Peatlands are boggy wet ecosystems found from boreal forests in the Russian Arctic to the tropics of central Africa.
Typically, when vegetation decomposes it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, when that same organic matter falls in a bog and is covered with water, carbon gets trapped and becomes sequestered there, sometimes for millennia.
This makes peatlands essential for the world’s carbon balance. Even though they cover just 3% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, they store nearly a third of the world’s carbon.
On this World Peatland Day, June 2, here’s a look at some of Mongabay’s recent peatland reporting:
‘Ancient’ carbon leaking from Congo Basin lakes
The largest tropical peatland in the world, located in Africa’s Congo Basin, was only mapped about a decade ago. Scientists believe the Cuvette Centrale peatlands are roughly the size of England and hold some 30 billion metric tons of carbon.
Researchers recently found some lakes in the Cuvette Centrale are slowly releasing ancient carbon. Using statistical modeling they estimated that much of the carbon being emitted locally is between 2,000 and 3,500 years old. “[I]t surprised us that almost half was coming from ancient peat carbon,” lead author of the study Travis Drake told Mongabay’s John Cannon.
Scientists don’t yet know if the released carbon is a natural phenomenon or a result of something altering the system.
Preserving Arctic peatlands with Indigenous knowledge
In the frigid Arctic, melting permafrost from climate change is a big driver of carbon emissions from peatlands.
Now, local and Indigenous communities in Europe, Canada and the U.S. are working together to create the world’s first coordinated restoration hub for Arctic and boreal peatlands. Building on previous restoration work in Finland, the initiative has helped restore more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of Arctic peatlands.
The projects prioritize critical Indigenous knowledge of the ecosystems to help in their conservation. Indigenous Gwich’in communities in the Northwest Territories of Canada, for example, are removing invasive plants to allow tribal members to access their traditional lands.
“The access allows for on-the-ground observation and care of Gwich’in lands through traditional land use practices such as hunting, fishing and berry picking,” Kristi Benson, who leads the initiative’s efforts for the Gwich’in Tribal Council, told Mongabay’s Sonam Lama Hyolmo.
Changing traditions, preserving culture in Peru
A peatland forest near Peru’s Pastaza River is dominated by aguajes (Mauritia flexuosa), palm trees that provide communities with a red fruit, also called aguajes. For years locals cut down the trees for the fruits, but once those trees started becoming scarce, they changed how they harvested.
The community members now climb the trees and shake the fruit free. It’s a more sustainable harvest method, which also helps preserve the local biodiversity, livelihoods and critical peatland carbon, Leslie Moreno Custodio reported for Mongabay.
Banner image: Aerial view of a peatland forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image by Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace.
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