Open Lab 2 is located in Rumba, southern Estonia, within a landscape where forestry and peat soils have been intertwined for decades. The ForPeat study area covers 50 hectares within a larger 500-hectare, spruce-dominated peatland forest. The site lies close to the Avaste Nature Reserve and includes a pristine reference area within the Alam-Pedja Nature Protected Area. It also drains toward the Vigala River, an ecologically important salmon habitat.

The broader area was drained in the 1960s to support timber production. Since then, forestry has remained active, with stands dominated by spruce and birch reaching an average height of nearly 20 metres. Beneath the trees lie deep peat soils, often around two metres thick. While tree growth contributes to carbon uptake, drainage has accelerated peat decomposition, turning soils into potential carbon sources.

Water quality monitoring has been running since 2022, covering a broad range of parameters including total phosphorus, phosphate, total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, nitrite, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total inorganic and organic carbon, iron, aluminium, calcium, magnesium, pH, discharge, conductivity, turbidity and oxidation-reduction potential. In addition, continuous monitoring using a YSI EXO multiparameter system tracks pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescent dissolved organic matter and temperature.

Since 2023, greenhouse gas fluxes have been measured directly from forest ditches. Within ForPeat, monitoring is expanded to a full ecosystem scale. An eddy covariance tower is being installed to provide continuous measurements of CO₂, H₂O and CH₄ fluxes. Complementary chamber-based measurements quantify CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emissions from soils, tree stems and ditches.