PALUDICULTURE

Within the Nature for Climate Fund, Natural England is delivering the Paludiculture Exploration Fund (PEF) for England. This website provides a hub for the PEF projects and also provides links for the wider Paludiculture Community.

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EVENTS

Access details of future and past events relating to Paludiculture in England.
Find the latest information about future events.
Access reports from past Events and Workshops.

Access details of on-ongoing and completed projects relating to Paludiculture in England.
Find out more about the Paludiculture Exploration Fund
Share reports and updates from the range of ongoing Paludiculture projects

Access more information relevant to the growing opportunity for Paludiculture in England
Find summaries of academic research on a range of relevant topics including the agronomy and use of paludiculture crops, together with the impacts of paludiculture on GHG emissions, biodiversity and water resources.
Share reports and guidance from research in practice

ABOUT PALUDICULTURE

Paludiculture, or farming with high water tables, is a system of agriculture for the profitable production of wetland crops under conditions that support the competitive advantage of these crops. While the term “paludiculture” is a recent one, its practice in England goes back generations.

In the context of lowland peat soils, paludiculture takes place through raising of the water table to achieve wetland conditions. Paludiculture offers a potential solution for maintaining the profitable use of lowland peatland whilst significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their current (dryland) agricultural use. In 2020, emissions from drained agricultural peatlands in England were estimated at 8.5 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents. This is around 3% of England’s emissions.

NEWS AND BLOG

COMMUNITY

Paludiculture Gains European Spotlight on Euronews

Euronews highlights the Palus Demos project at Ballaghurt Bog, demonstrating paludiculture’s potential to align peatland rewetting with economically viable biomass production. Paludiculture — the productive use of wet soils — is emerging as a transformative approach to farming across Europe, with promising benefits for both agriculture and water quality. This potential was recently highlighted in The Road to Green , a Euronews TV series hosted by Cyril Fournier, which explore

Douglas Hobbs

2 hours ago1 min read

Recommended reading from Lancashire Wildlife Trust

Paludi4All promising species survey

The Paludi4All project is after some information to help them identify promising species and value chains that can support climate mitigation and rural development. To help them in this study, they would like you to complete their survey . The survey focuses on 13 species, or species‑groups, identified in prior research as having potential as paludiculture crops in temperate zones of Europe (Abel, S. & Kallweit, T. (2022) Potential Paludiculture Plants of the Holarctic. Pag

Douglas Hobbs

Oct 211 min read

The Fenland Flora: Survival against the odds

The Fenland Flora: Survival against the odds Webinar: Monday, November 17 1 – 2 pm Owen Mountford (joint coordinator with Jon Graham of the Fenland Flora project) is delivering a webinar that provides an overview of the Fenland Flora project. Since 2005, the project has been surveying the Fens, documenting the history and current state of wild plants, emphasising the region’s importance, especially for aquatic plants. Click here to register

Douglas Hobbs

Oct 141 min read