Paludiculture in North West England
Introduction
The North West of England is home to significant areas of lowland peat, from the Chat Moss peatlands of Greater Manchester to the Lancashire Mosslands and beyond, the majority of these peatlands have been drained and converted to grade one agricultural land. Releasing large amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, many of these areas are also proving increasingly difficult to farm productively under drainage based agricultural practices.
Paludiculture, also known as wetter farming, offers a potential solution for maintaining the profitable use of lowland peatland whilst significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. By raising the water table to reinstate their natural wetland conditions, crops can be grown which thrive in these wetter conditions. This allows the land to remain productive, whilst protecting the remaining soil carbon and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the land.
A number of different organisations, farmers and landowners are working together across the North West to test and trial different paludiculture practices, aiming to help provide answers to questions such as how to raise water tables, what can you grow, how you actually farm it, and can paludiculture be profitable.
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Planting celery at the Rindle wetter farming trial in Greater Manchester
Projects
Boggy bulrushes to BioPuff
One of the first field-scale trial of growing a typha crop on re-wet agricultural peat. The seed heads will be harvested and a market has already been secured for these with 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.
Latest News and Blog
Could celery help fight climate change?
10 May 2024
As part of a UK first wetter farming pilot, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside are trialling growing a commercial celery crop on a re-wetted peatland field, to combine carbon emissions reduction with financially viable production.
Videos
Publications
Potential markets for paludiculture crops
Paludiculture has been proposed as a potential solution for maintaining the profitable use of lowland peatlands whilst significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, underpinning the success of paludiculture is the market viability of paludiculture products.
Katy Ross, Defra
2025
Design Guide to Support Water Table and Water Resource Management in the Broads National Park
The Broads Authority have worked with the Environment Agency to develop a design guide to help interested farmers and landowners plan and implement watertable management strategies. The guide focusses on the typical policy, constraints, and opportunities for water supply, water level management and the permissions required for the restoration of degraded lowland peat
Broads Authority
2025
A guide to support practical implementation of paludiculture systems
This guide is intended to provide guidance and support for the conversion of land and farms to paludiculture and is primarily aimed at farmers and owners of peatland who are considering or already planning this conversion. The aim of the guide is to summarise current knowledge and present the individual steps needed for conversion clearly.
A translation of the Leitfaden Fur Die Umsetzung Von Paludikultur
2025
Potential for Greenhouse Gas Emission Savings from Paludiculture
Drained agricultural lowland peat accounts for 1.5% of the UKs total GHG emissions while supporting 40% of the country’s vegetable production. Paludiculture offers a potential alternative to conventional agriculture that combines profitable crop production with reduced environmental impacts.
Katy Ross, Defra
2024
