Peatlands cover only about 3% of land on earth, but store about 30% of the world’s terrestrial carbon

Lowered Emissions

Peat bogs are carbon sinks, meaning that they are able to absorb and store more atmospheric carbon than they emit. Once the carbon is sequestered by the bog, it can remain there for thousands of years if the bog is undisturbed by humans. As atmospheric carbon levels continue to rise due to human activities, protecting peat bogs becomes even more important. 

The amount of carbon and methane sequestered and released by bogs is heavily dependent on the time of year. More carbon is stored during the summer when plants like sphagnum moss are photosynthesizing, and more carbon released in the winter when the rate of photosynthesis is greatly suppressed due to cold and less direct sunlight.

Affected by Climate Change

Global warming can impact how effective peat bogs are at sequestering carbon. It is known that as temperatures rise, peat bogs become increasingly less effective at sequestering carbon dioxide from the air. Instead, they begin to emit large amounts of legacy carbon and methane into the atmosphere, increasing the rate of global warming. With temperatures and other sources of greenhouse gas emissions consistently on the rise, it is important to understand what further impact rising temperatures will have on peat bogs. 

The SPRUCE project was a study conducted in northern Minnesota to assess the impact warmer temperatures will have on peat bogs in the future. Scientists found that rising temperatures change how microbes behave in peat bogs. In warmer temperatures, peatlands are one of the largest natural sources of methane emissions. The study concluded that the change in microbial activity lowered the amount of methane that was soluble in the bog, leading to the increased methane emissions. This finding is very important to note, as methane has 28 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. 

The warming of peat bogs also negatively impacts the diversity of plant life in the bog. An eight year study at the SPRUCE site found that in warmer conditions and a higher concentration of carbon dioxide, some plants like shrubs flourished while others struggled. Scientists found that the differences in growth was caused by an increase in available nutrients in the soil. 

It is important to pay attention to what long term experiments like the ones conducted at the SPRUCE site reveal about the future of peat bogs. By allowing scientists to envision what bogs will look like in the future if global warming continues at its current rate, they offer insight into what could be. However, if we are able to heed the warnings, it is still possible to reverse some of the predicted damage to the bogs.

Human Impact