Imagine turning soggy, damaged wetlands into productive farms instead of letting them leak carbon into the air. This project finds the best plants—like reeds and birch—that love wet soil and can be sold as products. It's like creating a guidebook for farmers to make money while helping the planet breathe easier.
Degraded peatlands leak massive amounts of carbon and are difficult to farm traditionally. Landowners currently lack the industrial-scale models and policy support needed to switch to wet-farming without losing income.
A decision support tool for rewettability and five industrial-scale value chains for crops including Downy Birch, Reed, Sedges, Typha, and Reed Canary Grass.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with high carbon footprints in raw materials — this project developed value chains for crops like Reed and Sedges that can reduce GHG emissions by 70-80%. This allows you to source sustainable, low-carbon biomass at an industrial scale.
If you are a farmer dealing with degraded organic soils that are hard to manage — this project developed a decision support tool for rewettability and field-scale operations. This helps you transition to paludiculture while maintaining a steady income.
If you are a feed producer dealing with the need for sustainable fodder — this project developed value chains for Reed Canary Grass and other wet-soil crops. This provides a new, climate-smart source of biomass for the livestock sector.
The project focuses on co-innovating cost-effective, climate-smart value chains to ensure that farmers and landowners can still generate income while rewetting land. Based on available project data, the goal is to make these operations economically viable at scale.
Yes, the project utilizes 4 large-scale sites in Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, and the UK to demonstrate industrial-scale farming models. It specifically aims to move beyond small plots to show how these value chains work in the real world.
Based on available project data, there is no specific mention of patents or licensing agreements; however, the project provides recommendations and best practices for large-scale deployment.
The project identifies barriers to deployment and provides recommendations to improve policy and legislation for paludiculture across Europe. This is designed to support the EU's goal of cutting GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
The project runs from February 1, 2025, to July 31, 2029, during which it will showcase best practices and develop five specific crop value chains.
The consortium is diverse, consisting of 19 partners across 8 countries. While it has a strong research base (9 university and research entities), it includes 3 industry partners and 3 SMEs, resulting in a 16% industry ratio. This mix suggests a transition from academic theory to practical, multi-actor application, supported by a coordinator (LUONNONVARAKESKUS) experienced in natural resources.
Contact LUONNONVARAKESKUS in Finland for details on the decision support tool for rewettability.
Contact us to find a partner for the 5 identified paludiculture value chains.
