Many low-lying peatlands in delta areas undergo significant subsidence due to drainage for agricultural purposes. Subsidence may be attributed to shrinkage, consolidation or oxidation. At the same time the canals and ditches are regularly dredged to maintain water quality and drainage capacity. Often these dredged sediments are placed on land, which may help to slow down subsidence. In this study subsidence of organic sediments was monitored for a period of three years. The sediments were dredged from lakes and canals in the peatlands of Wormer- en Jisperveld, in the Netherlands and placed in an on-land constructed depot. Samples were collected at regular time intervals to measure water content and organic content. Additionally, laboratory tests were performed to characterize the organic sediments and determine the compression, consolidation, shrinkage and water retention characteristics under various oxidizing conditions. The laboratory tests showed that oxidation can significantly affect the compression, consolidation, water retention and shrinkage characteristics of organic soils. However, monitoring results in the field showed that the major part of the subsidence, which occurred within the three years of this study, could be attributed to shrinkage of the dredged sediments and the remainder to consolidation of the underlying peat layers, while the organic matter content did not change significantly.

Land subsidence in low-lying peatlands can be caused by shrinkage and organic matter oxidation. When these areas have networks of ditches and canals for drainage purposes, the sediments that accumulate in the waterways can be used to reverse the process of land subsidence. The objective of this study is to understand how dredged sediments can be used to reverse the process of land subsidence by analysing the contribution of shrinkage and organic matter mineralization to the subsidence observed in an upland deposit. A deposit of dredged sediments in the Wormer- en Jisperveld—North Holland, the Netherlands—was characterized during 17 months in terms of subsidence of the sediments, subsidence of the soil underlying the deposit, geotechnical water content, organic matter content, type of organic matter and nutrients. The deposit was filled to a height of 195 cm, and after 17 months, the subsidence of the sediments was 88 cm. In addition, a subsidence of 19.5 cm of the underlying soil was observed. Subsidence could be attributed to shrinkage since no significant changes in the organic matter content and total organic carbon were observed. The type of organic matter changed in the direction of humification until winter 2014, stabilized from winter 2014 to spring 2015 and changed in the direction of mineralization after the spring of 2015. Subsidence of dredged sediments in upland deposits is caused by shrinkage during the first 17 months. The solution of spreading thinner layers of sediments over the land to decrease the subsidence rates should be explored since the pressure of the deposit on the underlying soil caused an extra subsidence of 19.5 cm.

Purpose: In delta areas, dense networks of canals have been developed through time and have to be periodically dredged. Lowering the groundwater level in delta areas deepens the aerobic zone, leading to the oxidation of organic matter and possibly to land subsidence. The use of the dredged sediments on land can be a solution to mitigate land subsidence in delta areas. Materials and methods: Five types of dredged sediments with different organic matter content and particle size distribution were dewatered for 7 days and then submitted to biochemical ripening during 141 days on a laboratorial scale with constant temperature and relative humidity. The functional properties analysed were the type and content of organic matter, pH, total C, N, P and S, dry bulk density, water retention capacity, aggregate stability and load-bearing capacity. Results and discussion: After biochemical ripening, there was no significant loss in the mass of organic matter but there was an increase in the fraction of stable organic compounds, observed by an increase in oxygen-bearing compounds and a decrease in hydrocarbons during biochemical ripening. The pH was not affected by biochemical ripening, and the total C, N, P and S concentrations are high and therefore the dredged sediments can improve the quality of the land. Most volume lost during dewatering and biochemical ripening can be attributed to the loss of water. The water retention capacity of the dredged sediments changed with biochemical ripening. The soils formed from biochemical ripening have very stable aggregates, and its load-bearing capacity is enough to sustain cattle and tractors. Conclusions: Most volume lost during dewatering and biochemical ripening can be attributed to the loss of water and not organic matter. Therefore, the studied dredged sediments have potential to mitigate land subsidence in delta areas when spread on land.