Substantial cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved by raising water levels in agricultural peatlands, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
Substantial cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved by raising water levels in agricultural peatlands, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
Peatlands occupy just three per cent of the world’s land surface area but store a similar amount of carbon to all terrestrial vegetation, as well as supporting unique biodiversity.
In their natural state, they can mitigate climate change by continuously removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it securely under waterlogged conditions for thousands of years. But many peatland areas have been substantially modified by human activity, including drainage for agriculture and forest plantations
This results in the release, from drained peatlands, of the equivalent of around 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere each year – which equates to three per cent of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by human activities.
Read more at: UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
An eddy covariance tower measures CO2, water and energy fluxes at a drained grassland on lowland peat soil in East Anglia (Photo Credit: Alex Cumming)
