The WET-PEAT (‘Re-wetting of peatlands for enhanced restoration’) project, which supports the work of Bord na Móna and Peatlands and People in the restoration of over 33,000 hectares of peatlands, comprises researchers from the University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin. WET-PEAT is applying state-of-the-art modelling techniques to a representative selection of Ireland’s peatlands to provide additional insight into how restoration measures may be enhanced.

The five sites where the project is active (Castlegar, Ballycon, Clooneeny, Ballaghurt, and All Saints) are fully instrumented and the researchers are in the process of taking water depth measurements from piezometers, water outlet flow measurements, greenhouse gas emission measurements (at Ballaghurt and All Saints), and water quality measurements (at Castlegar and Clooneeny).

The team has developed a hydrological model, using a modified DigiBog_Hydro programme, and is currently developing a water quality subroutine (for nitrogen species measurements) for it. In addition, WET-PEAT has developed a preliminary model that will allow water depth to be estimated based on remote sensing and machine learning techniques. The team has published a review paper (Silva et al., Biogeosciences 21(3): https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3143-2024).

Text from Professor Mark Healy, University of Galway

Cover photo: Water sampling at Castlegar, Co. Galway