Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Disproportionately High Contribution of Ditches to Landscape Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Drained Peatlands

Judith van der Knaap, Sarah F. Harpenslager, Ralf Aben, Stefan Weideveld, Quint van Giersbergen, Gijs van Dijk, Pascal Wintjen, Alexander Buzacott, Christian Fritz, Bart Kruijt, Sarian Kosten

Ecosystems · 2025

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Summary

Abstract Drained peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; however, research has predominantly focused on terrestrial areas, with much less attention given to drainage ditches. Despite their small surface area, ditches can substantially affect the peatland GHG balance owing to conditions that favour GHG production. We conducted monthly field campaigns in five ditches across two agricultural polders in the Netherlands using floating chambers to measure daytime diffusive emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), diffusive and ebullitive methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and bubble traps to measure CH 4 ebullition. We compared ditch emissions to landscape-scale emissions obtained via eddy covariance (EC) and automated terrestrial chamber measurements during th

Source type
Peer-reviewed study
DOI
10.1007/s10021-025-01005-3
Catalogue ID
SNmohi6m4x-6gvlmb
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