Drained peatlands causing huge phosporus releases from bottom of the seas
Baltic Sea - sick from Finnish forestry?
The Finnish Association for Sustainable Forestry has called upon the Finnish government and the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – HELCOM to study the impact of forestry on the state of the Baltic Sea and the inland waters of Finland. This request is based on an assessment that tiny particles of suspended humus in the effluent from drained peatland in Finland have caused oxygen depletion near the bottom of the sea and inland watercourses, triggering the phenomenon known as internal loading. This pollution phenomenon arises when the bottom sediment of these waters releases the phosphorus that causes eutrophication.
More than five million hectares of peatland have been drained in Finland, while large quantities of nutrients and humus have also been discharged from over ten million hectares of clear-cutting and soil cultivation sites.
The Finnish Association for Sustainable Forestry believes that these actions devastate the natural water cycle and have a decisive impact on the origins of eutrophication.
“It’s odd how forestry is overlooked when considering the gigantic flow of humus and its consequenses” observes Association legal advisor Mikko Vartiainen, criticising current methods of compiling statistical records on discharges.
“This is an unfair practice when comparing the responsibility of various activities for the state of the water system. There are plenty of lakes that suffer regularly from algal blooms, even though there is no human habitation or agriculture anywhere near them.”
The Finnish Association for Sustainable Forestry is also surprised at the generally poor state of knowledge of humus discharges and their effects.
“It seems that during the golden age of mire drainage it was not even possible to make measurements during the most severe flooding so that we would know the quantities of humus that were released at these times,” explains Association information officer Hannu Hyvönen.
“We do know, however, that over the years following the first mire drainage projects the rate of humus discharge increased to levels corresponding to the natural leachate of several hundred years.”
In its communication to the Finnish government and HELCOM the Finnish Association for Sustainable Forestry calls for the appointment of an independent international research team to study the effects of forestry operations on the state of the Baltic Sea.
“One reason for the lack of information and attention in this area is that mire drainage is regarded as a heroic accomplishment in Finland, and conditions have not been auspicious for researchers to go out and study the negative impacts of this work,” arques prof. Erkki Lähde the justification for insisting on an independent international study.
New mire drainage poses a threat to water systems
While the Association believes that humus discharges from forestry will cause sustained problems in the water system, the latest threat comes from current projects to renovate existing mire drainage ditches. The humus discharges from these projects will almost match the scale of the original mire drainage.
“They say that special drainage arrangements could be used to stop discharges to the water system, which would be a plausible argument if it wasn’t for the flooding season. The huge mass of water flowing at this time carries the greatest discharge volumes, and these discharges will not be trapped in settling basins,” Hannu Hyvönen explains.
The communication from the Association calls for the suspension of remedial drainage projects until studies of the effects of drainage have been completed. The Association is also insisting on a moratorium on clear-cutting and soil cultivation in areas where there is a high risk of nutrient leaching.
Annexes:
1. Communication to the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – HELCOM
2. Article by Pekka Viherä on oxygen depletion and phosphorus loading
Video interview:
The video interview of Pekka Viherä and Mikko Vartiainen is available in mp4 in the address:
http://video.elonmerkki.net/itamerivideo.mp4
The video is untill now only in Finnish. We hope to get english version soon in the address:
http://video.elonmerkki.net/balticsea.mp4
The footage with full resolution is available for broadcastings if needed.
More information on:
http://mehta.fi
Personal requests:
Hannu Hyvönen
hannu@elonmerkki.net
+358408317733
Request for Helcom here
Article by Pekka Viherä here