ha
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Present area of drained peatlands 1.5 mio ha
(agriculture 72, forestry 25, peat extraction
3)
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Drained peatlands are huge emittors of CO2 N2O
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CO2 emission
Central Europe is peatland emission hot spot
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Does rewetting reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
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How much less emissions after rewetting?
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BMU funded rewetting project (2008-2011)

• builds on GEF funded rewetting project (42,000
  ha)
• strong support of Belarusian government
• carbon credits
• reduction of fires (radioactivity!)

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BMU funded rewetting project (2008-2011)

• Deliverables
• methodology for GHG assessment
• standard for voluntary trade
• 15,000 ha rewetted and sustainably managed
• local capacity

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Measuring directly is complicated, time
consuming, expensive ( 10,000 /ha/yr) ? proxy
indicators
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Mean water level is best predictor of emissions
(meta-analysis of 25 site parameters in W-Europe)
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CO2 emissions clearly correlate with water
levels they become less with higher water levels
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CH4 emissions clearly correlate with water
levels they increase when higher than 20 cm -
surface
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N2O emissions clearly correlate with water
levels they do not occur when higher than 15 cm
- surface
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N2O erratic, but lower with higher water
levels Leave N2O emissions out ? conservative
estimate
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By rewetting, greenhouse gas emissions decrease,
but less between 20 cm and 0 cm
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Emissions strongly related to water level
Vegetation strongly related to water level ?
Use vegetation as indicator for emissions!
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In an environmental gradient some plant species
occur together others exclude each
other. Species groups (and their absence!)
indicate site conditions much sharper than
individual plant species vegetation forms.
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Vegetation types calibrated for GHG
emissions GESTs Greenhouse gas Emission Site
Types Some examples
Water level Vegetation CH4 CO2 GWP
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GESTs with indicator species groups
Each GEST with typical species
Each GEST with typical GHG emissions
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Benefits of vegetation as a GHG proxy

• reflects long-term water levels
• ? provides indication on GHG fluxes per yr
• is controlled by factors that control GHG
  emissions (water, nutrients, acidity, land use)
• is responsible for GHG emissions via its own
  organic matter (root exudates!)
• may provide bypasses for increased CH4 via
  aerenchyma (shunt species)
• allows rapid and fine-scaled mapping
• ? Vegetation is a more comprehensive proxy
  than water level!

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Disadvantages of vegetation as a proxy

• slow reaction on environmental changes
• 3 years before change in water level is
  reflected in vegetation (negative effect faster)
• needs to be calibrated for different climatic and
  phytogeographical conditions

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Vegetation forms developed for NE Germany
? test of correlations in Belarusian
peatlands
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BMU Belarus project

• Calibration of NE German model for Belarus
• relation vegetation ? water level (CIM position)
• relation water level ? GHG emissions (CIM
  position)
• Completion of model (gap filling)
• Consistency test with international literature
• Development of conservative approaches
• Selection of rewetting sites
• Mapping of vegetation before rewetting
  (assessment of emission baseline )
• Monitor water level and vegetation development
  (ex-post emission monitoring)

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Major gap abandoned peat extraction sites
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• Perspectives of GEST-approach
• Ex-ante baseline assessment with ex-post
  evaluation
• Fine-scaled mapping
• Remote sensing monitoring
• Continuous refinement with progressing GHG
  research
• Addition of new modules (forest, transient
  dynamics)
• Simple, cheap, reliable

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Developed with

• Jürgen Augustin (ZALF)
• John Couwenberg (DUENE)
• Dierk Michaelis (Uni Greifswald)
• Merten Minke (APB / CIM)
• Annett Thiele (APB/ CIM)
• And many more

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GESTs!
info joosten_at_uni-greifswald.de