First peatland carbon calculator launches
Sandy, from Trinity Agtech, has launched a module for carbon footprinting lowland & upland peat. For many hill farms and fenland growers, this marks the first time they’ll be able to calculate a full carbon footprint.
Peatlands cover 12% of the UK but has a disproportionately high impact carbon emissions. They release around 17 million tonnes of CO2 each year, more than a third of the emissions attributed annually to UK land use and agriculture.
They are also the UK’s largest carbon store. UK peatlands hold more carbon than the forests of the UK, Germany, and France combined. Carbon stored in Scottish peatland is equivalent to 140 years’ worth of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Lowland peat is also disproportionately important for UK agricultural production. The East Anglian Fens, which contain the UK’s largest area of lowland peat, cover less than 4% of England’s farmed area, but produce one third of its fresh vegetables and a fifth of its potatoes, flowers, & sugar beet.
Other important agricultural areas include the Somerset Levels, Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, Lancashire, Humberside and the Scottish and Northern Irish lowlands. In the uplands, blanket peatlands from Southwest England to Northern Scotland are managed for livestock grazing, grouse moors and plantation forestry.
Effectively measuring and managing peatland will clearly be central to the UK Government & agri-food sector achieving their net zero ambitions. However, existing farm carbon calculators have not provided this.
“Peatland is notably absent from the most widely used farm carbon calculators,” says Dr Alasdair Sykes of Trinity Agtech. “Where it does exist, for example the Farm Carbon Toolkit, the methodology lacks sophistication and accuracy, for example, assuming peat in The Fens can be treated the same as the Welsh uplands – it can’t.”
Peatland around the UK
The Fens, a large area of lowland peat, covers less than 4% of England’s farmed area, but produces one third of its fresh vegetables and a fifth of its potatoes, flowers, & sugar beet.
Balancing carbon sequestration with food production in areas such as this will be vital to achieving agriculture’s net-zero ambitions without sacrificing food security.
Another first for farm carbon footprinting
Upland & lowland peatland is the latest addition to Sandy’s suite of cutting-ledge carbon footprinting tools. It follows the recent launch of a ‘pasture module’, which includes the only soil carbon model to be based on the latest IPCC guidelines; this provided extensive livestock & dairy farmers with accurate footprints for the first time.
Other firsts include a module for perennials, including orchards, controlled environments, and organic systems.
“Whilst some carbon calculators may have claimed to carbon footprint these systems, they simply lacked the customisation and scientific rigour to be credible,” continues Alasdair. “For example, calculating the carbon footprint of an orchard on a per-tree basis, taking no account of species or management strategies. Or footprinting organic systems without taking full account of fertility building throughout rotations.”
Sandy’s peatland module was developed by a team of scientists and engineers that include Professor Jon Hillier (creator of Cool Farm Tool), Dr Alasdair Sykes (former Chief Scientific Officer at Agrecalc), and Dr Juliette Maire (formerly of University of Edinburgh and SRUC).
The model’s foundation is built on a methodology for categorising peatland that includes 16 combinations of peat type and land use. This is aligned with the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory and the Peatland Code. Water level management is considered at the field or habitat scale. This thoroughness reduces the number of assumptions made during the calculation; this reduces uncertainty and improves accuracy.
Trinity has supplemented this with a bespoke model that considers agricultural management, e.g. tillage, cover cropping, and water table management.
“Peatland is incredibly important for improving the rural economy, domestic food security, and reaching our net zero ambitions,” says Prof. Jon Hillier. “However, the oppositive is also true. Mismanagement could irreparably damage our soils and with it food security and rural economies.
“This is why we’re so excited about this latest addition to Sandy. By giving farm businesses, for the first time, the tools to measure their peatland carbon and understand the impact of management changes on that carbon stock… we give land managers the tools to improve profitability and sustainability.”
Avoiding carbon tunnel vision
Despite making a significant investment in carbon, Trinity Agtech is keen to remind people that Sandy offers benefits beyond carbon.
Natural capital beyond carbon
Farm businesses can make significant gains by embracing opportunities beyond carbon, including being rewarded for biodiversity and water protection measures.
Software such as Sandy, the Smart Natural Capital Navigator, make this process simple.
Termed a Smart Natural Capital Navigator, Sandy includes modules for measuring, managing, and monetising biodiversity, agroforestry, nitrogen use efficiency, and waterways. It combines financial, environmental, and farming intelligence in one place.
This enables Sandy’s artificial intelligence to help land managers assess the environmental and financial impact of changing management practices, for example, changing peatland land use or tillage practices.
“Carbon represents a huge opportunity for farm businesses,’ says Anna Woodley, Director of Business Development at Trinity Agtech. ‘However, I think many in the industry are suffering from a kind of carbon tunnel vision. By creating an asset register of farm natural capital in Sandy you open up so many opportunities beyond carbon. We’re not prescriptive; we want to want to give farms the information and tools to make the right decisions for their unique business.”
Request a free demo of Sandy to see how you can unlock your farm’s natural capital potential.