Preferential flow has been identified as an important secondary process to transport through the soil matrix in controlling solute movement in soils. However, it remains unknown to what extent a fast‐transporting flow regime governs solute leaching and whether it persists for various seasons at field scale. For 3 yr, KBr was applied in late autumn to the surface of a tile‐drained field site (0.5 ha in size) and monitored in drain outflow for 5 mo each year. All three seasonal breakthrough curves (BTC) were dominated by an early first concentration maximum and intensive tailing, indicating preferential flow to be a strong intrinsic soil property at the experiment site. A bimodal probability density function (pdf) was adequate to describe the concentration courses of the first 2 yr of investigations. The coefficient of determination was not satisfying when the model was fitted to the BTC of the last season, which was the only one to have a distinct secondary (matrix) peak. The optimized weighting factor combining the two pdfs suggested that preferential transport mechanisms governed the flow process to about 60% during all 3 yr. Simple linear regression analysis among flow rates and solute concentrations showed that both measures increased and decreased simultaneously during the early stages of the first test, which was interpreted as a confirmation of the dominance of preferential flow. The same method, however, revealed that Br‐ was leached predominantly through the soil matrix during the corresponding observation period of the last season.
Peatlands are lands with a peat layer at the surface, containing a large proportion of organic carbon. Such lands cover ≈1 000 000 km2 in Europe, which is almost 10% of the total surface area. In many countries, peatlands have been artificially drained over centuries, leading to not only enormous emissions of CO2 but also soil subsidence, mobilization of nutrients, higher flood risks, and loss of biodiversity. These problems can largely be solved by stopping drainage and rewetting the land. Wet peatlands do not release CO2, can potentially sequester carbon, help to improve water quality, provide habitat for rare and threatened biodiversity, and can still be used for production of biomass (“paludiculture”). Wisely adjusted land use on peatlands can substantially contribute to low‐emission goals and further benefits for farmers, the economy, society, and the environment.
Drainage of peatlands causes severe environmental damage, including high greenhouse gas emissions. Peatland rewetting substantially lowers these emissions. After rewetting, paludiculture (i.e. agriculture and forestry on wet peatlands) is a promising land use option. In Northeast Germany (291,361 ha of peatland) a multi-stakeholder discussion process about the implementation of paludiculture took place in 2016/2017. Currently, 57% of the peatland area is used for agriculture (7% as arable land, 50% as permanent grassland), causing greenhouse gas emissions of 4.5 Mt CO2eq a−1. By rewetting and implementing paludiculture, up to 3 Mt CO2eq a−1 from peat soils could be avoided. To safeguard interests of both nature conservation and agriculture, the different types of paludiculture were grouped into ‘cropping paludiculture’ and ‘permanent grassland paludiculture’. Based on land legislation and plans, a paludiculture land classification was developed. On 52% (85,468 ha) of the agriculturally used peatlands any type of paludiculture may be implemented. On 30% (49,929 ha), both cropping and permanent grassland paludiculture types are possible depending on administrative check. On 17% (28,827 ha), nature conservation restrictions allow only permanent grassland paludiculture. We recommend using this planning approach in all regions with high greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands to avoid land use conflicts.
C. (2020). Nutrient removal potential and biomass production by Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia on European rewetted peat and mineral soils. The Science of the Total Environment, 747, [141102].
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