About 2/3 of the total human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Iceland are estimated to come from drained peatlands, both pastures and croplands. However, those numbers are highly uncertain due to lack of local studies on the GHG balances of such lands in Iceland. Only two studies have previously been done on the carbon balance of drained croplands, one in East Iceland and another in North Iceland. Here we conduct a third study on the carbon balance in such lands, and the first that measures the fluxes of all the GHGs (CO2, CH4, N2O) in croplands. It is an independent project but in collaboration with the RANNÍS project ReWet at the Lækur farm, where GHG balances are studied in an adjacent drained peatland pasture in West Iceland. Additional research sites for GROWICE are established at the Hvanneyri farm and at the farm Syðstu-Garðar. The methods used in this project are soil flux measurements with LI-COR 7810 (CO2, CH4) and LI-COR 7820 (N2O) analysers, and soil sample analyses of bulk samples and 100 cm soil cores. The results of this project are likely to become very important for Iceland’s national GHG bookkeeping.

BS and MS projects within this project are available to interested students. Please contact [email protected] !