info@forpeat.eu
Open Lab 1
Finland
Location:
Sanginjoki, Kivalo, Lettosuo & Ylpässuo, Finland
Type of ecosystem:
Boreal peatland forest
Size:
300 ha in total
Site manager:
Metsähallitus at Sanginjoki, Kivalo, Lettosuo
Natural Heritage Foundation at Ylpässuo
OL Coordinator (organisation and country):
The Natural Resources Institute Finland at Sanginjoki, Kivalo &Lettosuo
University of Eastern Finland at Ylpässuo
Management Dilemmas
in Drained Peatland Forests
Finland is a peatland country. Nearly one-third of its land area consists of peat soils, and approximately half of these peatlands have been drained, mainly for forestry. While drained peatland forests can function as net carbon sinks due to tree growth, their soils often become carbon sources.
Forest management practices, particularly clear-cutting and intensive rotation forestry, further complicate this balance. They can increase greenhouse gas emissions from peat soils and enhance the leaching of nutrients and dissolved organic carbon into downstream water bodies. These impacts extend beyond carbon, influencing water quality, biodiversity and broader ecosystem services.
Rewetting is frequently recommended as a mitigation strategy for peatland forests, yet it is not always the optimal solution. Its effectiveness varies depending on site conditions, management history and hydrological context, and many of these dynamics remain insufficiently studied.
A Network of Complementary Sites
Open Lab 1 comprises four Finnish sites — Sanginjoki, Kivalo, Lettosuo and Ylpässuo — together representing the main management and restoration approaches applied to forested peatlands in Finland. Rather than focusing on a single intervention, the Open Lab creates a comparative framework across contrasting regimes.
This combination allows researchers to evaluate not just whether restoration works, but how different management pathways compare in terms of climate mitigation, water protection, biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Management
Approaches Under Study
At Sanginjoki, ecological restoration is implemented at catchment scale. This includes rewetting measures combined with partial or full tree removal to raise the water table. The aim is to restore hydrological function while reducing peat oxidation and associated carbon losses.
At Lettosuo and Kivalo, the focus is on Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF). Unlike rotation forestry, CCF avoids clear-cuts and maintains a permanent tree canopy. By moderating fluctuations in groundwater levels, CCF has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions from peat soils while still providing landowners with timber income. This makes it a promising compromise between climate mitigation and economic viability.
At Ylpässuo, protected since 2020, the peatland is undergoing natural restoration with minimal human intervention. Efforts focus on restoring hydrological connections between the mire and the surrounding catchment. This site provides insight into how peatlands recover when active management is reduced, and natural processes are allowed to dominate.
Research Objectives
and Monitoring
The goal of Open Lab 1 is to study different management strategies for Finland’s major peatland uses, supported by robust and efficient monitoring systems. The setup enables a comprehensive assessment of:
- Greenhouse gas mitigation potential
- Water quantity and quality impacts
- Biodiversity responses
- Ecosystem services
Greenhouse gases are measured using eddy covariance systems and chamber methods, providing both ecosystem-scale and plot-level data on CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes. Water quantity and water quality are monitored to evaluate nutrient and dissolved organic carbon leaching. Biodiversity is assessed using remote sensing technologies and acoustic sensors, enabling scalable, cost-efficient and long-term data collection.
