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Rewetting drained boreal peatland forests does not mitigate climate warming in the twenty-first century.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Rewetting drained boreal peatland forests does not mitigate climate warming in the twenty-first century.
Authors: Launiainen S; Bioeconomy and Environment, Ecosystems and Modeling, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland. samuli.launiainen@luke.fi., Ahtikoski A; Natural Resources, Forest Management, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Tekniikankatu 1, 33720, Tampere, Finland., Rinne J; Bioeconomy and Environment, Ecosystems and Modeling, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland., Ojanen P; Natural Resources, Soil Ecosystems, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland.; Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 7, 00790, Helsinki, Finland., Hökkä H; Natural Resources, Forest Management, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Paavo Havaksen Tie 3, 90570, Oulu, Finland.
Source: Ambio [Ambio] 2025 Dec; Vol. 54 (12), pp. 2107-2117. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Aug 26.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Country of Publication: Sweden NLM ID: 0364220 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1654-7209 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00447447 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ambio Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: Stockholm : Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Original Publication: Oslo, Universitetsforlaget.
MeSH Terms: Climate Change* , Forests* , Global Warming*, Soil/chemistry ; Carbon Dioxide/analysis ; Forestry ; Europe ; Trees
Abstract: Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing and no conflicts of interest. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Rewetting drained peatland forests restores pristine ecosystem functions, improves peatland ecological status, and has been considered to mitigate climate change. We quantified climate impact of rewetting boreal peatland forests in Northern Europe by comparing the radiative forcing of alternative restoration pathways to that of continued forestry use. We considered changes in soil carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide balance, tree stand carbon sink-source dynamics, albedo change, and included the wood product carbon storage and release. We show that restoring nutrient-rich drained boreal peatland forests contributes to climate warming in the short and medium term (< 200 yr), except in specific cases when tree stand carbon storage is preserved. Rewetting nutrient-poor peatland forests has a persistent warming impact. Our results indicate the ecological benefits of rewetting drained boreal peatland forests come at a climate cost, and that restoration is unlikely to mitigate climate change within a timeframe relevant to the EU climate goals.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)
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Grant Information: 356138 Research Council of Finland; 348102 Research Council of Finland; 101056921 H2020 Excellent Science; 2021/900302/09 Europen Commission Just Transition Fund, through Council of Oulu Region
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Climate change mitigation; Forest peatland restoration; Greenhouse-gas balance; Radiative forcing; Rewetting
Substance Nomenclature: 0 (Soil)
142M471B3J (Carbon Dioxide)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20250826 Date Completed: 20251028 Latest Revision: 20251031
Update Code: 20251031
PubMed Central ID: PMC12569233
DOI: 10.1007/s13280-025-02225-6
PMID: 40856976
Database: MEDLINE
Description
Abstract:Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing and no conflicts of interest. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.<br />Rewetting drained peatland forests restores pristine ecosystem functions, improves peatland ecological status, and has been considered to mitigate climate change. We quantified climate impact of rewetting boreal peatland forests in Northern Europe by comparing the radiative forcing of alternative restoration pathways to that of continued forestry use. We considered changes in soil carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide balance, tree stand carbon sink-source dynamics, albedo change, and included the wood product carbon storage and release. We show that restoring nutrient-rich drained boreal peatland forests contributes to climate warming in the short and medium term (&lt; 200 yr), except in specific cases when tree stand carbon storage is preserved. Rewetting nutrient-poor peatland forests has a persistent warming impact. Our results indicate the ecological benefits of rewetting drained boreal peatland forests come at a climate cost, and that restoration is unlikely to mitigate climate change within a timeframe relevant to the EU climate goals.<br /> (© 2025. The Author(s).)
ISSN:1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-025-02225-6