On October 15, 2025, the AgriDENZ project organized an online workshop on Peatlands and Greenhouse Gases: Insights and Mitigation Pathways from New Zealand, South Africa, and Germany.
Heidi van Deventer from the Agricultural Research Council in South Africa presented an overview of the current state of South Africa’s peatlands including the pressures they face and the measures in place to protect them. She highlighted that despite growing attention to peatland research and their associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many peatland areas remain unmapped due to the vast areas that need to be surveyed. Notably, 80% of the mapped peatlands in South Africa are considered to be heavily to critically modified. However, implementing protective measures is challenging due to ongoing commercial peat extraction, agricultural use, water stress and the threat of recurring peat fires.
Jordan Goodrich from the Bioeconomy Science Institute - Manaaki Whenua - Landcare research in New Zealand and Louis Schipper from the Waikato University, New Zealand, then presented their research on GHG emissions from drained peat soils in New Zealand. These soils, which are commonly used for intensive dairy farming, account for 6–7% of New Zealand’s total GHG emissions, despite covering only about 1% of the country’s land area. By combining data from three research projects, the team aims to improve the accuracy of New Zealand’s national GHG inventory and identify effective mitigation options. However, several questions remain unanswered, including whether it is possible to reliably raise water tables in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
Bärbel Tiemeyer from the Thünen Institute in Germany then presented her research on GHG emissions from organic soils in Germany, focusing on the potential for reducing emissions from intensively managed dairy grasslands. In response to mitigation targets set by policy makers, German agriculture is exploring ways to reduce GHG emissions from organic soils, including the use of sand covers and subsurface irrigation in ongoing farming operations. The results indicated that sand covers without elevated water levels have limited effects, while the impacts of subirrigation systems are still uncertain and were discussed in more detail during the workshop.
You can watch the recording of the online workshop here: https://youtu.be/UAfdnGrQL3o
