Welche Herausforderung/Problem wurde angesprochen??

Cultivated peatlands account for a significant share of agricultural greenhouse gas (Treibhausgas) emissions in Finland. In order to successfully mitigate climate impact of cultivated peatlands, the proposed mitigation measures must be cost-constrained and widely implementable as part of the everyday life of a profitable farm. Farmers are active in experimenting with new farming practices, but their integration into daily farm operations requires more information.

Wie hast du das Problem gelöst?

The project Low-emission grassland rotations on peatland investigated the opportunities and barriers at farm level to implement farming techniques that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project involved 11 dairy farms of Valio and Osuuskunta Pohjola Maito in North and Central Ostrobothnia. Together with each farm, demonstrations of interest to the farm itself were devised, in which the farm tested various methods that were considered to reduce climate emissions directly or indirectly on cultivated peatlands. In demonstrations was tested different cultivation management methods, cutting-height in harvesting, additional sowing, optimization in fertilization when using manure after biogas plant process, water managent in cultivated peatlands and the use of data in farm level operations.

Was ist in Ihrem Praxisfall innovativ?

The project implemented a database of Finnish studies on agricultural GHG emissions and factors affecting emissions on the Science and Knowledge section of Luke’s Natural Resource Information website. The site includes a map application that allows users to see where in Finland GHG measurements have been conducted, on which soil types, with which measurement methods and what kind of results have been obtained. The website will be updated and developed further after the project with other funding.

The project was innovative in it’s actions by having demonstrations at actual farms in close co-operation with the farmers. Farmers actively participated to discussions on which demonstrations they consider interesting from their perspective and what they would like to test in their own farm.

Was sind die Erfolgsfaktoren bei der Lösung des Problems?

In on-farm demonstrations, farmers shared their own experiences of the feasibility of the different tools as part of their farm activities. Cooperation between farmers, producer organisations, advisors and researchers helped to identify practical solutions.

Gewonnene Erkenntnisse

Farmers participated actively to demonstrations and had a positive attitude towards new methods that may help to mitigate GHG emissions from cultivated peatlands. jedoch, researchers should show more clear what kind of mitigation potential different methods have especially when farms have challenges to allocate time for all farm activities but also if farm considers not to benefit from different mitigation measures and especially if there is no financial compensation, then the commitment is likely low.

Raising the groundwater level above the usual level is a challenging and depends in particular on the soil type of the field, the location of the field in the catchment area and the existing drainage system. Without a well-functioning controlled drainage system and, über alles, without additional water from pumping or storage in the catchment area, it is difficult to raise the water table level to the desired level.

Alles in allem, the aim should be that water is retained in the field rather than draining it too efficiently but farmers need more support more designers and drainage engineers with planning and desigining the drainage system. Z.B. the structure of the well of the subsurface drainage system should be more familiar to the farmer in order them to use them easily and more effectively. The straight access to the data from water table level measurements was given to the farmers to offer possibility to follow the moisture changes in their own plots but farmers where not that much using the possibility. The data should have been in more clear form but also the dairy farmers do not operate water management so accurately that they would need the information of precise water table level.

Welche Rolle spielt der Berater bzw. die Beratungsdienstleistung im Praxisfall??

The advisory organization’s experts played a pivotal role in project planning, identifying suitable farms with abundant peatland and willing partners. Their local knowledge facilitated farm selection and initial engagement. With farmer consent and advisor assistance, the project accessed vital farm-specific data, aiding in targeted demonstrations. Throughout planning and execution, advisors provided farming expertise and field observations, enhancing project commitment and networking. Through event participation and content creation, the advisory service effectively disseminated project outcomes to both experts and farmers.

Kann Ihr Ansatz auf andere Innovationsherausforderungen und -regionen übertragen und/oder angepasst werden??

Ja

Geschätzte Übertragbarkeit auf einer Skala von 1 zu 5

(wo 1 ist einfach und 5 sehr schwierig)

1

 

Für den Austausch der Erfahrungen mit der guten Praxis, Für alle Fragen und Anfragen zu den kommenden Excellence-Klassen

Maarit Liimatainen

maarit.liimatainen@luke.fi, +358503019564

Link zu externen Informationen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc