CH4peat is a 3-year research project funded under the EPA Research Program 2021-2030. The project began in April 2022 and ends in March 2025. The goal of this research project is to investigate methane (CH4) emissions from two rewetted peatlands located in the Midlands of Ireland.

This project will employ the state-of-the-art monitoring with process-based models to improve understanding of CH4 emissions from rewetted peatlands. The project aims to improve the current National Inventory Reporting methodologies by providing an analysis of GHG emission and removals and contributing to the development of site-specific tier 2 emission factors (EFs), especially from rewetted areas.

Dr. Amey Tilak, the Principal Investigator and Prof. Dr. Ken Byrne, the Mentor of CH4Peat, are based in the Biological Sciences Department at University of Limerick. The project leaders are really excited to embark on the journey of quantifying CH4 fluxes from rewetted areas and quantifying the dominant CH4 pathways from peat to the atmosphere using field measured data and process-based models.

Amey expanded on this, saying "The process-based models will improve our understanding about the responses of the rewetted peatland and its biogeochemistry in current and future climate change scenarios."

The CH4Peat project is working in collaboration with two EPA funded projects CO2PEAT, N2OPEAT and other important project partners such as Bord na Móna, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to manage Ireland’s peatlands in a way that maximizes the potential for climate change mitigation.

For more information and to stay up to date on CH4Peat, follow the project on Twitter or check out their website.