The Nordic Experimental Peat Agroecosystem (NorPeat) research platform is a cultivated peatland (26 ha) located at Siikajoki, in Northern Finland.

The field is divided into 8 plots and the peat depth varies between 15 and 75 cm in the different plots. The research platform has controlled subirrigation system and it is cultivated under normal silage grass rotation for beef cattle feed production. In 2021, a water storage reservoir with a volume of approximately 10,000 m 3 was built next to the research platform. Naturally flowing water from the above catchment area, e.g. snow melt water in the spring, is directed into the reservoir.

Objectives

The experimental field was established 2016 to study various environmental effects of cultivated peatlands. Greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, as well as flow and the quality of subsurface drainage water and overflow in addition to environmental parameters (groundwater table, soil moisture frost etc.) are measured or monitored year-round. The water storage reservoir is connected to the controlled sub-irrigation system, which enables the groundwater level to be raised with the aim of mitigating the large GHG emissions of the cultivated peatland or to implement sub-irrigation, which secures the crop during periods of drought.

Local Focus

Grass production on cultivated peatlands located on acid sulphate soils in northern conditions