Uniquely, an Australian subtropical peatland ecosystem exists that is not only resilient to the frequent bushfires, but actually needs fire to survive.
Climate policy has been based on a global average for salt marshes’ ability to capture carbon, but outside the tropics marshes accumulate less carbon.
Peat is a natural carbon sink but is often found in house plants and other retail products, particularly within the food and farming industry.
New Africa/Shutterstock
Travis Drake, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Johan Six, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Matti Barthel, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
The Ruki River supplies dissolved carbon from forest vegetation and soils to the Congo River.
Thick smoke rises from a peat bog fire in June 2023.
Bernd Wüstneck/picture alliance via Getty Images
Large stretches of the Arctic are carbon-rich peat bogs. As the region warms and dries, lightning strikes can spark underground fires that can burn for years.
A flaming peatland fire in Alberta, Canada.
(Greg Verkaik)
Peatlands safely store hundreds to thousands of years’ worth of humanity’s toxic legacy but climate change and physical disturbances are putting these pollution vaults, and us, at risk.
Smouldering fire in a drained peatland near Fort McMurray, Alta. produces smoke from underground. These ecosystems are affected by rising temperatures, drought, wildfire and various human actions including drainage.
(Leyland Cecco)
As a researcher of sustainability transition, I still believe we can create a more sustainable palm oil industry in Indonesia, where millions of small farmers rely on palm oil for their livelihood.
A drone image of part of the Angolan Highlands.
Mauro Lourenco
The Angolan Highlands are hydrologically and ecologically important - and the region’s newly mapped peatlands are valuable “carbon sinks”.
Professor Corneille Ewango of the University of Kisangani in a peat swamp.
along the Ikelemba River, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bart Crezee/University of Leeds
Peatlands worldwide are running short of water, and the amount of greenhouse gases this could set loose would be devastating for our efforts to curb climate change.