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| Fri, 16th Oct 2020 12:02:00 |
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Could restoring peatlands be key to saving the planet? |
While historically the world’s peatlands were considered cumbersome wastelands, a new appreciation for these complex ecosystems and the role they play in regulating our climate has evolved in recent years.
Perhaps your familiarity with peatlands comes from the infamous “bog bodies”, which were buried and perfectly preserved in bogs around the world for thousands of years. From an ecological perspective, peatlands are recognized as harsh, intricate, and diverse habitats in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing due to lack of oxygen. As a result, organic matter, like plants, get trapped and buried along with the carbon captured from the air.
As a result of this carbon capture capability, peatlands actually play a critical role in regulating the world’s climate. Covering 3% of the world’s land surface, they store twice as much carbon as forests and help to stabilize the planet’s carbon cycle.
However, when it comes to research and policy aimed at mitigating the disastrous effects of climate change, peatlands have been largely left out. According to experts, like Dr. Franziska Tanneberger, researcher at the Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University and co-director of the Greifswald Mire Centre, they have been overlooked for far too long.
Read original full article
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