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Podcast with James Rowson
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Read our blog on Cors Fochno by its former Principal Investigator, the late Richard Payne.
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second replicate plot group, with battery-operated pump providing drought treatment simulation
drought and passive warming chamber treatment plot in replicate 1
one of the new plot data-loggers, funded via an ect small grant
Cors Fochno, located north of Aberystwyth, is one of the most intact lowland raised bogs in England and Wales. Northern raised bogs are large stores of carbon, and concerns have been raised about how they will react to climate change.
Established in 2010, the Cors Fochno experiment investigates peatland response to climate change, focusing on the combined impacts of drought and warming. Cors Fochno is the only experiment globally to include both long-term warming and active simulation of realistic summer drought by pumping.
Experimental Design
The experiment consists of crossed treatments of warming using open top chambers and intermittent groundwater pumping. Passive warming chambers warm the peat surface whilst drought treatments are imposed July- September.
There are twelve hydrologically-isolated plots measuring 2 x 2m. The four treatments are replicated three times, treatments are: 3 control sites, 3 drained sites, 3 passively warmed sites, and 3 warmed and drained sites.
Data is collected measuring gas emissions (CH₄, CO₂ and NOₓ), temperature and water table depth.
Further information
The experiment is a collaboration between Dr Sylvia Toet (University of York), Dr James Rowson, Prof Simon Caporn (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Prof Nancy Dise (CEH) and is currently run by PhD student Luke Andrews (University of York).
Research Updates
panorama of the rare raised bog habitat at cors fochno in mid-wales
