This grant, entitled "Nature-based solutions: Restoration of peatlands for biodiversity recovery and climate change mitigation", began in March 2024, for a period of five years.

Context: Peatlands efficiently and durably store more carbon than other land ecosystems. Therefore, restoring them is among the most cost-effective nature-based solutions for mitigating climate change effects. This Alliance grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) promotes a partnership between the Canadian peat industry (CSPMA and its members), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), the Government of Manitoba, the Université Laval, the University of Waterloo and Queen's University. The aim of this partnership is to establish nature-based solutions through peatland restoration in order to re-establish the biodiversity of these ecosystems and restore their potential as carbon sinks. Our project will restore more peatlands as functioning ecosystems, helping to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss.

The principal investigator of this grant is Line Rochefort (Université Laval). She is surrounded by co-investigators Mélina Guêné-Nanchen and Marc-André Bourgault (Université Laval), Maria Strack (University of Waterloo) and Ian Strachan (Queen's University), and by collaborators Mateusz Grygoruk (Warsaw U. of Life Sciences, Poland), Sylvain Jutras (U. Laval), Tomotsugu Yazaki (Meiji U., Japan) and Nigel Roulet (McGill U.).

In past collaborations between the Canadian horticultural peat industry and the Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG), we improved knowledge on restoration approaches and the functioning of Sphagnum-dominated peatlands (bogs) post-restoration. With this new grant, we will address five themes:

1. Existing fen restoration methods have not proven effective for peat accumulation in Canada. We will develop and test new approaches, focusing on natural regeneration, progressive rewetting modelling, and topographical diversity.
2. Bog restoration methods show promise but need improvements for ecosystem connectivity, hydrological stability, biodiversity recovery, and sustainable material sourcing.
3. Every restoration project requires robust monitoring mechanisms and objective performance evaluation tools that are effective across both temporal and spatial scales to determine success.
4. Given that the ultimate objective of peatland restoration in Canada is the restoration of carbon and peat accumulation functions within these ecosystems, it is imperative to deepen our understanding of the processes driving post-restoration greenhouse gas exchange in fens.
5. Enhanced restoration practises rely on effective knowledge transfer among academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

This project is a partnership between academia (U. Laval, U. of Waterloo and Queen’s U.), the private sector (Canadian horticultural peat industry), an NGO (Ducks Unlimited Canada), and a provincial government (Manitoba). Within the Canadian peat industry, the following partners are involved: the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), Sun Gro Horticulture Ltd. (Sun Gro), Premier Horticulture Ltd. (Premier Tech), Les Tourbières Berger Ltée (Berger), Profile Products LLC (Profile) and Lambert Peat Moss inc. (Lambert). Other members of the industry are also contributing to this research through the CSPMA (Theriault & Hachey Peat Moss Ltd, ASB Greenworld Ltd, Annapolis Valley Peat Moss Co, Aurora Peat Products, Yves Malboeuf Custom Work Inc, Jiffy Company (NB) Ltd, Juniper Organics Ltd, Hi-Point Industries and Nirom Peat Moss). 

Knowledge transfer will empower DUC in wetland restoration and assist Manitoba's government in peatland conservation and restoration regulations for responsible management.