February 6, 2025
(press release)
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Peatland forests are seen as the ’bad guy’ of climate policy in Central Europe, says Professor Annamari Laurén to Audiomedia. According to Annamari Laurén, Professor of Peatland Forestry at the University of Helsinki, the restoration of peatlands will not solve the problem of global warming. ’In terms of climate goals, people expect too much of peatland restoration. Restoration will have a warming effect for at least a hundred years, and only then will it begin to bring in the expected results,’ Laurén says in an interview with Audiomedia. Most of the peatland forests in commercial use have been drained at some point or another. Peatland restoration involves the blocking or filling in the drainage ditches. As a result, more water will be retained in the area, peatland vegetation will return and the number of trees will decrease either naturally or through fellings. Blocking the drainage ditches is defined as LINKKI one of the ways to implement the EU’s restoration regulation. All forest-related EU matters are particularly important for Finland, it being the most extensively afforested country in Europe. Forests cover over 75 percent of Finland’s land area. Peatlands as the bad guys Annamari Laurén says to Audiomedia that she is the only university professor of peatland forestry in the world. According to her, the concept of peatlands as the bad guys has been to a great extent formulated by German and Dutch peatland researchers, who tend not to have much experience of forested peatlands. ’The draining of peatlands in Central Europe and Britain for agricultural use began as early as the 15th century, and there are few peatland forests there. Peatlands with forests, such as we have, appear unnatural from their perspective.’ Laurén points out that to a great extent, the drainage of peatland forests in Finland has been a success story. ’Currently, peatland forests bring in a quarter of the total forest revenue,’ Laurén says. ’Finns find themselves in a rather exceptional position as regards peatland forests, because in Sweden and Norway, the share of such forests of the total forest area is small enough that restoring them will not have as great an impact on society as in Finland. The combination of peatlands and forests in Finland is unique,’ she says. Drainage improved growth of peatland forests Laurén finds that those engaging in forest debate should try to understand history instead of simply blaming past generation for draining the peatlands. ’At the turn of the 20the century, Finnish forests were in an absolutely dreadful shape. And since peatlands cover one third of the land area, people began to view peatland forests as a resource, whose growth should be improved. If the share of peatlands was only one tenth of Finland’s land area, we could afford to exclude them from forestry,’ says the professor. Productive forest land is a carbon sink Laurén says that productive forest land should not be restored since it is important for timber production and acts as a carbon sink. She does not mean to reject the restoration of peatlands completely, though. ’If the needs of forestry are taken into account when planning restoration, we won’t go badly wrong. Peatlands where forestry can’t be successful can be restored,’ she says. Laurén stresses that the carbon balance of peatland forests must be viewed as a whole, including the balances of both soil and forest. ’Drained peatlands act as carbon sinks when you factor in tree growth. When peatland is drained, the carbon storage in the soil will shrink. If we want to cool down the climate in less than a hundred years, we should keep the peatlands forested and growing, and raise the groundwater tables in peatland forests used for timber production.’ In Laurén’s opinion, peatlands suitable for restoration are sphagnum peatlands, as their water retention is high. ’Since they are wet anyway, I don’t think they will bring in a significant carbon credit. Old spruce mires with environmental and biodiversity values can be restored by helping them retain water.’ ’If too much water is retained in spruce mires, the trees will die off. Rewetting must be done with real skill , and it is easy to bungle the job.’ Nature does not listen to politicians Laurén points out that nature does not align itself with policy goals. ’Nature follows its own laws, and they are something we must know. The ecosystems of drained forests have already changed in many ways, which is why restoration may be a misleading term. A more neutral term for peatland forests is rewetting,’ Laurén says. In Laurén’s opinion, certain types of peatland forests, such as thin-peated mires with grasses, woody herbs, bilberries and/or cowberries, are excellent for afforestation. ’They bring in the same revenue per hectare as corresponding mineral soils do,’ she says. Laurén stresses the necessity of determining the biodiversity benefits achieved with the restoration of certain peatland forests. ’IF biodiversity shortcomings are found, then they can be remedied by restoration.’ Importance of water management in peatland forests Laurén also addresses the importance of managing the hydrology of peatland forests. According to recent research, trees grow bester on peatlands when water tables are fairly high. This will also reduce carbon emissions from the soil. ’This means that drainage ditches can be blocked or allowed to gradually revert to nature. Compared to mineral soils, peatlands allow the use of many more tools for managing forest growth and preparing for drought.’ One of these tools is the fertilization of peatland forests with ash. According to the forest expertise organization Tapio, doubling the area currently fertilized could bring in LINKKI as much as one million cubic metres of additional growth. After fertilization, forests bind more carbon than is generated in the manufacturing and use of the fertilizers. ’With the use of ash we can maintain a good growth on peatland heaths for up to 40–70 years. Ash fertilization does slightly increase missions from the soil, but this can be compensated for by raising the groundwater tables. A peatland heath like this will provide a balanced growth site for trees. That’s why I would continue to include peatland heaths in forestry,’ Laurén says to Audiomedia.
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