Towards improved accounting and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from ditches and canals

Ditches and canals are pervasive features of drained landscapes yet remain poorly represented in greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. This international synthesis brings together evidence from peatland, agricultural and urban contexts to highlight the scale, drivers and uncertainties of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes from these artificial waterways.

Key Contributions

• Synthesis of current evidence on GHG fluxes from ditches and canals across peatland, agricultural and urban systems
• Identification of measurement gaps, methodological inconsistencies and underrepresentation in national inventories
• Discussion of management and restoration interventions with potential to reduce emissions
• Recommendations for harmonised monitoring, scaling approaches, and integration into emissions reporting frameworks

Significance

Drainage networks are extensive across managed peatlands and farmed landscapes globally, but their contribution to national and regional GHG budgets is rarely quantified at scale. By framing ditches and canals as a distinct, manageable component of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, this work supports more accurate emissions accounting and points to practical mitigation pathways relevant to climate policy, water management and peatland restoration.

Recommended citation: Silverthorn, T., Connolly, J., Habib, W., Kosten, S., Larmola, T., Paranaíba, J.R., Webb, J., Balathandayuthabani, S., Clarke, S.J., Tatariw, C., Cook, S.B., Williamson, J.L., Friday, L.E., Law, A., Andrews, L.O., van der Knaap, J., Evans, C.D., Fonvielle, J.A., Bryan, D., Yan, Z., Bieroza, M., van den Berg, M., Hill, M.J., Baugh, L., Evers, S., Mwanake, R.M., Baliña, S., Rahimi, H., Simpson, E., Struik, Q., Rissanen, A.J., & Peacock, M. (2026). "Towards improved accounting and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from ditches and canals." Environmental Research Letters.
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