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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
"Peat is a thick, mucky substance made up of dead and decomposing plant matter. It develops over hundreds or thousands of years, as wetland vegetation slowly decays.
Although peatlands cover just 3 percent of Earth’s land area, they are second only to oceans in the amount of carbon they store—twice that held by the world’s forests, at an estimated 500 to 600 gigatons. Unlike most terrestrial ecosystems, peatlands do not reach saturation, and continue sequestering carbon in soil organic matter for centuries or millennia.
Peatlands are being degraded for agricultural, horticultural, forest, fuel, and infrastructure and by fire at a rate of 0.4 million hectares per year. Moreover, peat volume is decreasing by 20 cubic kilometers per year. Peatland degradation results in nearly 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, equivalent to more than 10 percent of global fossil fuel emissions (Biancali and Avagyan, 2014). An estimated 15 percent of the world’s peatlands have been degraded so far, with nearly 50 percent of that for agricultural land use. The rate is expected to increase in the future unless land management practices and peatland development plans are changed and reconsidered.
Project Drawdown’s Peatland Protection and Rewetting solution focuses on reducing peatland degradation. safeguarding carbon sinks, and restoring and protecting currently degraded peatlands. This solution replaces the destruction of peatlands.
Luckily, most of the world’s peatlands are intact. Protecting these peatlands by preserving land and preventing fire offers a prime opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Though not as effective as preventing degradation, restoring drained and damaged peatlands also is essential." - Drawdown: Peatland Protection and Rewetting
Threats to Peatland
Threats to Peatland
Farming
Farming
Almost 50% of Peatland degredation has been done to make way for farming. Farmers dredge peatlands for livestock grazing, or to grow crops. Unfortunately, when water is drained from peatlands, they lose their nutritional qualities, and become worse overtime. Farmers may then turn to burning and using fertilizers, which only provide temporary nutritional boosts, damage local water quality, and cause far reaching negative impacts.
Burning
Burning
Solutions
Solutions
Protection & Rewetting
Protection & Rewetting
"If we increase the total area of protected or rewetted peatlands from 8.84 million hectares to 302.69–491.21 million hectares, we can avoid some 25.40–40.27 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions." - Drawdown: Peatland Protection and Rewetting
Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Offset Your Carbon Footprint
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council says this can be done by restoring damaged sites, and by buying peatland to help protect it.
They point out that "Known peatlands only cover about 3% of the world’s land surface, but store at least twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s standing forests. In addition, at least one-third of the world’s organic soil carbon, which plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and stabilizing the carbon cycle, is in peatlands."
One option they suggest is to leave organizations like theirs in your will. To get started you can
Ban Peat Extraction & Sales
Ban Peat Extraction & Sales
Paludiculture
Paludiculture
Click the Paludiculture button for a list of recommended crops that can be grown on re-wetted peatland, as well as grants and other resources for farmers.
Ban Burning for Grazing & Hunting
Ban Burning for Grazing & Hunting
Scottish Muirburn
Scottish Muirburn
"Muirburn is the ‘traditional’ practice of burning vegetation (usually to promote new growth) and is mainly associated with managing land for grouse shooting, deer management or for sheep farming. Over the years, muirburn has become subject to both statutory regulation and voluntary guidance. In the light of the current climate and nature emergencies, the impacts of muirburn on both biodiversity and carbon, and the systems for its regulation, have come under scrutiny. The nature and extent of benefits and impacts remain contested but have been extensively researched. Based on this research, RSPB Scotland has long called for change1." - How to prevent nature and carbon going up in smoke: Licensing Muirburn
Restore Peatlands
Restore Peatlands
NatureScot Peatland ACTION – Restoring Scotland’s Peatlands
14:09 minute video. "A film which explains why we need to restore peatlands and the help and support available to landowners. We hear from three land management estates, their agents and contractors about their experience of Peatland ACTION, and the benefits they’ve seen on the land."
Types of Peatland
Types of Peatland
There are different types of bogs or peatland. This section exists to help people understand the names and differences of these fascinating ecosystems.
Blanket Bogs
Blanket Bogs
"Blanket bogs are the most celebrated of Ireland’s peatlands. The habitat is very well developed in the country. We have two types of blanket bogs – Atlantic Blanket Bog and Mountain Blanket Bog."
Atlantic Blanket Bog
Atlantic Blanket Bog
"Atlantic blanket bogs cover the landscape of the west coast from sea level to an altitude of 200m. Here, rainfall is 1,200mm per year and the acid peat substrate ranges from 2 to 7m deep. Atlantic blanket bog vegetation has a characteristic grassy appearance due to the occurrence of purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea) and black bog rush (Schoenus nigricans). Patterned surfaces of pools, flat and sloped areas, flushes and swallow holes are important features of blanket bogs." - Irish Peatland Conservation Council
Mountain Blanket Bog
Mountain Blanket Bog
"Mountain blanket bogs occur on relatively flat terrain in the mountain ranges above 200m altitude. Here rainfall is high and evaporation is low. Mountain blanket bogs are rain fed and their peat is acidic. The vegetation is characterised by the presence of ericoid shrubs and in particular ling heather (Calluna vulgaris), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Natural drains, lakes and flushes are features of mountain blanket bogs." - Irish Peatland Conservation Council
Guides & Resources
Guides & Resources
Europe
Europe
Ireland
Ireland
Irish Peatland Conservation Council: Resources "Bogs in the Classroom. IPCC’s Education Department have published a wide range of resources to help groups and individuals, teachers and educators learn about bogs and introduce bogs to your classroom. The resources are copyright free for educational use by teachers with their class group. The materials presented are taken from the Peatland Education Pack published by the IPCC. This publication and other packs, dvd’s, books, charts and pictures can be purchased from our Nature Shop. If you cannot find what you need please contact us."
Peatland Management DIY Tool Kit "This web site focuses on the current best practice peatland management techniques in Ireland. The site has been developed by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council with a grant from Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Ireland."
Scotland
Scotland
Mosquito Management
Mosquito Management
Xerces: Effective Mosquito Management "It’s understandable why, in the face of a mounting health crisis, communities and health organizations scramble to prevent outbreaks by any means necessary. Spraying may seem like a quick way to soothe the public’s nerves, but as a strategy for controlling mosquitoes, it’s a blunt and ineffective tool. Widespread application of adulticides creates a false sense of security while causing many unintended and far-reaching consequences. Through the application of common-sense protocols and proactive planning, effective mosquito management that limits impacts on the environment is possible."
Ecologically Sound Mosquito Management in Wetlands "An overview of mosquito control practices, the risks, benefits, and non-target impacts, and recommendations on effective practices that control mosquitoes, reduce pesticide use, and conserve wetlands."
Organizations
Organizations
International
International
The International Peatland Society (IPS) "is an organisation of individual, corporate and institutional members dedicated to the responsible management and Wise Use of peatlands and peat.
Currently the IPS has 1,575 individual, corporate, student, institutional and NGO members from 37 countries. This includes 16 National Committees and three Commissions plus numerous Expert Groups with different activities related to peat and peatlands, mires, bogs, fens and tropical peat swamp forest. You are welcome to join!"The Rewilding Institute "We live for the day when Gray Wolves and Grizzly Bears have connected habitat from Mexico to Alaska, when Pumas have reclaimed their homelands East and West, when salmon and other migratory fish swim freely up and down our continents’ rivers, when the oceans are teeming with whales and sharks, and when all native species regain natural patterns of abundance and distribution."
Europe
Europe
Ireland
Ireland
Irish Peatland Conservation Council "Our mission is to protect a representative sample of the peatlands of Ireland for people to enjoy today and in the future. We hope our web site will help you to get to know us better. It’s your gateway to the save the bogs campaign and to visitors to the Bog of Allen Nature Centre."
UK
UK
Scotland
NatureScot: Scotland's Nature Agency “NatureScot is the leading organisation in Scotland that seeks to inspire, enthuse and influence others to manage our natural resources sustainably.”
Revive "The coalition for grouse moor reform" This organization focuses on a variety of problems faced by the Scottish moors, including the controversial muirburn.
Maps
Maps
Europe
Europe
Azores Islands
Azores Islands
Ireland
Ireland
Distribution of Blanket Bogs in Ireland You can learn more about the different types of Irish bogs by clicking here.
Wales
Wales
Welsh Peatlands Data Portal interactive map includes layers for general peatland presence, thickens in cm, etc.
North America
North America
USA
USA
Florida
Grants & Funding
Grants & Funding
Europe
Europe
UK
UK
The National Trust: Freshwater Community Grant Fund "Grants of £500 to £5,000 are available for initiatives that create, look after or improve local freshwater habitats and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature."
Scotland
Peatland ACTION Funding "from Scottish Government - primarily supports on-the-ground peatland restoration activities and is open for applications from eligible land managers who have peatlands that would benefit from restoration. There are no geographical restrictions or target areas for Peatland ACTION funding.
Find out more about what we fund and whether your proposed restoration activities meet the fund’s outcome and eligibility requirements."
Training Opportunities
Training Opportunities
Europe
Europe
Ireland
Ireland
Irish Peatland Conservation Council: Training Courses "IPCC’s Education Department offers a range of courses for teachers and educators."
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