Peatlands are large boggy marshes – waterlogged soils made of dead plants formed thousands of years ago. They store a phenomenal amount of carbon – more than anything else, including forests. They’re an incredible habitat for wildlife and play an important role in managing water.
There are peatlands in every continent – even though some haven’t yet been discovered. The ones we do know cover around 3% of the global land area – and store more than twice as much carbon as all the living forests on the planet. They also help with flooding, filtering water and slowing its flow. And they’re home to an astonishing number of rare birds, insects and plants.
Saving our peatlands
Unfortunately, many of our peatlands are damaged and drying out. This is caused by all kinds of things, like the draining of peatlands to make them better for growing crops, burning, over-grazing or extracting peat for horticulture. When peat dries out it becomes depleted – and instead of storing carbon, it sends it back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
This amazing natural resource could be a huge weapon in our fight against climate change. Restoring our peatlands back to health and preserving ones we have is hugely important. So let’s hope that local and national governments sit up and notice the peat beneath their feet.