The UK’s first paddy fields: Rice grown in Cambridgeshire fens for trial exploring climate change impact

The UK’s first paddy fields: Rice grown in Cambridgeshire fens for trial exploring climate change impact

Nine varieties are being grown near Ely.

UK scientists and farmers trial nine rice varieties in Cambridgeshire Fens

In the Cambridgeshire Fens, scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) are working with local farmers to test producing rice and other food and bioenergy crops in rewetted peat soils. The goal is to preserve food production and farmers’ livelihoods while lowering greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands that have been degraded by agricultural use. The Fens originally held around 150,000 hectares of peatland. As a result of drai…