Biodiversity

PhD project of Hilde van Dijk. Drained peat soils, occupying just 12% of Dutch agricultural land, contribute over half of agricultural soil greenhouse gas emissions.This study aims to develop a modelling approach to analyze and explore sustainable alternative farming systems for Dutch dairy farms on peat soil. This includes modelling and assessing scenarios on farm and regional level, incorporating the provision of ecosystem services

PhD project by Yarui Zhang. The size of the Chinese ruminant sector has greatly increased over the past few years. This has led to intensification and specialization of ruminant farms. This PhD study aims to explore whether relocating ruminants in China truly offers a solution when accounting for region specific differences in feed availability and ecological ceilings, and what the maximum production potential for ruminants is considering these environmental constraints.

The environmental impacts of livestock production, including major land use, negative contribution to climate change and biodiversity loss, remain major sustainability challenges. Current market structures prioritize productivity and hinder the provision of sustainable animal-based products, that can also provide public goods and ecosystem services. It is therefore necessary to re-evaluate food systems, define the role of agricultural stakeholders and consider disruptive (technological) market developments to acknowledge and valorize the multifunctionality of certain livestock production systems.

In this pilot project we explore the potential of rice cultivation in the Netherlands. If pilot experiments are successful, we aim to expand experimentation and develop models to determine where and how rice cultivation could improve the ecosystem services (specifically greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity conservation) of agriculturally used peatlands.