For peatlands, the Climate Agreement has set down a reduction in annual emissions by 1.0 Mton in 2030. What effects do the various measures to fight subsidence have on greenhouse gas emissions? When it comes to the measures that have been or are being developed to reduce emissions, how do they work? And what role do aspects such as soil life and water quality play in peat decomposition?
In order to answer these questions, the Netherlands Research Programme on Greenhouse gas dynamics in Peatlands and organic soils (NOBV) has been conducting research at various locations since 2019, examining a range of measures and situations. Greenhouse gas fluxes (of CO2, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and methane) are measured at all locations. Soil chemistry and soil physics are researched too, and soil subsidence is measured. The research is conducted by a consortium of various universities and knowledge centres, with a subsidy from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and directed by STOWA.

Ongoing subsidence is an complex problem in the Dutch lowlands for cities and polder land. Old strategies for coping have bottom limits. New strategies will be arranged and the pacing of subsidence mapped and modelled, so that the measures to negotiate and decide on have figures in mm and €.

The project focuses on understanding the role of microbial decomposition in land subsidence. First, the decomspotiion rates in botanically different peatlands will be monitored in the Netherlands. Then,  major drivers of microbial decomspiotion rates such as substrate, pore-water chemistry and microbial community will be studied. At last, the evidences for interaction between biological and physical land subsidence processes will be collected.

• prof. mr. dr. Frank Groothuijse
• dr. ir. Dries Hegger
• dr. G. (Gilles) Erkens
• dr. ir. M.M. (Mariet) Hefting
• prof. mr. Marleen van Rijswick
• prof. dr. Peter Driessen
• dr. Kim Cohen
• prof. dr. Esther Stouthamer
• Ruth de Klerk
• dr. Oscar van Vliet
• Kim de Wit MSc
• Bente Lexmond MSc
• Pepijn van Elderen MSc

• Gilles Erkens (Deltares)
• Bernardien Tiehatten (LOSS)
• Prof. Ramon Hanssen (TU Delft)
• J.G. Rots (TU Delft)
• K.G. Gavin (TU Delft)
• Prof. Ekko van Ierland (WUR)
• Prof. Hans-Peter Weikard (WUR)
• Jan Willem van Groenigen (WUR)
• Jan JH van den Akker (WUR)
• Dr. Mandy Korff (TUD
• Deltares)
• Dr. Peter Fokker (TNO Geological Survey of the Netherlands)