Mitigation of greenhouse gas fluxes from cultivated organic soils by raised water table

Summary

Cultivated organic soils are a remarkable source of greenhouse gases (GHG) in some countries and raised ground water table has been suggested as a mitigation measure on these soils.
Drainage of the peat increases mineralization of the organic matter and causes high emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) while emissions of methane (CH4) are lowered compared to pristine peatlands. In countries with a large area of organic soils these GHG
emissions can be remarkable. In Finland, the area of cultivated organic soils is 12% of the agricultural area but they cause 30% of the N2O emissions of agricultural soils reported under the Climate Convention of the UNFCCC. Organic croplands are also the largest single emission
source of CO2 among the emissions reported in the land use sector.