TY - JOUR
T1 - Paludiculture as paludifuture on Dutch peatlands
T2 - An environmental and economic analysis of Typha cultivation and insulation production
AU - de Jong, Marle
AU - van Hal, Ollie
AU - Pijlman, Jeroen
AU - van Eekeren, Nick
AU - Junginger, Martin
PY - 2021/10/20
Y1 - 2021/10/20
N2 - Paludiculture, the cultivation of crops on rewetted peatlands, is often proposed as a viable climate change mitigation option that reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe), while simultaneously providing novel agricultural business options. In West Europe, experiments are ongoing in using the paludicrop cattail (Typha spp.) as feedstock for insulation panel material. Here, we use a Dutch case study to investigate the environmental potential and economic viability of shifting the use of peat soils from grassland (for dairy production) to Typha paludiculture (for cultivation and insulation panel production). Using a life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis, we compared the global warming potential (GWP), yearly revenues and calculated Net Present Value (NPV) of 1 ha Dutch peat soil used either for dairy production or for Typha paludiculture. We estimated that changing to Typha paludiculture leads to a GWP reduction of ~32% (16.4 t CO2-eq ha−1), mainly because of lower emissions from peat decomposition as a result of land-use management (−21.6 t CO2-eq ha−1). If biogenic carbon storage is excluded, the avoided impact of conventional insulation material is insufficient to compensate the impact of cultivating and processing Typha (9.7 t CO2-eq ha−1); however, this changes if biogenic carbon storage is included (following PAS2050 guidelines). Typha paludiculture is currently not competitive with dairy production, mainly due to high cultivation costs and low revenues, which are both uncertain, and will likely improve as the system develops. Its NPV is negative, mainly due to high investment costs. This can be improved by introducing carbon credits, with carbon prices for Typha paludiculture (30 years) comparable to EU-ETS prices. In conclusion, Dutch Typha paludiculture has a significant climate change mitigation potential by reducing emissions from deep drained peatlands. Nevertheless, attention is needed to increase its economic viability as this is a key aspect of the system change.
AB - Paludiculture, the cultivation of crops on rewetted peatlands, is often proposed as a viable climate change mitigation option that reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe), while simultaneously providing novel agricultural business options. In West Europe, experiments are ongoing in using the paludicrop cattail (Typha spp.) as feedstock for insulation panel material. Here, we use a Dutch case study to investigate the environmental potential and economic viability of shifting the use of peat soils from grassland (for dairy production) to Typha paludiculture (for cultivation and insulation panel production). Using a life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis, we compared the global warming potential (GWP), yearly revenues and calculated Net Present Value (NPV) of 1 ha Dutch peat soil used either for dairy production or for Typha paludiculture. We estimated that changing to Typha paludiculture leads to a GWP reduction of ~32% (16.4 t CO2-eq ha−1), mainly because of lower emissions from peat decomposition as a result of land-use management (−21.6 t CO2-eq ha−1). If biogenic carbon storage is excluded, the avoided impact of conventional insulation material is insufficient to compensate the impact of cultivating and processing Typha (9.7 t CO2-eq ha−1); however, this changes if biogenic carbon storage is included (following PAS2050 guidelines). Typha paludiculture is currently not competitive with dairy production, mainly due to high cultivation costs and low revenues, which are both uncertain, and will likely improve as the system develops. Its NPV is negative, mainly due to high investment costs. This can be improved by introducing carbon credits, with carbon prices for Typha paludiculture (30 years) comparable to EU-ETS prices. In conclusion, Dutch Typha paludiculture has a significant climate change mitigation potential by reducing emissions from deep drained peatlands. Nevertheless, attention is needed to increase its economic viability as this is a key aspect of the system change.
KW - Biomass use
KW - Cattail
KW - Life cycle assessment
KW - Peatland economics
KW - Peatland rewetting
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148161
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148161
M3 - Article
C2 - 34465063
AN - SCOPUS:85108288163
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 792
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 148161
ER -