Illustrated infographic titled “Harnessing the Low-Hanging Fruits: Rewetting Unmanaged Marginal Organic Soils to Achieve Maximal Greenhouse Gas Reduction.” Authors: Haonan Guo, Shihao Cui, Claudia Kalla Nielsen, Lin Tang, Lorenzo Pugliese, and Shubiao Wu. The graphic shows a curved strip of agricultural peatlands with land uses progressing left to right: unmanaged wetlands (dense vegetation), grassland with grazing cows, grassland harvest, and cropland (corn field with tractor). A green arrow on the left indicates high GHG reduction potential and says “Prioritize,” while a red arrow on the right indicates management intensity and says “Postpone.” Caption below: “Where to prioritize for rewetting?” The WET HORIZONS logo is at the bottom right.
Figure with two panels:
(a) Bar chart of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (mg CO₂-eq m⁻² d⁻¹) for Grass-cut, Grass-graze, Arable, and Unmanaged soils at depths −8 cm, 0 cm, and +8 cm. Bars show CO₂ (red) and CH₄ (blue). Emissions are highest at −8 cm, lower at 0 cm, and lowest at +8 cm.
(b) Box plot of GHG reductions (mg CO₂-eq m⁻² d⁻¹) comparing 0 cm and +8 cm depths across land uses. Positive reductions at +8 cm, strongest under unmanaged soils, weaker under arable and grass systems.
Greenhouse gas emissions and reductions in CO2 equivalents. (a) Total greenhouse gas emissions illustrating the overall climate impact. (b) Greenhouse gas reductions in rewetted treatments (0 and 8 cm) compared to drained treatments (−8 cm). Error bars represent means ± 95% confidence interval (n = 9 for total emissions; n = 3 for reductions). Statistically significant differences between land-use types and water-level treatments, analyzed using linear mixed-effect models, are denoted as follows: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ****P < 0.0001.
Figure with four panels:
(a) Line plot of cumulative CO₂ emissions vs. incubation time (days). CO₂ rises over time, highest at −8 cm depth, lowest at +8 cm.
(b) Line plot of cumulative CH₄ emissions vs. incubation time. CH₄ is lower overall, variable under grass-graze and grass-cut, again depth-dependent.
(c) Box plot of cumulative CO₂ emissions by land use (Grass-cut, Grass-graze, Arable, Unmanaged). −8 cm depth shows highest emissions, +8 cm lowest.
(d) Box plot of cumulative CH₄ emissions by land use. Patterns similar but values smaller and more variable.
Greenhouse gas emissions during incubation. (a, b) Cumulative CO2 and CH4 emissions. The shaded area represents means ± 95% confidence interval of three replicates. (c, d) Statistical analysis of the cumulative CO2 and CH4 emissions. White dots in the middle represent the mean of the maximum cumulative emission observed for each core within the same land use-water level combination (n = 9). Boxes span means ± SE, with whiskers extending to means ± 95% confidence interval. Statistically significant differences between land-use types and water-level treatments, analyzed using mixed-effect models, are indicated above the panel and adjacent to the legend, respectively: *P < 0.05, ****P < 0.0001
Which peatlands should we rewet to achieve the greatest climate benefit while minimizing conflicts with agriculture?
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Harnessing the Low-Hanging Fruits: Rewetting Unmanaged Marginal Organic Soils to Achieve Maximal Greenhouse Gas Reduction
