Project Overview
This project is one of the first field-scale trials of growing a bulrush (typha) crop on re-wetted agricultural peat. The seed heads will be harvested for use by textile company Ponda® to create BioPuff®, a revolutionary sustainable and eco-friendly replacement for the use of synthetic fibres or goose feather down in padded jackets.
Key objectives
To demonstrate that a commercially viable Typha (bulrush) crop can be grown at scale on re-wetted agricultural peat. Our goal is to provide robust greenhouse gas emissions data showing that harmful releases can be significantly reduced while keeping peat-based farming financially viable for farmers and landowners.
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Alongside emissions monitoring, we are addressing practical challenges of farming on re-wetted soils by trialling the use of standard and adapted farm machinery—ensuring that paludiculture can integrate into existing agricultural systems.
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This five-hectare site is being worked and managed - with support from landowner Peel L&P - by its current tenant farmer Steve Denneny, who has undertaken works to raise the water table before sowing and growing the typha.
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The typha seed has been sown by a drone using both seeds suspended in clay pellets and a cellulose based gel, which helps to suspend the seeds making dispersal easier to manage. The typha is being grown within two different water table depths, at the surface and at 30cm below ground level.
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The first harvest of the seed heads took place in Autumn 2025, using existing farm machinery with a modified digger bucket.
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Greenhouse gas (GHG) levels are being measured across the site and then compared to a neighbouring control site to determine the decrease in GHGs at the re-wetted site in comparison to business-as-usual levels.
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Biodiversity monitoring on the trial site has already shown that there has been a nearly 400% increase in dragonflies and damselflies on the wetter farming field, compared to the control site.
Project design and implementation
The first stage of the project was the design of the infrastructure, and hydrological management for the pilot site; a key requirement was to be able to maintain hydrological control within the trial area without affecting adjacent farmland and railway line. Baseline surveys were carried out including topography, peat depth, and peat quality. This data fed into the site design, which was then ground proofed before ground works commenced.
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Ground works began on site in October 2023; a number of conventional peatland restoration techniques were incorporated to control hydrology on site and allow for farm machinery to access the site during day-to-day farm activities. These techniques included deep trench cell bunding and a network of weirs and pipes to move water across the field depending on the time of year and crop stage.
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The design allows for hydrology to be effectively controlled using a mixture of topography and solar-powered pumps to move water from two water retention pools created at the lowest part of the site into other areas as required.
Drone sowing innovation
The next stage of the project was to determine the optimum method to sow the field with Typha seed. In collaboration with Autospray Systems and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) we were able to successfully demonstrate two approaches to using agri-drones to sow Typha seeds, using seeds encapsulated in clay pellets and also held in a cellulose gel. One of the main findings in the project is that both methods worked but required different water management to maximise sowing success. Successfully sowing the site using the drone has been one of the project’s key achievements. Although we are only expecting full coverage in 2026 due to this year’s drought conditions.
Managing water levels and harvesting
The primary challenge, once the Typha seeds germinated, was managing the hydrology levels to maximise crop yield and minimise GHG emissions whilst dealing with two very different summers. 2024 was one of the wettest summers on records with over 1400mm of rain recorded on site; in comparison from January – September 2025 the site had very little rain, creating less-than-ideal growing conditions for the Typha.
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In August 2025 we were able to demonstrate a machine harvest of the Typha seed heads, working with the farmer who had modified a digger bucket with a cutting bar to harvest the seed heads. This was another key moment in the project, helping us to answer one of the main questions of how to harvest just the seed head of the Typha.
Monitoring and early results
Environmental parameters have been monitored throughout the project including water table depth, soil moisture and soil chemistry and the findings are very encouraging so far. The analysis of the data from GHG emissions and biodiversity monitoring still need to be completed, but initial results indicate that GHG emissions are significantly lower than the control area, and there is a significant increase in flora & invert communities; in addition this project has demonstrated that the hydrology can be controlled close to the surface at field scale without impacting neighbouring land.
Final data will be published in due course.
Conclusions, recommendations and next steps
Conclusions
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The project has demonstrated the potential to grow Typha at field scale. The key learnings from this project on how to reduce set up costs whilst maximising crop value / yield also support the economic viability of Typha production, and how this wetter farming crop production could be supported by high-water table countryside stewardship options for lowland peat soils.
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PEF funding has also helped to identify how other parts of the Typha plant could be potentially utilized, which could unlock further uses for the crops. The data collected during this project will also help build the evidence base for unlocking nature-based solutions (NBS) funding for paludiculture & wetter farming enterprises.
Recommendations
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Longer term data and further replication/large scale pilots are required to fully demonstrate the commercial viability, as well as the biodiversity, carbon and water quality benefits of paludiculture, in order to unlock NBS opportunities.
Further work on the processing and harvesting techniques of (different parts of the) Typha crop is required, along with easy-to-follow guides for wetter farming set-up, especially on field scale water management.
Next Steps for Scaling Typha-Based Paludiculture
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Upscale to multifield scale to look at how hydrological control can work across a landscape.
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Further work on Typha crop management especially with the rhizome management post-harvest so the Typha will produce a crop for a minimum of 5-6 years.
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Nutrient requirements & management of nutrients within a wetter farming system to maximise crop yields and understand impacts on water quality/emissions.
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Fine tune harvest including processing post-harvest to minimise biomass attached to the seed heads allowing for the product to be sent in a condition to maximise crop viability.
Further work on how to minimise water loss on site, especially from trans evaporation.
Location
​Chat Moss, Greater Manchester, UK
Project partners
Partners -
The project is being run jointly between Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Ponda®, Peel L&P and farmer, Steve Denneny.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Lead partner bringing together the partners and designing the project. LWT are also leading on the practical project delivery framework and design.
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Contact -Sarah Johnson, Head of Peatland Nature Recovery
Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Sarah Johnson – sjohnson@lancswt.org.uk
Mike Longden – mlongden@lancswt.org.uk
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Partner - Ponda
An emerging materials science company who have created BioPuff®, a revolutionary sustainable and eco-friendly replacement for the use of goose feather down in padded jackets, manufactured from the seedheads of typha grown on re-wetted agricultural peat.
Partner - Peel L&P
The landowners of the trial site, and keen to support the discovery of sustainable land-use across their peatland holdings.
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Partner - Steve Denneny
The current tenant farmer of the trial site and will be doing the on-the-ground farming of the typha crop. Steve will also be undertaking the re-wetting works. His experience in farming land in the area for over 35 years is invaluable.