Drained peatlands cause high CO₂ emissions. Raising the groundwater table can lower emissions. We used automated flux chamber measurements on 12 sites for up to 4 years and found a linear association between annual water table depth and CO₂ emission. We also found that the average amount of carbon above the water table better predicted annual CO₂ emission than water table depth and that water infiltration systems—used to effectively raise the water table—can be used to mitigate CO₂ emissions.

Draining peat causes high CO₂ emissions, and rewetting could potentially help solve this problem. In the dry year 2020 we measured that subsurface irrigation reduced CO₂ emissions by 28 % and 83 % on two research sites. We modelled a peat parcel and found that the reduction depends on seepage and weather conditions and increases when using pressurized irrigation or maintaining high ditchwater levels. We found that soil temperature and moisture are suitable as indicators of peat CO₂ emissions.

Minimizing land subsidence is of increasing importance in urban areas in The Netherlands. Modelling was done to shed light on various measures to control the water table in reducing land subsidence. Calculations were done for conditions that occur in the city of Gouda. Results suggest, amongst others, that measures that can more permanently raise the water table by a small amount are more effective than measures that prevention a large water table drop during an occasional drought.

Creep of soft soils such as clays and peat are important in settlement caused by surface loads. By contrast, creep is not commonly considered in land subsidence driven by groundwater pumping. This is odd, because the subsidence involves the same types of soft soils. A new MODFLOW-2005 land subsidence package is introduced that includes creep. In an application to northern Jakarta it is shown amongst others that creep contributes to subsidence long after drawdown in pumped aquifers has stabilized

Ongoing subsidence is a complex problem for the Netherlands. Old strategies for coping have limits. In the Dutch National Scientific Research Program on Land Subsidence (2020–2025), we will develop an integrative approach to achieve feasible, legitimate and sustainable solutions for managing the negative societal effects of land subsidence, connecting fundamental research on subsidence processes to socio-economic impact of subsidence and to governance and legal framework design.