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In the new demonstrator project, Greenhouse Gas Removals – Peat, we aim to improve the greenhouse gas balance of peatland restoration projects so that net-negative carbon projects can be achieved. To do this, we are trialling a suite of methods including gully blocking, Sphagnum planting, biomass harvesting coupled with biochar production, and methane suppression via gypsum dosing. Through these methods, we hope to increase the input of recalcitrant carbon whilst minimising methane emissions.We present the results of a survey of 17 peatland pools across four sites in the south Pennines, UK. The pools were created via different restoration methods and have either been colonised naturally by Sphagnum or have been planted with commercially available mixes. Our data show that floating Sphagnum mats create a poorly mixed zone in the restoration pools where temperature and dissolved oxygen levels are elevated, resulting in lower dissolved methane concentrations beneath the Sphagnum mats compared to the rest of the pool. When accounting for higher methane emission rates due to the elevated temperature, our results suggest an overall ~40% lowering of diffusive methane flux in areas colonised by Sphagnum.Modelling of water quality parameters from the pools suggest methane flux is controlled via different mechanisms in the two areas of the pools. In the clearwater areas, redox potential and nitrogen availability are the dominant controls on methane flux, whereas under Sphagnum, dissolved oxygen concentration was the only significant driver. We interpret this as a switch in relative activity between methanogens and methanotrophs in the two areas. Taken together, our results provide real world evidence of the role of Sphagnum in creating a habitat niche favourable for methanotrophs and thereby lowering methane flux from peatland restoration projects.In this presentation we will also discuss preliminary findings from the other treatments being trialled at our sites.

The restoration of damaged UK peatlands is a major conservation concern and landscape-scale restoration initiatives are extensive in areas of blanket peatland in upland Britain. Because of the importance of a high water table to healthy peatland systems, it is the primary physical parameter considered in the monitoring the impacts of peatland restoration projects. Degraded peatland water tables can be highly variable in both time and space so require characterisation at a variety of scales. As such, a baseline understanding of landscape scale water table behaviour is required to properly assess the outcome of restoration projects.This paper presents the preliminary findings of the first major restoration works of the Great North Bog Initiative – a new and exciting partnership that brings together the seven regional peatland restoration partnerships across the north of England under a single collaborative banner. The Protected Landscapes of the Great North Bog represent around 92% of the upland peat in England and includes four National Parks and three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This first phase of restoration spans 5670 ha of peatland across Yorkshire and the North Pennines, with the aim of abating 455,500 of CO2eq over a 50 year trajectory of recovery. We report the results of pre-restoration water table monitoring at ten sites with different degrees of management and degradation, including: drained, eroding and topographically ‘intact’ surfaces; heather and grass dominated vegetation covers; and unfavourable through to favourable national conservation designations. Our findings will provide a solid understanding of hydrological variation across these different sites and will form the baseline from which trajectories of recovery will be assessed.

The role of conserved negatively charged aspartic (D) and glutamic (E) acid residues within the ectodomain of the human P2X(1) receptor were examined by alanine substitution mutagenesis. Effects on ATP potency and cell surface localisation were assessed in Xenopus oocytes using the two electrode voltage clamp technique and cell surface biotinylation. Of the eleven residues tested no major shifts in ATP potency were observed with EC(50) values for ATP ranging from 0.8 to 4.3 microM (compared to 1 microM ATP for wild-type P2X(1) receptors). Peak current amplitudes for mutants D86A and D264A where reduced by approximately 90% due to a corresponding reduction in both total protein and cell surface expression. These results demonstrate that individual conserved negatively charged amino acids are not essential for ATP recognition by the human P2X(1) receptor and coordinated binding of the positive charge on magnesium complexed ATP by negatively charged amino acids is not required.